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Noorani I, Mischel PS, Swanton C. Leveraging extrachromosomal DNA to fine-tune trials of targeted therapy for glioblastoma: opportunities and challenges. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2022; 19:733-743. [PMID: 36131011 DOI: 10.1038/s41571-022-00679-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Glioblastoma evolution is facilitated by intratumour heterogeneity, which poses a major hurdle to effective treatment. Evidence indicates a key role for oncogene amplification on extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) in accelerating tumour evolution and thus resistance to treatment, particularly in glioblastomas. Oncogenes contained within ecDNA can reach high copy numbers and expression levels, and their unequal segregation can result in more rapid copy number changes in response to therapy than is possible through natural selection of intrachromosomal genomic loci. Notably, targeted therapies inhibiting oncogenic pathways have failed to improve glioblastoma outcomes. In this Perspective, we outline reasons for this disappointing lack of clinical translation and present the emerging evidence implicating ecDNA as an important driver of tumour evolution. Furthermore, we suggest that through detection of ecDNA, patient selection for clinical trials of novel agents can be optimized to include those most likely to benefit based on current understanding of resistance mechanisms. We discuss the challenges to successful translation of this approach, including accurate detection of ecDNA in tumour tissue with novel technologies, development of faithful preclinical models for predicting the efficacy of novel agents in the presence of ecDNA oncogenes, and understanding the mechanisms of ecDNA formation during cancer evolution and how they could be attenuated therapeutically. Finally, we evaluate the feasibility of routine ecDNA characterization in the clinic and how this process could be integrated with other methods of molecular stratification to maximize the potential for clinical translation of precision medicines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Imran Noorani
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
- Department of Neurosurgery, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK.
| | - Paul S Mischel
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine and Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Charles Swanton
- Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
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Karami Fath M, Karimfar N, Fazlollahpour Naghibi A, Shafa S, Ghasemi Shiran M, Ataei M, Dehghanzadeh H, Nabi Afjadi M, Ghadiri T, Payandeh Z, Tarhriz V. Revisiting characteristics of oncogenic extrachromosomal DNA as mobile enhancers on neuroblastoma and glioma cancers. Cancer Cell Int 2022; 22:200. [PMID: 35614494 PMCID: PMC9131661 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-022-02617-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer can be induced by a variety of possible causes, including tumor suppressor gene failure and proto-oncogene hyperactivation. Tumor-associated extrachromosomal circular DNA has been proposed to endanger human health and speed up the progression of cancer. The amplification of ecDNA has raised the oncogene copy number in numerous malignancies according to whole-genome sequencing on distinct cancer types. The unusual structure and function of ecDNA, and its potential role in understanding current cancer genome maps, make it a hotspot to study tumor pathogenesis and evolution. The discovery of the basic mechanisms of ecDNA in the emergence and growth of malignancies could lead researchers to develop new cancer therapies. Despite recent progress, different aspects of ecDNA require more investigation. We focused on the features, and analyzed the bio-genesis, and origin of ecDNA in this review, as well as its functions in neuroblastoma and glioma cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohsen Karami Fath
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Nastaran Karimfar
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, Tabriz, Iran
| | | | - Shahriyar Shafa
- School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Melika Ghasemi Shiran
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mehran Ataei
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran
| | | | - Mohsen Nabi Afjadi
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Tahereh Ghadiri
- Department of Neuroscience and Cognition, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. .,Shefa Neuroscience Research Center, Khatam Alanbia Hospital, Tehran, Iran. .,Neurosiences Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
| | - Zahra Payandeh
- Department Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Division Medical Inflammation Research, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Vahideh Tarhriz
- Molecular Medicine Research Center, Biomedicine Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
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Noer JB, Hørsdal OK, Xiang X, Luo Y, Regenberg B. Extrachromosomal circular DNA in cancer: history, current knowledge, and methods. Trends Genet 2022; 38:766-781. [PMID: 35277298 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2022.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) is a closed-circle, nuclear, nonplasmid DNA molecule found in all tested eukaryotes. eccDNA plays important roles in cancer pathogenesis, evolution of tumor heterogeneity, and therapeutic resistance. It is known under many names, including very large cancer-specific circular extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA), which carries oncogenes and is often amplified in cancer cells. Our understanding of eccDNA has historically been limited and fragmented. To provide better a context of new and previous research on eccDNA, in this review we give an overview of the various names given to eccDNA at different times. We describe the different mechanisms for formation of eccDNA and the methods used to study eccDNA thus far. Finally, we explore the potential clinical value of eccDNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie B Noer
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Oskar K Hørsdal
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Xi Xiang
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Qingdao-Europe Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, BGI-Shenzhen, Qingdao, China
| | - Yonglun Luo
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Qingdao-Europe Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, BGI-Shenzhen, Qingdao, China; Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
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Gene Amplification and the Extrachromosomal Circular DNA. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12101533. [PMID: 34680928 PMCID: PMC8535887 DOI: 10.3390/genes12101533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Oncogene amplification is closely linked to the pathogenesis of a broad spectrum of human malignant tumors. The amplified genes localize either to the extrachromosomal circular DNA, which has been referred to as cytogenetically visible double minutes (DMs), or submicroscopic episome, or to the chromosomal homogeneously staining region (HSR). The extrachromosomal circle from a chromosome arm can initiate gene amplification, resulting in the formation of DMs or HSR, if it had a sequence element required for replication initiation (the replication initiation region/matrix attachment region; the IR/MAR), under a genetic background that permits gene amplification. In this article, the nature, intracellular behavior, generation, and contribution to cancer genome plasticity of such extrachromosomal circles are summarized and discussed by reviewing recent articles on these topics. Such studies are critical in the understanding and treating human cancer, and also for the production of recombinant proteins such as biopharmaceuticals by increasing the recombinant genes in the cells.
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