Different Array CGH profiles within hereditary breast cancer tumors associated to BRCA1 expression and overall survival

Oncogenic miR-106b-5p promotes cisplatin resistance in triple-negative breast cancer by targeting GDF11

BACKGROUND

Cytoplatin (CDDP) is a standard treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNB), but patient resistance to CDDP limits its efficacy. A growing study confirms that microRNAs (miRNAs) are significantly important in breast cancer, especially TNBC. This research was carried out to examine the function of miR-106b-5p in CDDP resistance of TNBC as well as the downstream mechanism.

METHODS

The miR-106b-5p and growth-differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) expressions in the tissues from TNBC patients and CDDP-treated TNBC cell lines were measured by RT-qPCR. Thereafter, cell proliferation and migration in the presence of CDDP treatment were evaluated via CCK-8 and Transwell assays in the TNBC cells. A xenograft mice model was also established to verify the miR-106b-5p silencing effect on the growth of CDDP resistance TNBC cells in vivo. Luciferase reporter experiments were performed to predict the relationship between miR-106b-5p and GDF11 expression.

RESULTS

The results showed that miR-106b-5p was upregulated in the TNBC tumor cells and TNBC cells treated with CDDP and knockdown of this caused inhibition of the TNBC cell lines' proliferation, migration and suppressed the growth of the TNBC xenografted tumors, in the presence of CDDP treatment. In addition, it was observed that miR-106b-5p can bind to GDF11; as a result in the TNBC tissues and CDDP-treated TNBC cell lines the down-regulation of GDF11 was observed. Moreover, GDF11 silencing promoted CDDP-treated TNBC cell lines' proliferation and migration and reversed the interference effect of miR-106b-5p.

CONCLUSIONS

MiR-106b-5p was upregulated in TNBC and this upregulation may promote CDDP resistance of the TNBC cells by targeting GDF11 and inhibiting its expression.

Tissue Expression of Growth Differentiation Factor 11 in Patients with Breast Cancer

Protein growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) plays crucial roles in cellular processes, including differentiation and development; however, its clinical relevance in breast cancer patients is poorly understood. We enrolled 68 breast cancer patients who underwent surgery at our hospital and assessed the expression of GDF11 in tumorous, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and non-tumorous tissues using immunohistochemical staining, with interpretation based on histochemical scoring (H-score). Our results indicated higher GDF11 expressions in DCIS and normal tissues compared to tumorous tissues. In addition, the GDF11 H-score was lower in the patients with a tumor size ≥ 2 cm, pathologic T3 + T4 stages, AJCC III-IV stages, Ki67 ≥ 14% status, HER2-negative, and specific molecular tumor subtypes. Notably, the patients with triple-negative breast cancer exhibited a loss of GDF11 expression. Spearman correlation analysis revealed associations between GDF11 expression and various clinicopathological characteristics, including tumor size, stage, Ki67, and molecular subtypes. Furthermore, GDF11 expression was positively correlated with mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and negatively correlated with neutrophil count, as well as standard deviation and coefficient of variation of red cell distribution width. These findings suggest that a decreased GDF11 expression may play a role in breast cancer pathogenesis.

GDF11 as a friend or an enemy in the cancer biology?

The Growth and Differential Factor 11 (GDF11) is a recently discovered representative of Transforming Growth Factor β superfamily. The highest expression of GDF11 is detected in the nervous system, bladder, seminal vesicles and muscles whereas the lowest in the testis, liver or breast. GDF11 role in physiology is still not clear. GDF11 is a crucial factor in embryogenesis, cell cycle control and apoptosis, inasmuch it mainly targets cell retain stemness features, managing to the cell differentiation and the maturation. GDF11 is entangled in lipid metabolism, inflammatory processes and aging. GDF11 is strongly related to carcinogenesis and its expression in tumors is intruded. GDF11 can promote cancer growth in the colon or inhibit the cell proliferation in breast cancer. The aberrated expression is probably allied with the impaired maturation. In this article we summarized an impact of GDF11 on the tumor cells and review the all attitudes connecting GDF11 with carcinogenesis.

An immune-related signature that to improve prognosis prediction of breast cancer

Although the classic molecular subtype of breast cancer (BRCA) has been widely used in clinical diagnosis, as a highly heterogeneous malignant tumor, the classic scheme is not enough to accurately predict the prognosis of breast cancer patients. Immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) are thought to play a paramount role in tumor development and driving poor prognosis. In this study, we aimed to develop a TME-associated, immune-related signature to improve prognosis prediction of BRCA. BRCA_OURS enriched transcriptomic RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of tumor tissue was acquired from 43 breast cancer patients before any treatment. On the immune gene profiles of 43 patients from BRCA_OURS and 932 BRCA patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we identified a robust immune-related signature including one positive coefficients gene (IL-10) and other 9 genes (C14orf79, C1orf168, C1orf226, CELSR2, FABP7, FGFBP1, KLRB1, PLEKHO1, and RAC2), of which the negative coefficients suggesting higher expression were correlated with better prognosis. Based on the expression of these genes, patients were grouped into the high- and low-risk group with significant overall survival (OS) (P<0.0001). The high-risk group was likely to have inferior outcomes related to several important cancer-associated pathways, including mobilizing more Golgi vesicle-mediated transport and intensive DNA double-strand breaking, which are closely related to the infiltration of immune cells and holds the key for further growing and metastasizing. Collectively, our results highlight that the immunological value within BRCA is an essential determinant of prognostic factor. Our signature may provide an effective risk stratification tool for clinical prognosis assessment of patients with BRCA.

GDF11 contributes to hepatic hepcidin (HAMP) inhibition through SMURF1-mediated BMP-SMAD signalling suppression

Hepcidin (HAMP) synthesis is suppressed by erythropoiesis to increase iron availability for red blood cell production. This effect is thought to result from factors secreted by erythroid precursors. Growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) expression was recently shown to increase in erythroid cells of β-thalassaemia, and decrease with improvement in anaemia. Whether GDF11 regulates hepatic HAMP production has never been experimentally studied. Here, we explore GDF11 function during erythropoiesis-triggered HAMP suppression. Our results confirm that exogenous erythropoietin significantly increases Gdf11 as well as Erfe (erythroferrone) expression, and Gdf11 is also increased, albeit at a lower degree than Erfe, in phlebotomized wild type and β-thalassaemic mice. GDF11 is expressed predominantly in erythroid burst forming unit- and erythroid colony-forming unit- cells during erythropoiesis. Exogeneous GDF11 administration results in HAMP suppression in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, exogenous GDF11 decreases BMP-SMAD signalling, enhances SMAD ubiquitin regulatory factor 1 (SMURF1) expression and induces ERK1/2 (MAPK3/1) signalling. ERK1/2 signalling activation is required for GDF11 or SMURF1-mediated suppression in BMP-SMAD signalling and HAMP expression. This research newly characterizes GDF11 in erythropoiesis-mediated HAMP suppression, in addition to ERFE.

Physiological functions of CKIP-1: From molecular mechanisms to therapy implications

The casein kinase 2 interacting protein-1 (CKIP-1, also known as PLEKHO1) is initially identified as a specific CK2α subunit-interacting protein. Subsequently, various proteins, including CPα, PAK1, Arp2/3, HDAC1, c-Jun, ATM, Smurf1, Rpt6, Akt, IFP35, TRAF6, REGγ and CARMA1, were reported to interact with CKIP-1. Owing to the great diversity of interacted proteins, CKIP-1 exhibits multiple biologic functions in cell morphology, cell differentiation and cell apoptosis. Besides, these functions are subcellular localization, cell type, and regulatory signaling dependent. CKIP-1 is involved in biological processes consisting of bone formation, tumorigenesis and immune regulation. Importantly, deregulation of CKIP-1 results in osteoporosis, tumor, and atherosclerosis. In this review, we introduce the molecular functions, biological processes and promising of therapeutic strategies. Through summarizing the intrinsic mechanisms, we expect to open new therapeutic avenues for CKIP-1.

PLEKHO1 knockdown inhibits RCC cell viability in vitro and in vivo, potentially by the Hippo and MAPK/JNK pathways

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer. By analysing The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, 16 genes were identified to be consistently highly expressed in RCC tissues compared with the matched para-tumour tissues. Using a high-throughput cell viability screening method, it was found that downregulation of only two genes significantly inhibited the viability of 786-O cells. Among the two genes, pleckstrin homology domain containing O1 (PLEKHO1) has never been studied in RCC, to the best of our knowledge, and its expression level was shown to be associated with the prognosis of patients with RCC in TCGA dataset. The upregulation of PLEKHO1 in RCC was first confirmed in 30 paired tumour and para-tumour tissues. Then, the effect of PLEKHO1 on cell proliferation and apoptosis was assessed in vitro. Additionally, xenograft tumour models were established to investigate the function of PLEKHO1 in vivo. The results showed that PLEKHO1 knockdown significantly inhibited cell viability and facilitated apoptosis in vitro and impaired tumour formation in vivo. Thus, PLEKHO1 is likely to be associated with the viability of RCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Further gene expression microarray and co-expression analyses showed that PLEKHO1 may be involved in the serine/threonine-protein kinase hippo and JNK signalling pathways. Together, the results of the present study suggest that PLEKHO1 may contribute to the development of RCC, and therefore, further study is needed to explore its potential as a therapeutic target.

Genetic Analysis of Copy Number Variation in Large Chorangiomas

INTRODUCTION

Chorangioma (CA) is the most common nontrophoblastic, vascular tumor-like lesion of the placenta with a reported incidence of 0.5% to 1% in all examined placentas. The underlying molecular mechanisms of CAs are still poorly elucidated, and a systematic investigation of the genetic background of CAs has not previously been done.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Tissue biopsies from 8 large (>40 mm) histologically confirmed CAs and 8 unaffected matched placenta controls, along with standard control DNA samples were analyzed for large genomic deletions and duplications using array comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) method.

RESULTS

Array-CGH analysis revealed no rare or novel copy number variants in the CA samples compared with either standard control DNA or unaffected placenta DNA from the same individual.

DISCUSSION

In this study, a systematic genetic investigation of 8 large CAs failed to demonstrate any large-scale pathogenic genetic changes. This lack of association might support a nongenetic, nontumorous origin of these lesions; however, additional genetic studies focusing on smaller genomic alterations are required to fully assess any possible genetic contribution.

Identification of key genes relevant to the prognosis of ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancer based on a prognostic prediction system

Few prognostic indicators with differential expression have been reported among the differing ER statuses. We aimed to screen important breast cancer prognostic genes related to ER status and to construct an efficient prognostic prediction system. mRNA expression profiles were downloaded from TCGA and GSE70947 dataset. Two hundred seventy-one overlapping differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the ER- and ER+ breast cancer samples were identified. Among the 271 DEGs, 109 prognostically relevant mRNAs were screened. mRNAs such as RASEF, ITM2C, CPEB2, ESR1, ANXA9, and VASN correlated strongly with breast cancer prognosis. Three modules, which contained 28, 9 and 8 enriched DEGs, were obtained from the network, and the DEGs in these modules were enriched in response to hormone stimulus, epithelial cell development, and host cell entry. Using bayes discriminant analysis, 48 signature genes were screened. We constructed a prognostic prediction system using the 48 signature genes and validated this system as relatively accurate and reliable. The DEGs might be closely associated with the prognosis in patients with breast cancer. We validated the effectiveness of our prognostic prediction system by GEO database. Therefore, this system might be a useful tool for preliminary screening and validation of potential prognosis indicators for ER+ breast cancer derived from mechanistic research.

GDF11 restrains tumor growth by promoting apoptosis in pancreatic cancer

Background

Growth differentiation factor (GDF) acted as a factor that regulated proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation in several tumors. However, the effects of growth differentiation factor (GDF11) in pancreatic cancer remain unclear.

Purpose

To investigate the expression and significance of GDF11 in pancreatic cancer.

Patients and methods

Pancreatic cancer and corresponding paracancerous tissues (n=28) were collected from the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgical Oncology of Chinese PLA General Hospital. Tissue microarray was obtained from Outdo Biotech Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, People’s Republic of China). GDF11 mRNA and protein expressions in pancreatic cancer samples and cell lines were detected using qRT-PCR, Western-Blot and immunohistochemistry. Overexpression and knockdown of GDF11 were performed with lentiviral transduction system and siRNA technique in PANC-1 cell line and CFPAC-1 cell line. Proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cell lines were examinated by MTS and transwell assay, respectively. Flow cytometry was used for cell apoptosis analysis.

Results

The results of this study indicated that GDF11 was significantly down-regulated in pancreatic cancer tissues compared with adjacent tissues of pancreatic cancer. GDF11 was also associated with low expression in pancreatic cancer cell lines when compared with normal pancreatic cell line. In a cohort of 63 pancreatic cancer patients, high GDF11 expression levels was associated with favorable perineural invasion, T classification, N classification and overall survival (OS). Cox proportional hazards model revealed that high GDF11 expression was an independent predictor of favorable prognosis (HR: 0.496; 95% CI: 0.255–0.967; P=0.040). Overexpression of GDF11 in PANC-1 cells repressed the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities in vitro. Inhibition of GDF11 in CFPAC-1 showed inverse results. Furthermore, enhanced GDF11 expression promoted apoptosis and down-regulated GDF11 expression inhibited apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cell lines.

Conclusion

These findings suggested that GDF11 acted as a tumor suppressor gene for pancreatic cancer.

Expression and mutations of BRCA in breast cancer and ovarian cancer: Evidence from bioinformatics analyses

Breast cancer 1 (BRCA1) and breast cancer 2 (BRCA2) are the most well‑known genes linked to breast cancer and ovarian cancer, which are crucial in DNA repair and transcriptional regulation. The present study aimed to elucidate the expression profiles, mutations and interaction networks of BRCA1 and BRCA2, which may provide insights to reveal the mechanisms of BRCA genes ultimately leading to breast or ovarian tumorigenesis. Bioinformatics analyses were performed in the present study. The mRNA levels of BRCA1 and BRCA2 were evaluated using FIREHOSE analysis, SAGE Genie tools and Oncomine analysis. cBioPortal analysis, and Catalogue Of Somatic Mutations In Cancer analysis were used to examine the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. Kaplan‑Meier Plotter analysis was performed to identify the prognostic roles of BRCA1 and BRCA2 in breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The results of the present study showed that the mRNA expression levels of BRCA1 and BRCA2 were elevated in breast cancer and ovarian cancer tissues, compared with their matched normal tissues. Second, several common mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes were identified in breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Finally, neurofibromin 1, synaptonemal complex protein 2 and tumor protein 53 were predicted to be involved in the interaction network of BRCA1 and BRCA2 in breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Taken together, these results provide a significant insight into certain mutations and proteins involved in the interaction network of BRCA1 and BRCA2, which may have common roles in breast cancer and ovarian cancer. However, the complex mechanism underlying these observations remains to be fully elucidated, and further investigations are required in the future.

Genetic alterations detected by comparative genomic hybridization in BRCAX breast and ovarian cancers of Brazilian population

Background

About 5–10% of breast/ovarian cancers are hereditary. However, for a large proportion of cases (around 50%), the genetic cause remains unknown. These cases are grouped in a separated BRCAX category. The aim of this study was to identify genomic alterations in BRCA1/BRCA2 wild-type tumor samples from women with family history strongly suggestive of hereditary breast/ovarian cancer.

Results

A cohort of 31 Brazilian women was included in the study. Using the GISTIC algorithm, we identified 20 regions with genomic gains and 31 with losses. The most frequent altered regions were 1q21.2, 6p22.1 and 8p23.3 in breast tumors and Xq26 and Xp22.32-22.31 among the ovarian cancer cases. An interesting association identified was the loss of 22q13.31-13.32 and the presence of ovarian cancer cases. Among the genes present in the frequently altered regions, we found FGFR1, NSMCE2, CTTN, CRLF2, ERBB2, STARD3, MIR3201 and several genes of RAET and ULBP family.

Conclusions

In conclusion, our results suggest that alterations on chromosomes 1, 6, 8 and X are common on BRCAX tumors and that the loss on 22q can be associated with the presence of ovarian cancer.

Methods

DNA copy number alterations were analyzed by 60K array comparative genomic hybridization in breast and ovarian FFPE tumors.

GDF11/BMP11 as a novel tumor marker for liver cancer

Growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11), also known as bone morphogenetic protein 11, a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily, has been reported to be involved in colorectal cancer. However, the roles of GDF11 in Chinese patients with liver cancer and the underlying mechanisms have remained elusive. The present study assessed the expression of GDF11 in 10 paired samples of cancerous and normal tissues from Chinese liver cancer patients. The results indicated that the expression of GDF11 was significantly lower in cancerous tissues than in normal tissues. In vitro, the expression of GDF11 was reduced in a panel of liver cancer cell lines compared with that in a normal liver cell line at the mRNA and protein level. Treatment with GDF11 reduced the viability of HepG2 for up to 72 h and GDF11 treatment reduced the viability of SMMC-7721 after 48 and 72 h. Furthermore, GDF11 activated Smad2/3 signaling in HepG2 cells. In conclusion, GDF11 has a tumor suppressor role in liver cancer, exerts its effects through Smad2/3 signaling and may serve as a novel tumor marker in liver cancer diagnosis.

Tumor-Suppressor Inactivation of GDF11 Occurs by Precursor Sequestration in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive and heterogeneous carcinoma in which various tumor-suppressor genes are lost by mutation, deletion, or silencing. Here we report a tumor-suppressive mode of action for growth-differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) and an unusual mechanism of its inactivation in TNBC. GDF11 promotes an epithelial, anti-invasive phenotype in 3D triple-negative cultures and intraductal xenografts by sustaining expression of E-cadherin and inhibitor of differentiation 2 (ID2). Surprisingly, clinical TNBCs retain the GDF11 locus and expression of the protein itself. GDF11 bioactivity is instead lost because of deficiencies in its convertase, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 5 (PCSK5), causing inactive GDF11 precursor to accumulate intracellularly. PCSK5 reconstitution mobilizes the latent TNBC reservoir of GDF11 in vitro and suppresses triple-negative mammary cancer metastasis to the lung of syngeneic hosts. Intracellular GDF11 retention adds to the concept of tumor-suppressor inactivation and reveals a cell-biological vulnerability for TNBCs lacking therapeutically actionable mutations.

Role of growth differentiation factor 11 in development, physiology and disease

Growth differentiation factor (GDF11) is a member of TGF-β/BMP superfamily that activates Smad and non-Smad signaling pathways and regulates expression of its target nuclear genes. Since its discovery in 1999, studies have shown the involvement of GDF11 in normal physiological processes, such as embryonic development and erythropoiesis, as well as in the pathophysiology of aging, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and cancer. In addition, there are contradictory reports regarding the role of GDF11 in aging, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, osteogenesis, skeletal muscle development, and neurogenesis. In this review, we describe the GDF11 signaling pathway and its potential role in development, physiology and disease.

Potential link between Fusobacterium enrichment and DNA methylation accumulation in the inflammatory colonic mucosa in ulcerative colitis

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Fusobacterium enrichment has been associated with colorectal cancer development. Ulcerative colitis (UC) associated tumorigenesis is characterized as high degree of methylation accumulation through continuous colonic inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate a potential link between Fusobacterium enrichment and DNA methylation accumulation in the inflammatory colonic mucosa in UC.

METHODS

In the candidate analysis, inflamed colonic mucosa from 86 UC patients were characterized the methylation status of colorectal a panel of cancer related 24 genes. In the genome-wide analysis, an Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip array was utilized to characterize the methylation status of >450,000 CpG sites for fourteen UC patients. Results were correlated with Fusobacterium status.

RESULTS

UC with Fusobacterium enrichment (FB-high) was characterized as high degree of type C (for cancer-specific) methylation compared to other (FB-low/neg) samples (P<0.01). Genes hypermethylated in FB-high samples included well-known type C genes in colorectal cancer, such as MINT2 and 31, P16 and NEUROG1. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the FB high status held an increased likelihood for methylation high as an independent factor (odds ratio: 16.18, 95% confidence interval: 1.94-135.2, P=0.01). Genome-wide methylation analysis demonstrated a unique methylome signature of FB-high cases irrespective of promoter, outside promoter, CpG and non-CpG sites. Group of promoter CpG sites that were exclusively hypermethylated in FB-high cases significantly codified the genes related to the catalytic activity (P=0.039).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that Fusobacterium accelerates DNA methylation in specific groups of genes in the inflammatory colonic mucosa in UC.

[Infections and epigenetic changes in cancer]

The role of epigenetics and infectious diseases at early stages of life influence pre-malignant lesions of cancer, in particular, gastric cancer, one of the most frequent tumours in Chile, Latin America, and worldwide. This article examines the role of H.pylori and epigenetic alterations (i.e. DNA methylation) at early stages of gastric cancer and proposes, from the paediatric point of view, strategies for prevention and early detection.