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Čelešnik H, Potočnik U. Peripheral Blood Transcriptome in Breast Cancer Patients as a Source of Less Invasive Immune Biomarkers for Personalized Medicine, and Implications for Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14030591. [PMID: 35158858 PMCID: PMC8833511 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14030591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive and heterogeneous breast cancer (BC) type which is difficult to treat and accompanied by disease recurrence. A better understanding of TNBC and the identification of novel biomarkers is needed to facilitate clinical decisions. Immune-related biomarkers are of particular interest, since immune responses play an important role in BC outcome. Transcriptome studies of peripheral blood cells can help us to understand the systemic immune responses to cancer cells and the mechanisms underlying cancer initiation and progression. They enable the identification of novel immune biomarkers for early cancer detection and personalized BC management and may bring forward new immunotherapy options. Recent transcriptome analyses of peripheral blood cells have delineated novel BC-patient immune subgroups. This categorization has implications for cancer prognosis, the identification of patients likely to benefit from immunotherapy, and treatment efficacy monitoring. Additionally, transcriptome studies have identified TNBC-enriched blood transcriptional signatures that can differentiate TNBC from other classical BC subtypes. Abstract Transcriptome studies of peripheral blood cells can advance our understanding of the systemic immune response to the presence of cancer and the mechanisms underlying cancer onset and progression. This enables the identification of novel minimally invasive immune biomarkers for early cancer detection and personalized cancer management and may bring forward new immunotherapy options. Recent blood gene expression analyses in breast cancer (BC) identified distinct patient subtypes that differed in the immune reaction to cancer and were distinct from the clinical BC subtypes, which are categorized based on expression of specific receptors on tumor cells. Introducing new BC subtypes based on peripheral blood gene expression profiles may be appropriate, since it may assist in BC prognosis, the identification of patients likely to benefit from immunotherapy, and treatment efficacy monitoring. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive, heterogeneous, and difficult-to-treat disease, and identification of novel biomarkers for this BC is crucial for clinical decision-making. A few studies have reported TNBC-enriched blood transcriptional signatures, mostly related to strong inflammation and augmentation of altered immune signaling, that can differentiate TNBC from other classical BC subtypes and facilitate diagnosis. Future research is geared toward transitioning from expression signatures in unfractionated blood cells to those in immune cell subpopulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Čelešnik
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova Ulica 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia;
- Center for Human Genetics & Pharmacogenomics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, Taborska Ulica 8, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
| | - Uroš Potočnik
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova Ulica 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia;
- Center for Human Genetics & Pharmacogenomics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, Taborska Ulica 8, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
- Department for Science and Research, University Medical Centre Maribor, Ljubljanska Ulica 5, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +386-2-330-5874
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Neuropilin-1 Associated Molecules in the Blood Distinguish Poor Prognosis Breast Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Study. Sci Rep 2017; 7:3301. [PMID: 28607365 PMCID: PMC5468252 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-03280-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2017] [Accepted: 04/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Circulating plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear (PBMCs) cells provide an informative snapshot of the systemic physiological state. Moreover, they provide a non-invasively accessible compartment to identify biomarkers for personalized medicine in advanced breast cancer. The role of Neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) and its interacting molecules in breast tumor tissue was correlated with cancer progression; however, the clinical impact of their systemic levels was not extensively evaluated. In this cross-sectional study, we found that circulating and tumor tissue expression of NRP-1 and circulating placental growth factor (PlGF) increase in advanced nodal and metastatic breast cancer compared with locally advanced disease. Tumor tissue expression of NRP-1 and PlGF is also upregulated in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) compared to other subtypes. Conversely, in PBMCs, NRP-1 and its interacting molecules SEMA4A and SNAI1 are significantly downregulated in breast cancer patients compared to healthy controls, indicating a protective role. Moreover, we report differential PBMC expression profiles that correlate inversely with disease stage (SEMA4A, SNAI1, PLXNA1 and VEGFR3) and can differentiate between the TNBC and non-TNBC tumor subtypes (VEGFR3 and PLXNA1). This work supports the importance of NRP-1-associated molecules in circulation to characterize poor prognosis breast cancer and emphasizes on their role as favorable drug targets.
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Hong G, Li H, Li M, Zheng W, Li J, Chi M, Cheng J, Guo Z. A simple way to detect disease-associated cellular molecular alterations from mixed-cell blood samples. Brief Bioinform 2017; 19:613-621. [DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbx009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Guini Hong
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Hongdong Li
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Mengyao Li
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Weicheng Zheng
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Meirong Chi
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Jun Cheng
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Zheng Guo
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
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[Effect of genetics, epigenetics and variations in the transcriptional expression of cadherin-E in breast cancer susceptibility]. BIOMEDICA 2016; 36:593-602. [PMID: 27992986 DOI: 10.7705/biomedica.v36i4.3135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2015] [Revised: 04/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cadherin-E (CDH1) is an important regulator of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion and metastasis in many carcinomas. However, germinal epimutations and mutations effect in breast cancer susceptibility is not clear. OBJECTIVE To evaluate rs334558 polymorphism, promoter methylation status and CDH1 expression profile in breast cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS We collected peripheral blood samples from 102 breast cancer patients and 102 healthy subjects. The identification of rs334558 polymorphism was performed using PCR-RFLP, while methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting (MS-HRM) were used to explore CDH1 methylation status; finally, CDH1 transcriptional expression profile was evaluated using RT-qPCR. RESULTS We found no association between rs334558 polymorphism and breast cancer. Aberrant promoter methylation profile was found in breast cancer patients and it was related with early cancer stages. CDH1 down-regulation was significantly associated with metastasis and promoter methylation. CONCLUSION CDH1 alterations were associated with invasion and metastasis in breast cancer. Our results offer further evidence of CDH1 relevance in breast cancer development and progression.
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Aristizabal-Pachon AF, Carvalho TI, Carrara HH, Andrade J, Takahashi CS. AXIN2 Polymorphisms, the β-Catenin Destruction Complex Expression Profile and Breast Cancer Susceptibility. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2016; 16:7277-84. [PMID: 26514524 DOI: 10.7314/apjcp.2015.16.16.7277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is an important regulator of cellular functions such as proliferation, survival and cell adhesion. Wnt/β-catenin signaling is associated with tumor initiation and progression; β-catenin mutations explain only 30% of aberrant signaling found in breast cancer, indicating that other components and/or regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway may be involved. OBJECTIVE We evaluated AXIN2 rs2240308 and rs151279728 polymorphisms, and expression profiles of β-catenin destruction complex genes in breast cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS We collected peripheral blood samples from 102 breast cancer and 102 healthy subjects. The identification of the genetic variation was performed using PCR-RFLPs and DNA sequencing. RT-qPCR was used to determine expression profiles. RESULTS We found significant association of AXIN2 rs151279728 and rs2240308 polymorphisms with breast cancer risk. Significant increase was observed in AXIN2 level expression in breast cancer patients. Further analyses showed APC, β-catenin, CK1α, GSK3β and PP2A gene expression to be associated to clinic-pathological characteristics. CONCLUSIONS The present study demonstrated, for the first time, that AXIN2 genetic defects and disturbance of β-catenin destruction complex expression may be found in breast cancer patients, providing additional support for roles of Wnt/β-catenin pathway dysfunction in breast cancer tumorigenesis. However, the functional consequences of the genetic alterations remain to be determined.
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Piccolo SR, Hoffman LM, Conner T, Shrestha G, Cohen AL, Marks JR, Neumayer LA, Agarwal CA, Beckerle MC, Andrulis IL, Spira AE, Moos PJ, Buys SS, Johnson WE, Bild AH. Integrative analyses reveal signaling pathways underlying familial breast cancer susceptibility. Mol Syst Biol 2016; 12:860. [PMID: 26969729 PMCID: PMC4812528 DOI: 10.15252/msb.20156506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2015] [Revised: 02/09/2016] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The signaling events that drive familial breast cancer (FBC) risk remain poorly understood. While the majority of genomic studies have focused on genetic risk variants, known risk variants account for at most 30% of FBC cases. Considering that multiple genes may influence FBC risk, we hypothesized that a pathway-based strategy examining different data types from multiple tissues could elucidate the biological basis for FBC. In this study, we performed integrated analyses of gene expression and exome-sequencing data from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and showed that cell adhesion pathways are significantly and consistently dysregulated in women who develop FBC. The dysregulation of cell adhesion pathways in high-risk women was also identified by pathway-based profiling applied to normal breast tissue data from two independent cohorts. The results of our genomic analyses were validated in normal primary mammary epithelial cells from high-risk and control women, using cell-based functional assays, drug-response assays, fluorescence microscopy, and Western blotting assays. Both genomic and cell-based experiments indicate that cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion processes seem to be disrupted in non-malignant cells of women at high risk for FBC and suggest a potential role for these processes in FBC development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen R Piccolo
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Division of Computational Biomedicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
| | - Laura M Hoffman
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | | | - Gajendra Shrestha
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Adam L Cohen
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Department of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Jeffrey R Marks
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Leigh A Neumayer
- Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Cori A Agarwal
- Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Mary C Beckerle
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Irene L Andrulis
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Avrum E Spira
- Division of Computational Biomedicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Philip J Moos
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Saundra S Buys
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Department of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - William Evan Johnson
- Division of Computational Biomedicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Andrea H Bild
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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Tudoran O, Virtic O, Balacescu L, Lisencu C, Fetica B, Gherman C, Balacescu O, Berindan-Neagoe I. Baseline blood immunological profiling differentiates between Her2-breast cancer molecular subtypes: implications for immunomediated mechanisms of treatment response. Onco Targets Ther 2015; 8:3415-23. [PMID: 26604799 PMCID: PMC4655955 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s91720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Breast cancer patients’ response to treatment is highly dependent on the primary tumor molecular features, with triple-negative breast tumors having the worst prognosis of all subtypes. According to the molecular features, tumors stimulate the microenvironment to induce distinct immune responses, baseline immune activation being associated with higher likelihood of pathologic response. In this study, we investigated the deconvolution of the immunological status of triple-negative tumors in comparison with luminal tumors and the association with patients’ clinicopathological characteristics. Patients and methods Gene expression of 84 inflammatory molecules and their receptors were analyzed in 40 peripheral blood samples from patients with Her2− primary breast cancer tumors. We studied the association of triple-negative phenotype with age, clinical stage, tumor size, lymph nodes, and menopausal status. Results We observed that more patients with estrogen (ER)/progesterone (PR)-negative tumors had grade III, while more patients with ER/PR-positive tumors had grade II tumors. Gene expression analysis revealed a panel of 14 genes to have differential expression between the two groups: several interleukins: IL13, IL16, IL17C and IL17F, IL1A, IL3; interleukin receptors: IL10RB, IL5RA; chemokines: CXCL13 and CCL26; and cytokines: CSF2, IFNA2, OSM, TNSF13. Conclusion The expression levels of these genes have been previously shown to be associated with reduced immunological status; indeed, the triple-negative breast cancer patients presented with lower counts of lymphocytes and eosinophils than the ER/PR-positive ones. These results contribute to a better understanding of the possible role of antitumor immune responses in mediating the clinical outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oana Tudoran
- Department of Functional Genomics and Experimental Pathology, The Oncology Institute "Prof Dr Ion Chiricuţă", Cluj-Napoca, Romania ; Research Center for Functional Genomics, Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Oana Virtic
- Research Center for Functional Genomics, Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Loredana Balacescu
- Department of Functional Genomics and Experimental Pathology, The Oncology Institute "Prof Dr Ion Chiricuţă", Cluj-Napoca, Romania ; Research Center for Functional Genomics, Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | | | - Bogdan Fetica
- Department of Pathology, The Oncology Institute "Prof Dr Ion Chiricuţă", Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Claudia Gherman
- Department of Functional Genomics and Experimental Pathology, The Oncology Institute "Prof Dr Ion Chiricuţă", Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Ovidiu Balacescu
- Department of Functional Genomics and Experimental Pathology, The Oncology Institute "Prof Dr Ion Chiricuţă", Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Ioana Berindan-Neagoe
- Department of Functional Genomics and Experimental Pathology, The Oncology Institute "Prof Dr Ion Chiricuţă", Cluj-Napoca, Romania ; Research Center for Functional Genomics, Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania ; Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Hu D, Gur M, Zhou Z, Gamper A, Hung MC, Fujita N, Lan L, Bahar I, Wan Y. Interplay between arginine methylation and ubiquitylation regulates KLF4-mediated genome stability and carcinogenesis. Nat Commun 2015; 6:8419. [PMID: 26420673 PMCID: PMC4598737 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
KLF4 is an important regulator of cell-fate decision, including DNA damage response and apoptosis. We identify a novel interplay between protein modifications in regulating KLF4 function. Here we show that arginine methylation of KLF4 by PRMT5 inhibits KLF4 ubiquitylation by VHL and thereby reduces KLF4 turnover, resulting in the elevation of KLF4 protein levels concomitant with increased transcription of KLF4-dependent p21 and reduced expression of KLF4-repressed Bax. Structure-based modelling and simulations provide insight into the molecular mechanisms of KLF4 recognition and catalysis by PRMT5. Following genotoxic stress, disruption of PRMT5-mediated KLF4 methylation leads to abrogation of KLF4 accumulation, which, in turn, attenuates cell cycle arrest. Mutating KLF4 methylation sites suppresses breast tumour initiation and progression, and immunohistochemical stain shows increased levels of both KLF4 and PRMT5 in breast cancer tissues. Taken together, our results point to a critical role for aberrant KLF4 regulation by PRMT5 in genome stability and breast carcinogenesis. Krüppel-like factor 4 plays an important role in regulating responses to DNA damage, cell-fate decision and apoptosis. Here the authors show that aberrant regulation by methyltransferase PRMT5 results in failure to arrest the cell cycle and genome instability, pointing to a role in carcinogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Hu
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.,University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Mert Gur
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Zhuan Zhou
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.,University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Armin Gamper
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.,University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Mien-Chie Hung
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Center for Molecular Medicine and Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology, China Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
| | - Naoya Fujita
- Cancer Chemotherapy Center, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan
| | - Li Lan
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Ivet Bahar
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Yong Wan
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.,University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
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Gross ME. Blood-based gene expression profiling in castrate-resistant prostate cancer. BMC Med 2015; 13:219. [PMID: 26365516 PMCID: PMC4568585 DOI: 10.1186/s12916-015-0463-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2015] [Accepted: 08/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), the most life-threatening form of prostate cancer, has recently been the focus of many successful new treatments. Contemporary trials highlight the heterogeneous prognosis of CRPC as overall survival times vary greatly across different patient sub-groups. As presented in BMC Medicine, Wang et al. identify a blood-based prognostic signature in CRPC. Their approach is notable for discovery and validation of a four-gene model based on a whole-blood expression signature sampled from three distinct clinical cohorts. Further, the marker selection process incorporates an understanding of biological pathways expressed in myeloid or lymphoid cells which may provide some insight into host-tumor interactions as reflected in the peripheral blood. While the study includes a multivariate analysis accounting for many important clinical variables, larger datasets with more complete clinical information and sufficient follow-up are needed to confirm the independent significance of the four-gene expression model in a way which may better inform the care of CRPC patients.Please see related article: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/13/201 .
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell E Gross
- Center for Applied Molecular Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 9033 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 300, Beverly Hills, CA, 90211, USA.
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