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Lee AV, Nestler KA, Chiappinelli KB. Therapeutic targeting of DNA methylation alterations in cancer. Pharmacol Ther 2024; 258:108640. [PMID: 38570075 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2024.108640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
DNA methylation is a critical component of gene regulation and plays an important role in the development of cancer. Hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes and silencing of DNA repair pathways facilitate uncontrolled cell growth and synergize with oncogenic mutations to perpetuate cancer phenotypes. Additionally, aberrant DNA methylation hinders immune responses crucial for antitumor immunity. Thus, inhibiting dysregulated DNA methylation is a promising cancer therapy. Pharmacologic inhibition of DNA methylation reactivates silenced tumor suppressors and bolster immune responses through induction of viral mimicry. Now, with the advent of immunotherapies and discovery of the immune-modulatory effects of DNA methylation inhibitors, there is great interest in understanding how targeting DNA methylation in combination with other therapies can enhance antitumor immunity. Here, we describe the role of aberrant DNA methylation in cancer and mechanisms by which it promotes tumorigenesis and modulates immune responses. Finally, we review the initial discoveries and ongoing efforts to target DNA methylation as a cancer therapeutic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail V Lee
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Kevin A Nestler
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Katherine B Chiappinelli
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
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Huang H, Cao W, Long Z, Kuang L, Li X, Feng Y, Wu Y, Zhao Y, Chen Y, Sun P, Peng P, Zhang J, Yuan L, Li T, Hu H, Li G, Yang L, Zhang X, Hu F, Sun X, Hu D. DNA methylation-based patterns for early diagnostic prediction and prognostic evaluation in colorectal cancer patients with high tumor mutation burden. Front Oncol 2023; 12:1030335. [PMID: 36713578 PMCID: PMC9880489 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1030335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has proven to be a promising treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC). We aim to investigate the relationship between DNA methylation and tumor mutation burden (TMB) by integrating genomic and epigenetic profiles to precisely identify clinical benefit populations and to evaluate the effect of ICI therapy. Methods A total of 536 CRC tissues from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) with mutation data were collected and subjected to calculate TMB. 80 CRC patients with high TMB and paired normal tissues were selected as training sets and developed the diagnostic and prognostic methylation models, respectively. In the validation set, the diagnostic model was validated in our in-house 47 CRC tissues and 122 CRC tissues from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets, respectively. And a total of 38 CRC tissues with high TMB from the COLONOMICS dataset verified the prognostic model. Results A positive correlation between differential methylation positions and TMB level was observed in TCGA CRC cohort (r=0.45). The diagnostic score that consisted of methylation levels of four genes (ADHFE1, DOK6, GPR75, and MAP3K14-AS1) showed high diagnostic performance in the discovery (AUC=1.000) and two independent validation (AUC=0.946, AUC=0.857) datasets. Additionally, these four genes showed significant positive correlations with NK cells. The prognostic score containing three genes (POU3F3, SYN2, and TMEM178A) had significantly poorer survival in the high-risk TMB samples than those in the low-risk TMB samples (P=0.016). CRC patients with low-risk scores combined with TMB levels represent a favorable survival. Conclusions By integrating analyses of methylation and mutation data, it is suggested that DNA methylation patterns combined with TMB serve as a novel potential biomarker for early screening in more high-TMB populations and for evaluating the prognostic effect of CRC patients with ICI therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Huang
- Department of General Practice, The Affiliated Luohu Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Weifan Cao
- Department of General Practice, The Affiliated Luohu Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Zhiping Long
- Department of Epidemiology, Public Health School of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Lei Kuang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xi Li
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yifei Feng
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yuying Wu
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yang Zhao
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yinggang Chen
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shenzhen Hospital, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Shenzhen, China
| | - Peng Sun
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shenzhen Hospital, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Shenzhen, China
| | - Panxin Peng
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shenzhen Hospital, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jinli Zhang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Lijun Yuan
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Tianze Li
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Huifang Hu
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Gairui Li
- Department of Chronic Disease Control and Prevention, Shenzhen Nanshan Center for Chronic Disease Control, Shenzhen, China
| | - Longkun Yang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Environment Factors and Cancer, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xing Zhang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Environment Factors and Cancer, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Fulan Hu
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China,*Correspondence: Dongsheng Hu, ; Xizhuo Sun, ; Fulan Hu,
| | - Xizhuo Sun
- Department of General Practice, The Affiliated Luohu Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China,*Correspondence: Dongsheng Hu, ; Xizhuo Sun, ; Fulan Hu,
| | - Dongsheng Hu
- Department of General Practice, The Affiliated Luohu Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China,Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China,*Correspondence: Dongsheng Hu, ; Xizhuo Sun, ; Fulan Hu,
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Meta-Analysis of the Prognostic and Predictive Role of the CpG Island Methylator Phenotype in Colorectal Cancer. DISEASE MARKERS 2022; 2022:4254862. [PMID: 36157209 PMCID: PMC9499813 DOI: 10.1155/2022/4254862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Background Various studies have produced contradictory results on the prognostic role of the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) among colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Although a meta-analysis published in 2014 reported a worse prognosis of CIMP among CIMP-high (CIMP-H) CRC patients, the sample sizes of the major included studies were small. In this study, we included the most recent studies with large sample sizes and performed an updated meta-analysis on the relationship between CIMP and CRC prognosis. Methods A search of MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane for studies related to CIMP and CRC published until July 2021 was conducted based on the PICO (participant, intervention, control, outcome) framework. Data extraction and literature analyses were performed according to PRISMA standards. Results In the present update, 36 eligible studies (20 recently published) reported survival data in 15315 CRC patients, 18.3% of whom were characterized as CIMP-H. Pooled analysis suggested that CIMP-H was associated with poorer overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.26–1.48) and disease-free survival/progression-free survival/recurrence-free survival (DFS/PFS/RFS) (HR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.19–1.91) among CRC patients. Subgroup analysis based on tumor stage and DNA mismatch repair (MMR) status showed that only patients with stages III-IV and proficient MMR (pMMR) tumors showed a significant association between CIMP-H and shorter OS, with HRs of 1.52 and 1.37, respectively. Three studies were pooled to explore the predictive value of CIMP on CRC patient DFS after receiving postoperative chemotherapy, and no significant correlation was found. Conclusion CIMP-H is associated with a significantly poor prognosis in CRC patients, especially those with stage III-IV and pMMR tumors. However, the predictive value of CIMP needs to be confirmed by more prospective randomized studies.
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Rosati G, Aprile G, Colombo A, Cordio S, Giampaglia M, Cappetta A, Porretto CM, De Stefano A, Bilancia D, Avallone A. Colorectal Cancer Heterogeneity and the Impact on Precision Medicine and Therapy Efficacy. Biomedicines 2022; 10:1035. [PMID: 35625772 PMCID: PMC9138254 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10051035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Novel targeted therapies for metastatic colorectal cancer are needed to personalize treatments by guiding specific biomarkers selected on the genetic profile of patients. RAS and BRAF inhibitors have been developed for patients who become unresponsive to standard therapies. Sotorasib and adagrasib showed promising results in phase I/II basket trial and a phase III trial was planned with a combination of these RAS inhibitors and anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies. Encorafenib and binimetinib were administered in phase II clinical trials for BRAF mutated patients. Pembrolizumab is now recommended in patients exhibiting microsatellite instability. Larotrectinib and entrectinib showed a fast and durable response with few and reversible adverse events in cases with NTRK fusions. Trastuzumab and trastuzumab deruxtecan exhibited promising and durable activity in HER-2-positive patients. In this review, the reasons for an extension of the molecular profile of patients were assessed and placed in the context of the advancements in the understanding of genetics. We highlight the differential effect of new targeted therapies through an ever-deeper characterization of tumor tissue. An overview of ongoing clinical trials is also provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo Rosati
- Medical Oncology Unit, “S. Carlo” Hospital, 85100 Potenza, Italy; (M.G.); (D.B.)
| | - Giuseppe Aprile
- Department of Oncology, “San Bortolo” General Hospital, Azienda ULSS8 Berica, 36100 Vicenza, Italy; (G.A.); (A.C.)
| | - Alfredo Colombo
- Medical Oncology Unit, CDC Macchiarella, 90138 Palermo, Italy; (A.C.); (C.M.P.)
| | - Stefano Cordio
- Medical Oncology Unit, “Maria Paternò Arezzo” Hospital, 97100 Ragusa, Italy;
| | - Marianna Giampaglia
- Medical Oncology Unit, “S. Carlo” Hospital, 85100 Potenza, Italy; (M.G.); (D.B.)
| | - Alessandro Cappetta
- Department of Oncology, “San Bortolo” General Hospital, Azienda ULSS8 Berica, 36100 Vicenza, Italy; (G.A.); (A.C.)
| | | | - Alfonso De Stefano
- Experimental Clinical Abdominal Oncology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS-Fondazione “G. Pascale”, 80121 Napoli, Italy;
| | - Domenico Bilancia
- Medical Oncology Unit, “S. Carlo” Hospital, 85100 Potenza, Italy; (M.G.); (D.B.)
| | - Antonio Avallone
- Experimental Clinical Abdominal Oncology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS-Fondazione “G. Pascale”, 80121 Napoli, Italy;
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Seo MK, Kang H, Kim S. Tumor microenvironment-aware, single-transcriptome prediction of microsatellite instability in colorectal cancer using meta-analysis. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6283. [PMID: 35428835 PMCID: PMC9012745 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10182-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Detecting microsatellite instability (MSI) in colorectal cancers (CRCs) is essential because it is the determinant of treatment strategies, including immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Yet, no attempt has been made to exploit transcriptomic profile and tumor microenvironment (TME) of it to unveil MSI status in CRC. Hence, we developed a novel TME-aware, single-transcriptome predictor of MSI for CRC, called MAP (Microsatellite instability Absolute single sample Predictor). MAP was developed utilizing recursive feature elimination-random forest with 466 CRC samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas, and its performance was validated in independent cohorts, including 1118 samples. MAP showed robustness and predictive power in predicting MSI status in CRC. Additional advantages for MAP were demonstrated through comparative analysis with existing MSI classifier and other cancer types. Our novel approach will provide access to untouched vast amounts of publicly available transcriptomic data and widen the door for MSI CRC research and be useful for gaining insights to help with translational medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mi-Kyoung Seo
- Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, South Korea
| | - Hyundeok Kang
- Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, South Korea
| | - Sangwoo Kim
- Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, South Korea.
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MicroRNA expression is deregulated by aberrant methylation in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia mouse model. Mol Biol Rep 2022; 49:1731-1739. [PMID: 35001247 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-021-06982-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the serum of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) patients is abnormal. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Recent studies indicate that the methylation state of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is different between cancer patients and healthy individuals. Therefore, we speculate that abnormal expression of miRNA may be associated with cfDNA methylation. METHODS A green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeled B-ALL transplantation animal model was established to explore the relationship between the miRNA expression and cfDNA methylation of the related gene. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression levels of miRNAs. Further, cfDNA methylation levels of the related genes were evaluated through bisulfite sequencing polymerase chain reaction (BSP). RESULTS The expression levels of miR-196b, miR-203, miR-34a-5p, miR-335-3p, miR-34b-5p, miR-615, miR-375-3p and miR-193b-5p in the serum of the model mice were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The methylation level of miR-196b promoter in cfDNA of the model group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05), whereas no significant difference was noted in miR-203 promoter. The methylation levels of miR-196b and miR-203 coding region in cfDNA of the model group were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS These results showed that CpG island hypermethylation in the miRNA coding region of cfDNA is related to the low expression of miR-196b and miR-203.
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Yates J, Boeva V. Deciphering the etiology and role in oncogenic transformation of the CpG island methylator phenotype: a pan-cancer analysis. Brief Bioinform 2022; 23:6520307. [PMID: 35134107 PMCID: PMC8921629 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbab610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous cancer types have shown to present hypermethylation of CpG islands, also known as a CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), often associated with survival variation. Despite extensive research on CIMP, the etiology of this variability remains elusive, possibly due to lack of consistency in defining CIMP. In this work, we utilize a pan-cancer approach to further explore CIMP, focusing on 26 cancer types profiled in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We defined CIMP systematically and agnostically, discarding any effects associated with age, gender or tumor purity. We then clustered samples based on their most variable DNA methylation values and analyzed resulting patient groups. Our results confirmed the existence of CIMP in 19 cancers, including gliomas and colorectal cancer. We further showed that CIMP was associated with survival differences in eight cancer types and, in five, represented a prognostic biomarker independent of clinical factors. By analyzing genetic and transcriptomic data, we further uncovered potential drivers of CIMP and classified them in four categories: mutations in genes directly involved in DNA demethylation; mutations in histone methyltransferases; mutations in genes not involved in methylation turnover, such as KRAS and BRAF; and microsatellite instability. Among the 19 CIMP-positive cancers, very few shared potential driver events, and those drivers were only IDH1 and SETD2 mutations. Finally, we found that CIMP was strongly correlated with tumor microenvironment characteristics, such as lymphocyte infiltration. Overall, our results indicate that CIMP does not exhibit a pan-cancer manifestation; rather, general dysregulation of CpG DNA methylation is caused by heterogeneous mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephine Yates
- Institute for Machine Learning, Department of Computer Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich 8092, Switzerland
| | - Valentina Boeva
- Institute for Machine Learning, Department of Computer Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich 8092, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute for Bioinformatics (SIB), Zürich, Switzerland.,Cochin Institute, Inserm U1016, CNRS UMR 8104, Paris Descartes University UMR-S1016, Paris 75014, France
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