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Fonsi M, Fulbert J, Billat PA, Arbitrio M, Tagliaferri P, Tassone P, Di Martino MT. Scaling approaches for the prediction of human clearance of LNA-i-mir-221: A retrospective validation. CURRENT RESEARCH IN PHARMACOLOGY AND DRUG DISCOVERY 2024; 7:100197. [PMID: 39188553 PMCID: PMC11345919 DOI: 10.1016/j.crphar.2024.100197] [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: 01/25/2024] [Revised: 07/08/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 08/28/2024] Open
Abstract
LNA-i-miR-221 is a novel microRNA(miRNA)-221 inhibitor designed for the treatment of human malignancies. It has recently undergone phase 1 clinical trial (P1CT) and early pharmacokinetics (PKs) data in cancer patients are now available. We previously used multiple allometric interspecies scaling methods to draw inferences about LNA-i-miR-221 PKs in humans and estimated the patient dose based on the safe and pharmacodynamic (PD) active dose observed in mice, therefore providing a framework for the definition of safe starting and escalation doses for the P1CT. The preliminary data collected during the P1CT showed that the LNA-i-miR-221 anticipated doses, according to our human PK estimation approach, were indeed well tolerated and effective. PD data demonstrated concentration-dependent downregulation of miR-221 and upregulation of its CDKN1B/p27 and PTEN canonical targets as well as stable disease in 8 (50.0%) patients and partial response in 1 (6.3%) colorectal cancer case. Here, we detail the experimentally evaluated PK parameters of LNA-i-miR-221 in human, using both a non-compartmental and a population PKs approach. The population approach was adequately described by a three-compartments model with first-order elimination. The recorded age, sex and body weight of patients were evaluated as potential covariates. The estimated typical population parameter values were clearance (CL = 200 mL/h/kg), central volume of distribution (V1 = 45 mL/kg), peripheral volume of distribution (V2 = 200 mL/kg, volume of the second peripheral compartment V3 = 930 mL/h/kg) and inter-compartmental clearance (Q2 = 480 mL/h/kg and Q3 = 68 mL/h/kg). Age was found to be a predictor of Q3, with a statistically significant correlation. This work aimed also at retrospectively comparing the measured plasmatic clearance values with those predicted by different allometric scaling approaches. Our comparative analysis showed that the most accurate prediction was achieved by applying the single species allometric scaling approach and that the use of more than one species in allometric scaling to predict therapeutic oligonucleotides PKs would not necessarily generate the best prediction. Finally, our predictive approach was found accurate not only in predicting the main PK parameters in human but suggesting the range of effective and safe dose to be applied in the next clinic phase 2.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Mariamena Arbitrio
- Institute of Research and Biomedical Innovation (IRIB), Italian National Council (CNR), 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Pierosandro Tagliaferri
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Pierfrancesco Tassone
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Maria Teresa Di Martino
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
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Anuntakarun S, Khamjerm J, Tangkijvanich P, Chuaypen N. Classification of Long Non-Coding RNAs s Between Early and Late Stage of Liver Cancers From Non-coding RNA Profiles Using Machine-Learning Approach. Bioinform Biol Insights 2024; 18:11779322241258586. [PMID: 38846329 PMCID: PMC11155358 DOI: 10.1177/11779322241258586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are RNA sequences greater than 200 nucleotides in length, play a crucial role in regulating gene expression and biological processes associated with cancer development and progression. Liver cancer is a major cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, notably in Thailand. Although machine learning has been extensively used in analyzing RNA-sequencing data for advanced knowledge, the identification of potential lncRNA biomarkers for cancer, particularly focusing on lncRNAs as molecular biomarkers in liver cancer, remains comparatively limited. In this study, our objective was to identify candidate lncRNAs in liver cancer. We employed an expression data set of lncRNAs from patients with liver cancer, which comprised 40 699 lncRNAs sourced from The CancerLivER database. Various feature selection methods and machine-learning approaches were used to identify these candidate lncRNAs. The results showed that the random forest algorithm could predict lncRNAs using features extracted from the database, which achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.840 for classifying lncRNAs between early (stage 1) and late stages (stages 2, 3, and 4) of liver cancer. Five of 23 significant lncRNAs (WAC-AS1, MAPKAPK5-AS1, ARRDC1-AS1, AC133528.2, and RP11-1094M14.11) were differentially expressed between early and late stage of liver cancer. Based on the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database, higher expression of WAC-AS1, MAPKAPK5-AS1, and ARRDC1-AS1 was associated with shorter overall survival. In conclusion, the classification model could predict the early and late stages of liver cancer using the signature expression of lncRNA genes. The identified lncRNAs might be used as early diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for patients with liver cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songtham Anuntakarun
- Center of Excellence in Hepatitis and Liver Cancer, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Jakkrit Khamjerm
- Center of Excellence in Hepatitis and Liver Cancer, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Biomedical Engineering Program, Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Pisit Tangkijvanich
- Center of Excellence in Hepatitis and Liver Cancer, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Natthaya Chuaypen
- Center of Excellence in Hepatitis and Liver Cancer, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
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Vizza P, Aracri F, Guzzi PH, Gaspari M, Veltri P, Tradigo G. Machine learning pipeline to analyze clinical and proteomics data: experiences on a prostate cancer case. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2024; 24:93. [PMID: 38584282 PMCID: PMC11000316 DOI: 10.1186/s12911-024-02491-6] [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: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Proteomic-based analysis is used to identify biomarkers in blood samples and tissues. Data produced by devices such as mass spectrometry requires platforms to identify and quantify proteins (or peptides). Clinical information can be related to mass spectrometry data to identify diseases at an early stage. Machine learning techniques can be used to support physicians and biologists in studying and classifying pathologies. We present the application of machine learning techniques to define a pipeline aimed at studying and classifying proteomics data enriched using clinical information. The pipeline allows users to relate established blood biomarkers with clinical parameters and proteomics data. The proposed pipeline entails three main phases: (i) feature selection, (ii) models training, and (iii) models ensembling. We report the experience of applying such a pipeline to prostate-related diseases. Models have been trained on several biological datasets. We report experimental results about two datasets that result from the integration of clinical and mass spectrometry-based data in the contexts of serum and urine analysis. The pipeline receives input data from blood analytes, tissue samples, proteomic analysis, and urine biomarkers. It then trains different models for feature selection, classification and voting. The presented pipeline has been applied on two datasets obtained in a 2 years research project which aimed to extract hidden information from mass spectrometry, serum, and urine samples from hundreds of patients. We report results on analyzing prostate datasets serum with 143 samples, including 79 PCa and 84 BPH patients, and an urine dataset with 121 samples, including 67 PCa and 54 BPH patients. As results pipeline allowed to identify interesting peptides in the two datasets, 6 for the first one and 2 for the second one. The best model for both serum (AUC=0.87, Accuracy=0.83, F1=0.81, Sensitivity=0.84, Specificity=0.81) and urine (AUC=0.88, Accuracy=0.83, F1=0.83, Sensitivity=0.85, Specificity=0.80) datasets showed good predictive performances. We made the pipeline code available on GitHub and we are confident that it will be successfully adopted in similar clinical setups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrizia Vizza
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, Magna Græcia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Federica Aracri
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, Magna Græcia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.
| | - Pietro Hiram Guzzi
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, Magna Græcia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Marco Gaspari
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Pierangelo Veltri
- Department of Computers, Modeling, Electronics and Systems Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Tradigo
- Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, eCampus University, 22060, Novedrate, CO, Italy
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Navarro Ledesma S, Hamed-Hamed D, González-Muñoz A, Pruimboom L. Effectiveness of Treatments That Alter Metabolomics in Cancer Patients-A Systematic Review. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:4297. [PMID: 37686573 PMCID: PMC10486463 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15174297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, with the most frequent being breast cancer in women, prostate cancer in men and colon cancer in both sexes. The use of metabolomics to find new biomarkers can provide knowledge about possible interventions based on the presence of oncometabolites in different cancer types. OBJECTIVES The primary purpose of this review is to analyze the characteristic metabolome of three of the most frequent cancer types. We further want to identify the existence and success rate of metabolomics-based intervention in patients suffering from those cancer types. Our conclusions are based on the analysis of the methodological quality of the studies. METHODS We searched for studies that investigated the metabolomic characteristics in patients suffering from breast cancer, prostate cancer or colon cancer in clinical trials. The data were analyzed, as well as the effects of specific interventions based on identified metabolomics and one or more oncometabolites. The used databases were PubMed, Virtual Health Library, Web of Science, EBSCO and Cochrane Library. Only nine studies met the selection criteria. Study bias was analyzed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. This systematic review protocol was registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO: CRD42023401474). RESULTS Only nine studies about clinical trials were included in this review and show a moderate quality of evidence. Metabolomics-based interventions related with disease outcome were conflictive with no or small changes in the metabolic characteristics of the different cancer types. CONCLUSIONS This systematic review shows some interesting results related with metabolomics-based interventions and their effects on changes in certain cancer oncometabolites. The small number of studies we identified which fulfilled our inclusion criteria in this systematic review does not allow us to draw definitive conclusions. Nevertheless, some results can be considered as promising although further research is needed. That research must focus not only on the presence of possible oncometabolites but also on possible metabolomics-based interventions and their influence on the outcome in patients suffering from breast cancer, prostate cancer or colon cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santiago Navarro Ledesma
- Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Campus of Melilla, University of Granada, Querol Street 5, 52004 Melilla, Spain; (D.H.-H.); (A.G.-M.)
- Department of Physiotherapy, University Chair in Clinical Psychoneuroimmunology, University of Granada and PNI Europe, 52004 Melilla, Spain;
| | - Dina Hamed-Hamed
- Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Campus of Melilla, University of Granada, Querol Street 5, 52004 Melilla, Spain; (D.H.-H.); (A.G.-M.)
| | - Ana González-Muñoz
- Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Campus of Melilla, University of Granada, Querol Street 5, 52004 Melilla, Spain; (D.H.-H.); (A.G.-M.)
| | - Leo Pruimboom
- Department of Physiotherapy, University Chair in Clinical Psychoneuroimmunology, University of Granada and PNI Europe, 52004 Melilla, Spain;
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5
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Wang X, Chen C, Yan J, Xu Y, Pan D, Wang L, Yang M. Druggability of Targets for Diagnostic Radiopharmaceuticals. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2023; 6:1107-1119. [PMID: 37588760 PMCID: PMC10425999 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.3c00081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Targets play an indispensable and pivotal role in the development of radiopharmaceuticals. However, the initial stages of drug discovery projects are often plagued by frequent failures due to inadequate information on druggability and suboptimal target selection. In this context, we aim to present a comprehensive review of the factors that influence target druggability for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals. Specifically, we explore the crucial determinants of target specificity, abundance, localization, and positivity rate and their respective implications. Through a detailed analysis of existing protein targets, we elucidate the significance of each factor. By carefully considering and balancing these factors during the selection of targets, more efficacious and targeted radiopharmaceuticals are expected to be designed for the diagnosis of a wide range of diseases in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyu Wang
- NHC
Key Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular
Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Institute of Nuclear
Medicine, Wuxi 214063, PR China
- School
of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, PR China
| | - Chongyang Chen
- NHC
Key Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular
Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Institute of Nuclear
Medicine, Wuxi 214063, PR China
| | - Junjie Yan
- NHC
Key Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular
Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Institute of Nuclear
Medicine, Wuxi 214063, PR China
- School
of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, PR China
| | - Yuping Xu
- NHC
Key Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular
Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Institute of Nuclear
Medicine, Wuxi 214063, PR China
- School
of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, PR China
| | - Donghui Pan
- NHC
Key Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular
Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Institute of Nuclear
Medicine, Wuxi 214063, PR China
| | - Lizhen Wang
- NHC
Key Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular
Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Institute of Nuclear
Medicine, Wuxi 214063, PR China
| | - Min Yang
- NHC
Key Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular
Nuclear Medicine, Jiangsu Institute of Nuclear
Medicine, Wuxi 214063, PR China
- School
of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, PR China
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6
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Ascrizzi S, Arillotta GM, Grillone K, Caridà G, Signorelli S, Ali A, Romeo C, Tassone P, Tagliaferri P. Lynch Syndrome Biopathology and Treatment: The Potential Role of microRNAs in Clinical Practice. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:3930. [PMID: 37568746 PMCID: PMC10417124 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15153930] [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: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Lynch syndrome (LS), also known as Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC), is an autosomal dominant cancer syndrome which causes about 2-3% of cases of colorectal carcinoma. The development of LS is due to the genetic and epigenetic inactivation of genes involved in the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) system, causing an epiphenomenon known as microsatellite instability (MSI). Despite the fact that the genetics of the vast majority of MSI-positive (MSI+) cancers can be explained, the etiology of this specific subset is still poorly understood. As a possible new mechanism, it has been recently demonstrated that the overexpression of certain microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs), such as miR-155, miR-21, miR-137, can induce MSI or modulate the expression of the genes involved in LS pathogenesis. MiRNAs are small RNA molecules that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level by playing a critical role in the modulation of key oncogenic pathways. Increasing evidence of the link between MSI and miRNAs in LS prompted a deeper investigation into the miRNome involved in these diseases. In this regard, in this study, we discuss the emerging role of miRNAs as crucial players in the onset and progression of LS as well as their potential use as disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets in the current view of precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Ascrizzi
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy; (S.A.); (G.M.A.); (K.G.); (G.C.); (S.S.); (A.A.); (C.R.); (P.T.)
| | - Grazia Maria Arillotta
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy; (S.A.); (G.M.A.); (K.G.); (G.C.); (S.S.); (A.A.); (C.R.); (P.T.)
| | - Katia Grillone
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy; (S.A.); (G.M.A.); (K.G.); (G.C.); (S.S.); (A.A.); (C.R.); (P.T.)
| | - Giulio Caridà
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy; (S.A.); (G.M.A.); (K.G.); (G.C.); (S.S.); (A.A.); (C.R.); (P.T.)
| | - Stefania Signorelli
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy; (S.A.); (G.M.A.); (K.G.); (G.C.); (S.S.); (A.A.); (C.R.); (P.T.)
| | - Asad Ali
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy; (S.A.); (G.M.A.); (K.G.); (G.C.); (S.S.); (A.A.); (C.R.); (P.T.)
| | - Caterina Romeo
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy; (S.A.); (G.M.A.); (K.G.); (G.C.); (S.S.); (A.A.); (C.R.); (P.T.)
| | - Pierfrancesco Tassone
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy; (S.A.); (G.M.A.); (K.G.); (G.C.); (S.S.); (A.A.); (C.R.); (P.T.)
- Medical Oncology and Translational Medical Oncology Units, University Hospital Renato Dulbecco, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Pierosandro Tagliaferri
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy; (S.A.); (G.M.A.); (K.G.); (G.C.); (S.S.); (A.A.); (C.R.); (P.T.)
- Medical Oncology and Translational Medical Oncology Units, University Hospital Renato Dulbecco, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
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Lomoio U, Puccio B, Tradigo G, Guzzi PH, Veltri P. SARS-CoV-2 protein structure and sequence mutations: Evolutionary analysis and effects on virus variants. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0283400. [PMID: 37471335 PMCID: PMC10358949 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The structure and sequence of proteins strongly influence their biological functions. New models and algorithms can help researchers in understanding how the evolution of sequences and structures is related to changes in functions. Recently, studies of SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein structures have been performed to predict binding receptors and infection activity in COVID-19, hence the scientific interest in the effects of virus mutations due to sequence, structure and vaccination arises. However, there is the need for models and tools to study the links between the evolution of S protein sequence, structure and functions, and virus transmissibility and the effects of vaccination. As studies on S protein have been generated a large amount of relevant information, we propose in this work to use Protein Contact Networks (PCNs) to relate protein structures with biological properties by means of network topology properties. Topological properties are used to compare the structural changes with sequence changes. We find that both node centrality and community extraction analysis can be used to relate protein stability and functionality with sequence mutations. Starting from this we compare structural evolution to sequence changes and study mutations from a temporal perspective focusing on virus variants. Finally by applying our model to the Omicron variant we report a timeline correlation between Omicron and the vaccination campaign.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ugo Lomoio
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Barbara Puccio
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | | | - Pietro Hiram Guzzi
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
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8
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Guzzi PH, Cortese F, Mannino GC, Pedace E, Succurro E, Andreozzi F, Veltri P. Analysis of age-dependent gene-expression in human tissues for studying diabetes comorbidities. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10372. [PMID: 37365269 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37550-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The study of the relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) disease and other pathologies (comorbidities), together with patient age variation, poses a challenge for medical research. There is evidence that patients affected by T2DM are more likely to develop comorbidities as they grow older. Variation of gene expression can be correlated to changes in T2DM comorbidities insurgence and progression. Understanding gene expression changes requires the analysis of large heterogeneous data at different scales as well as the integration of different data sources into network medicine models. Hence, we designed a framework to shed light on uncertainties related to age effects and comorbidity by integrating existing data sources with novel algorithms. The framework is based on integrating and analysing existing data sources under the hypothesis that changes in the basal expression of genes may be responsible for the higher prevalence of comorbidities in older patients. Using the proposed framework, we selected genes related to comorbidities from existing databases, and then analysed their expression with age at the tissues level. We found a set of genes that changes significantly in certain specific tissues over time. We also reconstructed the associated protein interaction networks and the related pathways for each tissue. Using this mechanistic framework, we detected interesting pathways related to T2DM whose genes change their expression with age. We also found many pathways related to insulin regulation and brain activities, which can be used to develop specific therapies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that analyses such genes at the tissue level together with age variations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Hiram Guzzi
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, Magna Graecia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.
| | - Francesca Cortese
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, Magna Graecia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Gaia Chiara Mannino
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, Magna Graecia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Pedace
- Internal Medicine Unit, ASP Catanzaro, Soverato Hospital, Soverato, Italy
| | - Elena Succurro
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, Magna Graecia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
- Internal Medicine Unit, R. Dulbecco Hospital, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Francesco Andreozzi
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, Magna Graecia University, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
- Internal Medicine Unit, R. Dulbecco Hospital, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
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9
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Milano M, Guzzi PH, Cannataro M. Design and Implementation of a New Local Alignment Algorithm for Multilayer Networks. ENTROPY (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 24:1272. [PMID: 36141158 PMCID: PMC9497667 DOI: 10.3390/e24091272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Network alignment (NA) is a popular research field that aims to develop algorithms for comparing networks. Applications of network alignment span many fields, from biology to social network analysis. NA comes in two forms: global network alignment (GNA), which aims to find a global similarity, and LNA, which aims to find local regions of similarity. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in introducing complex network models such as multilayer networks. Multilayer networks are common in many application scenarios, such as modelling of relations among people in a social network or representing the interplay of different molecules in a cell or different cells in the brain. Consequently, the need to introduce algorithms for the comparison of such multilayer networks, i.e., local network alignment, arises. Existing algorithms for LNA do not perform well on multilayer networks since they cannot consider inter-layer edges. Thus, we propose local alignment of multilayer networks (MultiLoAl), a novel algorithm for the local alignment of multilayer networks. We define the local alignment of multilayer networks and propose a heuristic for solving it. We present an extensive assessment indicating the strength of the algorithm. Furthermore, we implemented a synthetic multilayer network generator to build the data for the algorithm's evaluation.
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10
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Zhang W, Cao H, Yang J, Zhao J, Liang Z, Kang X, Wang R. The identification and validation of EphA7 hypermethylation, a novel biomarker, in cervical cancer. BMC Cancer 2022; 22:636. [PMID: 35681118 PMCID: PMC9185921 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-09653-7] [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: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aberrant methylation of EphA7 has been reported in the process of carcinogenesis but not in cervical cancer. Therefore, an integration study was performed to explore the association between EphA7 hypermethylation and cervical cancer and validate the potential value of EphA7 hypermethylation in the diagnosis of cervical cancer. METHODS We performed an integration study to identify and validate the association between EphA7 methylation and cervical cancer. First, data on EphA7 methylation and expression in cervical cancer were extracted and analyzed via bioinformatics tools. Subsequently, CRISPR-based methylation perturbation tools (dCas9-Tet1/DNMT3a) were constructed to further demonstrate the association between DNA methylation and EphA7 expression. Ultimately, the clinical value of EphA7 methylation in cervical cancer was validated in cervical tissues and Thinprep cytologic test (TCT) samples by methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and quantitative methylation-specific PCR (QMSP), respectively. RESULTS Pooled analysis showed that EphA7 promoter methylation levels were significantly increased in cervical cancer compared to normal tissues (P < 0.001) and negatively correlated with EphA7 expression. These prediction results were subsequently confirmed in cell lines; moreover, CRISPR-based methylation perturbation tools (dCas9-Tet1/DNMT3a) demonstrated that DNA methylation participates in the regulation of EphA7 expression directly. Consistent with these findings, the methylation level and the positive rate of EphA7 gradually increased with severity from normal to cancer stages in TCT samples (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS EphA7 hypermethylation is present in cervical cancer and is a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of cervical cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenfan Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Huiling Cao
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Jinhao Yang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Jing Zhao
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Zheng Liang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Xiaodong Kang
- Department of Medical Image, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Rong Wang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
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Di Martino MT, Arbitrio M, Caracciolo D, Cordua A, Cuomo O, Grillone K, Riillo C, Caridà G, Scionti F, Labanca C, Romeo C, Siciliano MA, D'Apolito M, Napoli C, Montesano M, Farenza V, Uppolo V, Tafuni M, Falcone F, D'Aquino G, Calandruccio ND, Luciano F, Pensabene L, Tagliaferri P, Tassone P. miR-221/222 as biomarkers and targets for therapeutic intervention on cancer and other diseases: A systematic review. MOLECULAR THERAPY. NUCLEIC ACIDS 2022; 27:1191-1224. [PMID: 35282417 PMCID: PMC8891816 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2022.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Among deregulated microRNAs (miRs) in human malignancies, miR-221 has been widely investigated for its oncogenic role and as a promising biomarker. Moreover, recent evidence suggests miR-221 as a fine-tuner of chronic liver injury and inflammation-related events. Available information also supports the potential of miR-221 silencing as promising therapeutic intervention. In this systematic review, we selected papers from the principal databases (PubMed, MedLine, Medscape, ASCO, ESMO) between January 2012 and December 2020, using the keywords "miR-221" and the specific keywords related to the most important hematologic and solid malignancies, and some non-malignant diseases, to define and characterize deregulated miR-221 as a valuable therapeutic target in the modern vision of molecular medicine. We found a major role of miR-221 in this view.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mariamena Arbitrio
- Institute for Research and Biomedical Innovation (IRIB), Italian National Council (CNR), Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Daniele Caracciolo
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Alessia Cordua
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Onofrio Cuomo
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Katia Grillone
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Caterina Riillo
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Giulio Caridà
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Francesca Scionti
- Institute for Research and Biomedical Innovation (IRIB), Italian National Council (CNR), Messina, Italy
| | - Caterina Labanca
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Caterina Romeo
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Maria Anna Siciliano
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Maria D'Apolito
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Cristina Napoli
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Martina Montesano
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Valentina Farenza
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Valentina Uppolo
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Michele Tafuni
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Federica Falcone
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Giuseppe D'Aquino
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | | | - Francesco Luciano
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Licia Pensabene
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | | | - Pierfrancesco Tassone
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
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12
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Guzzi PH, Tradigo G, Veltri P. Using dual-network-analyser for communities detecting in dual networks. BMC Bioinformatics 2022; 22:614. [PMID: 35012460 PMCID: PMC8750846 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-022-04564-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Representations of the relationships among data using networks are widely used in several research fields such as computational biology, medical informatics and social network mining. Recently, complex networks have been introduced to better capture the insights of the modelled scenarios. Among others, dual networks (DNs) consist of mapping information as pairs of networks containing the same set of nodes but with different edges: one, called physical network, has unweighted edges, while the other, called conceptual network, has weighted edges. RESULTS We focus on DNs and we propose a tool to find common subgraphs (aka communities) in DNs with particular properties. The tool, called Dual-Network-Analyser, is based on the identification of communities that induce optimal modular subgraphs in the conceptual network and connected subgraphs in the physical one. It includes the Louvain algorithm applied to the considered case. The Dual-Network-Analyser can be used to study DNs, to find common modular communities. We report results on using the tool to identify communities on synthetic DNs as well as real cases in social networks and biological data. CONCLUSION The proposed method has been tested by using synthetic and biological networks. Results demonstrate that it is well able to detect meaningful information from DNs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Hiram Guzzi
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, Magna Graecia University, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | | | - Pierangelo Veltri
- Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences, Magna Graecia University, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
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13
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Risk Alleles for Multiple Myeloma Susceptibility in ADME Genes. Cells 2022; 11:cells11020189. [PMID: 35053305 PMCID: PMC8773885 DOI: 10.3390/cells11020189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2021] [Revised: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The cause of multiple myeloma (MM) remains largely unknown. Several pieces of evidence support the involvement of genetic and multiple environmental factors (i.e., chemical agents) in MM onset. The inter-individual variability in the bioactivation, detoxification, and clearance of chemical carcinogens such as asbestos, benzene, and pesticides might increase the MM risk. This inter-individual variability can be explained by the presence of polymorphic variants in absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) genes. Despite the high relevance of this issue, few studies have focused on the inter-individual variability in ADME genes in MM risk. To identify new MM susceptibility loci, we performed an extended candidate gene approach by comparing high-throughput genotyping data of 1936 markers in 231 ADME genes on 64 MM patients and 59 controls from the CEU population. Differences in genotype and allele frequencies were validated using an internal control group of 35 non-cancer samples from the same geographic area as the patient group. We detected an association between MM risk and ADH1B rs1229984 (OR = 3.78; 95% CI, 1.18–12.13; p = 0.0282), PPARD rs6937483 (OR = 3.27; 95% CI, 1.01–10.56; p = 0.0479), SLC28A1 rs8187737 (OR = 11.33; 95% CI, 1.43–89.59; p = 0.005), SLC28A2 rs1060896 (OR = 6.58; 95% CI, 1.42–30.43; p = 0.0072), SLC29A1 rs8187630 (OR = 3.27; 95% CI, 1.01–10.56; p = 0.0479), and ALDH3A2 rs72547554 (OR = 2.46; 95% CI, 0.64–9.40; p = 0.0293). The prognostic value of these genes in MM was investigated in two public datasets showing that shorter overall survival was associated with low expression of ADH1B and SLC28A1. In conclusion, our proof-of-concept findings provide novel insights into the genetic bases of MM susceptibility.
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14
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Chen L, Zeng H, Xiang Y, Huang Y, Luo Y, Ma X. Histopathological Images and Multi-Omics Integration Predict Molecular Characteristics and Survival in Lung Adenocarcinoma. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:720110. [PMID: 34708036 PMCID: PMC8542778 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.720110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Histopathological images and omics profiles play important roles in prognosis of cancer patients. Here, we extracted quantitative features from histopathological images to predict molecular characteristics and prognosis, and integrated image features with mutations, transcriptomics, and proteomics data for prognosis prediction in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Patients obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were divided into training set (n = 235) and test set (n = 235). We developed machine learning models in training set and estimated their predictive performance in test set. In test set, the machine learning models could predict genetic aberrations: ALK (AUC = 0.879), BRAF (AUC = 0.847), EGFR (AUC = 0.855), ROS1 (AUC = 0.848), and transcriptional subtypes: proximal-inflammatory (AUC = 0.897), proximal-proliferative (AUC = 0.861), and terminal respiratory unit (AUC = 0.894) from histopathological images. Moreover, we obtained tissue microarrays from 316 LUAD patients, including four external validation sets. The prognostic model using image features was predictive of overall survival in test and four validation sets, with 5-year AUCs from 0.717 to 0.825. High-risk and low-risk groups stratified by the model showed different survival in test set (HR = 4.94, p < 0.0001) and three validation sets (HR = 1.64–2.20, p < 0.05). The combination of image features and single omics had greater prognostic power in test set, such as histopathology + transcriptomics model (5-year AUC = 0.840; HR = 7.34, p < 0.0001). Finally, the model integrating image features with multi-omics achieved the best performance (5-year AUC = 0.908; HR = 19.98, p < 0.0001). Our results indicated that the machine learning models based on histopathological image features could predict genetic aberrations, transcriptional subtypes, and survival outcomes of LUAD patients. The integration of histopathological images and multi-omics may provide better survival prediction for LUAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linyan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hao Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yu Xiang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yeqian Huang
- Department of Pathology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuling Luo
- Department of Pathology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xuelei Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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15
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miR-22 Modulates Lenalidomide Activity by Counteracting MYC Addiction in Multiple Myeloma. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13174365. [PMID: 34503175 PMCID: PMC8431372 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13174365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 08/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary MYC-driven deregulation of microRNAs represents a critical event in human malignancies, including multiple myeloma (MM). Although the introduction of new therapeutic strategies has prolonged survival of patients, MM remains an incurable disease, often due to the onset of drug resistance. MYC hyperactivation is involved in the development of resistance to immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMiDs), but the mechanism is still unclear. Here, we report that MYC represses the transcription of tumor suppressor miR-22 in MM, and that low miR-22 expression is associated with IMiD resistance in MM patients. By in silico and in vitro analysis, we show that miR-22 mimics affect MYC signaling, leading to MM cell death in MYC proficient cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate here that lenalidomide treatment enhances miR-22 activity by reducing the MYC inhibitory effect, and that the combination of lenalidomide with miR-22 mimics restores drug sensitivity, leading to synergistic anti-MM activity. Abstract Background: MYC is a master regulator of multiple myeloma (MM) by orchestrating several pro-tumoral pathways, including reprograming of the miRNA transcriptome. MYC is also involved in the acquirement of resistance to anti-MM drugs, including immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMiDs). Methods: In silico analysis was performed on MM proprietary and on public MMRF-CoMMpass datasets. Western blot and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments were performed to validate miR-22 repression induced by MYC. Cell viability and apoptosis assays were used to evaluate lenalidomide sensitization after miR-22 overexpression. Results: We found an inverse correlation between MYC and miR-22 expression, which is associated with poor outcome in IMiD-treated MM patients. Mechanistically, we showed that MYC represses transcription of miR-22, which, in turn, targets MYC, thus establishing a feed-forward loop. Interestingly, we found that IMiD lenalidomide increases miR-22 expression by reducing MYC repression and, most importantly, that the combination of lenalidomide with miR-22 mimics results in a synergistic direct and NK-mediated cytotoxic activity. Conclusions: Taken together, our findings indicate that: (1) low miR-22 expression could represent a potential predictive biomarker of poor lenalidomide response in MM patients; and (2) miR-22 reduces MYC oncogenic activity, thus triggering a novel synthetic lethality loop, which sensitizes MM cells to lenalidomide.
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16
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miRNAs and lncRNAs as Novel Therapeutic Targets to Improve Cancer Immunotherapy. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13071587. [PMID: 33808190 PMCID: PMC8036682 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13071587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 03/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Cancer onset and progression are promoted by high deregulation of the immune system. Recently, major advances in molecular and clinical cancer immunology have been achieved, offering new agents for the treatment of common tumors, often with astonishing benefits in terms of prolonged survival and even cure. Unfortunately, most tumors are still resistant to current immune therapy approaches, and basic knowledge of the resistance mechanisms is eagerly awaited. We focused our attention on noncoding RNAs, a class of RNA that regulates many biological processes by targeting selectively crucial molecular pathways and that, recently, had their role in cancer cell immune escape and modulation of the tumor microenvironment identified, suggesting their function as promising immunotherapeutic targets. In this scenario, we point out that noncoding RNAs are progressively emerging as immunoregulators, and we depict the current information on the complex network involving the immune system and noncoding RNAs and the promising therapeutic options under investigation. Novel opportunities are emerging from noncoding-RNAs for the treatment of immune-refractory tumors. Abstract Immunotherapy is presently one of the most promising areas of investigation and development for the treatment of cancer. While immune checkpoint-blocking monoclonal antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell-based therapy have recently provided in some cases valuable therapeutic options, the goal of cure has not yet been achieved for most malignancies and more efforts are urgently needed. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNA), including microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), regulate several biological processes via selective targeting of crucial molecular signaling pathways. Recently, the key roles of miRNA and lncRNAs as regulators of the immune-response in cancer have progressively emerged, since they may act (i) by shaping the intrinsic tumor cell and microenvironment (TME) properties; (ii) by regulating angiogenesis, immune-escape, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, invasion, and drug resistance; and (iii) by acting as potential biomarkers for prognostic assessment and prediction of response to immunotherapy. In this review, we provide an overview on the role of ncRNAs in modulating the immune response and the TME. We discuss the potential use of ncRNAs as potential biomarkers or as targets for development or clinical translation of new therapeutics. Finally, we discuss the potential combinatory approaches based on ncRNA targeting agents and tumor immune-checkpoint inhibitor antibodies or CAR-T for the experimental treatment of human cancer.
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17
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Caracciolo D, Riillo C, Di Martino MT, Tagliaferri P, Tassone P. Alternative Non-Homologous End-Joining: Error-Prone DNA Repair as Cancer's Achilles' Heel. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13061392. [PMID: 33808562 PMCID: PMC8003480 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13061392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Cancer onset and progression lead to a high rate of DNA damage, due to replicative and metabolic stress. To survive in this dangerous condition, cancer cells switch the DNA repair machinery from faithful systems to error-prone pathways, strongly increasing the mutational rate that, in turn, supports the disease progression and drug resistance. Although DNA repair de-regulation boosts genomic instability, it represents, at the same time, a critical cancer vulnerability that can be exploited for synthetic lethality-based therapeutic intervention. We here discuss the role of the error-prone DNA repair, named Alternative Non-Homologous End Joining (Alt-NHEJ), as inducer of genomic instability and as a potential therapeutic target. We portray different strategies to drug Alt-NHEJ and discuss future challenges for selecting patients who could benefit from Alt-NHEJ inhibition, with the aim of precision oncology. Abstract Error-prone DNA repair pathways promote genomic instability which leads to the onset of cancer hallmarks by progressive genetic aberrations in tumor cells. The molecular mechanisms which foster this process remain mostly undefined, and breakthrough advancements are eagerly awaited. In this context, the alternative non-homologous end joining (Alt-NHEJ) pathway is considered a leading actor. Indeed, there is experimental evidence that up-regulation of major Alt-NHEJ components, such as LIG3, PolQ, and PARP1, occurs in different tumors, where they are often associated with disease progression and drug resistance. Moreover, the Alt-NHEJ addiction of cancer cells provides a promising target to be exploited by synthetic lethality approaches for the use of DNA damage response (DDR) inhibitors and even as a sensitizer to checkpoint-inhibitors immunotherapy by increasing the mutational load. In this review, we discuss recent findings highlighting the role of Alt-NHEJ as a promoter of genomic instability and, therefore, as new cancer’s Achilles’ heel to be therapeutically exploited in precision oncology.
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18
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Angerilli V, Galuppini F, Pagni F, Fusco N, Malapelle U, Fassan M. The Role of the Pathologist in the Next-Generation Era of Tumor Molecular Characterization. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021; 11:339. [PMID: 33670699 PMCID: PMC7922586 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics11020339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Current pathology practice is being shaped by the increasing complexity of modern medicine, in particular of precision oncology, and major technological advances. In the "next-generation technologies era", the pathologist has become the person responsible for the integration and interpretation of morphologic and molecular information and for the delivery of critical answers to diagnostic, prognostic and predictive queries, acquiring a prominent position in the molecular tumor boards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Angerilli
- Department of Medicine (DIMED), Surgical Pathology Unit, University of Padua, 35121 Padua, Italy; (V.A.); (F.G.)
| | - Francesca Galuppini
- Department of Medicine (DIMED), Surgical Pathology Unit, University of Padua, 35121 Padua, Italy; (V.A.); (F.G.)
| | - Fabio Pagni
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Pathology, San Gerardo Hospital, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900 Monza, Italy;
| | - Nicola Fusco
- Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20122 Milan, Italy;
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Umberto Malapelle
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy;
| | - Matteo Fassan
- Department of Medicine (DIMED), Surgical Pathology Unit, University of Padua, 35121 Padua, Italy; (V.A.); (F.G.)
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Kaur H, Bhalla S, Kaur D, Raghava GP. CancerLivER: a database of liver cancer gene expression resources and biomarkers. DATABASE-THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DATABASES AND CURATION 2021; 2020:5798989. [PMID: 32147717 PMCID: PMC7061090 DOI: 10.1093/database/baaa012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Liver cancer is the fourth major lethal malignancy worldwide. To understand the development and progression of liver cancer, biomedical research generated a tremendous amount of transcriptomics and disease-specific biomarker data. However, dispersed information poses pragmatic hurdles to delineate the significant markers for the disease. Hence, a dedicated resource for liver cancer is required that integrates scattered multiple formatted datasets and information regarding disease-specific biomarkers. Liver Cancer Expression Resource (CancerLivER) is a database that maintains gene expression datasets of liver cancer along with the putative biomarkers defined for the same in the literature. It manages 115 datasets that include gene-expression profiles of 9611 samples. Each of incorporated datasets was manually curated to remove any artefact; subsequently, a standard and uniform pipeline according to the specific technique is employed for their processing. Additionally, it contains comprehensive information on 594 liver cancer biomarkers which include mainly 315 gene biomarkers or signatures and 178 protein- and 46 miRNA-based biomarkers. To explore the full potential of data on liver cancer, a web-based interactive platform was developed to perform search, browsing and analyses. Analysis tools were also integrated to explore and visualize the expression patterns of desired genes among different types of samples based on individual gene, GO ontology and pathways. Furthermore, a dataset matrix download facility was provided to facilitate the users for their extensive analysis to elucidate more robust disease-specific signatures. Eventually, CancerLivER is a comprehensive resource which is highly useful for the scientific community working in the field of liver cancer.Availability: CancerLivER can be accessed on the web at https://webs.iiitd.edu.in/raghava/cancerliver.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harpreet Kaur
- Bioinformatics Centre, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Sector -39A, Chandigarh-160036, India.,Department of Computational Biology, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, New Delhi-110020, India
| | - Sherry Bhalla
- Department of Computational Biology, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, New Delhi-110020, India.,Centre for Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, Sector-25, Panjab University, Chandigarh-160036, India
| | - Dilraj Kaur
- Department of Computational Biology, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, New Delhi-110020, India
| | - Gajendra Ps Raghava
- Department of Computational Biology, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, New Delhi-110020, India
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Arbitrio M, Scionti F, Di Martino MT, Caracciolo D, Pensabene L, Tassone P, Tagliaferri P. Pharmacogenomics Biomarker Discovery and Validation for Translation in Clinical Practice. Clin Transl Sci 2021; 14:113-119. [PMID: 33089968 PMCID: PMC7877857 DOI: 10.1111/cts.12869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Interindividual variability in drug efficacy and toxicity is a major challenge in clinical practice. Variations in drug pharmacokinetics (PKs) and pharmacodynamics (PDs) can be, in part, explained by polymorphic variants in genes encoding drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) or in genes encoding drug receptors. Pharmacogenomics (PGx) has allowed the identification of predictive biomarkers of drug PKs and PDs and the current knowledge of genome-disease and genome-drug interactions offers the opportunity to optimize tailored drug therapy. High-throughput PGx genotyping, from targeted to more comprehensive strategies, allows the identification of PK/PD genotypes to be developed as clinical predictive biomarkers. However, a biomarker needs a robust process of validation followed by clinical-grade assay development and must comply to stringent regulatory guidelines. We here discuss the methodological challenges and the emerging technological tools in PGx biomarker discovery and validation, at the crossroad among molecular genetics, bioinformatics, and clinical medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariamena Arbitrio
- Institute of Research and Biomedical Innovation (IRIB), Italian National Council (CNR), Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Francesca Scionti
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Maria Teresa Di Martino
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Daniele Caracciolo
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Licia Pensabene
- Department of Medical and Surgical Science, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Pierfrancesco Tassone
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Pierosandro Tagliaferri
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
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21
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Nassar SF, Raddassi K, Ubhi B, Doktorski J, Abulaban A. Precision Medicine: Steps along the Road to Combat Human Cancer. Cells 2020; 9:E2056. [PMID: 32916938 PMCID: PMC7563722 DOI: 10.3390/cells9092056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Revised: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer is becoming more accurate and specialized with the advent of precision medicine techniques, research and treatments. Reaching down to the cellular and even sub-cellular level, diagnostic tests can pinpoint specific, individual information from each patient, and guide providers to a more accurate plan of treatment. With this advanced knowledge, researchers and providers can better gauge the effectiveness of drugs, radiation, and other therapies, which is bound to lead to a more accurate, if not more positive, prognosis. As precision medicine becomes more established, new techniques, equipment, materials and testing methods will be required. Herein, we will examine the recent innovations in assays, devices and software, along with next generation sequencing in genomics diagnostics which are in use or are being developed for personalized medicine. So as to avoid duplication and produce the fullest possible benefit, all involved must be strongly encouraged to collaborate, across national borders, public and private sectors, science, medicine and academia alike. In this paper we will offer recommendations for tools, research and development, along with ideas for implementation. We plan to begin with discussion of the lessons learned to date, and the current research on pharmacogenomics. Given the steady stream of advances in imaging mass spectrometry and nanoLC-MS/MS, and use of genomic, proteomic and metabolomics biomarkers to distinguish healthy tissue from diseased cells, there is great potential to utilize pharmacogenomics to tailor a drug or drugs to a particular cohort of patients. Such efforts very well may bring increased hope for small groups of non-responders and those who have demonstrated adverse reactions to current treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel F. Nassar
- Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
| | - Khadir Raddassi
- Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA;
| | | | | | - Ahmad Abulaban
- Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA;
- Department of Medicine, King Saud Bin-Abdulaziz University, King Abdulaziz Medical City-National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia
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22
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Audet-Walsh É, Wang XQ, Lin SX. Using Omics to better understand steroid biosynthesis, metabolism, and functions. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2020; 202:105686. [PMID: 32437965 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2020.105686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Étienne Audet-Walsh
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada; Endocrinology - Nephrology Research Axis, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada; Centre de recherche sur le cancer (CRC), Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada.
| | - Xiao Qiang Wang
- Department of Pathology, Peking University Third Hospital, Haidian District, 100091 Beijing, China
| | - Sheng-Xiang Lin
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada; Endocrinology - Nephrology Research Axis, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada; Centre de recherche sur le cancer (CRC), Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada.
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23
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Oh S, Jo Y, Jung S, Yoon S, Yoo KH. From genome sequencing to the discovery of potential biomarkers in liver disease. BMB Rep 2020. [PMID: 32475383 PMCID: PMC7330805 DOI: 10.5483/bmbrep.2020.53.6.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic liver disease progresses through several stages, fatty liver, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and eventually, it leads to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) over a long period of time. Since a large proportion of patients with HCC are accompanied by cirrhosis, it is considered to be an important factor in the diagnosis of liver cancer. This is because cirrhosis leads to an irreversible harmful effect, but the early stages of chronic liver disease could be reversed to a healthy state. Therefore, the discovery of biomarkers that could identify the early stages of chronic liver disease is important to prevent serious liver damage. Biomarker discovery at liver cancer and cirrhosis has enhanced the development of sequencing technology. Next generation sequencing (NGS) is one of the representative technical innovations in the biological field in the recent decades and it is the most important thing to design for research on what type of sequencing methods are suitable and how to handle the analysis steps for data integration. In this review, we comprehensively summarized NGS techniques for identifying genome, transcriptome, DNA methylome and 3D/4D chromatin structure, and introduced framework of processing data set and integrating multi-omics data for uncovering biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumin Oh
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics, Department of Biological Sciences, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul 04310, Korea
- Research Institute of Women’s Health, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul 04310, Korea
| | - Yeeun Jo
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics, Department of Biological Sciences, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul 04310, Korea
| | - Sungju Jung
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics, Department of Biological Sciences, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul 04310, Korea
| | - Sumin Yoon
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics, Department of Biological Sciences, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul 04310, Korea
| | - Kyung Hyun Yoo
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics, Department of Biological Sciences, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul 04310, Korea
- Research Institute of Women’s Health, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul 04310, Korea
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24
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Chierici M, Bussola N, Marcolini A, Francescatto M, Zandonà A, Trastulla L, Agostinelli C, Jurman G, Furlanello C. Integrative Network Fusion: A Multi-Omics Approach in Molecular Profiling. Front Oncol 2020; 10:1065. [PMID: 32714870 PMCID: PMC7340129 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.01065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent technological advances and international efforts, such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), have made available several pan-cancer datasets encompassing multiple omics layers with detailed clinical information in large collection of samples. The need has thus arisen for the development of computational methods aimed at improving cancer subtyping and biomarker identification from multi-modal data. Here we apply the Integrative Network Fusion (INF) pipeline, which combines multiple omics layers exploiting Similarity Network Fusion (SNF) within a machine learning predictive framework. INF includes a feature ranking scheme (rSNF) on SNF-integrated features, used by a classifier over juxtaposed multi-omics features (juXT). In particular, we show instances of INF implementing Random Forest (RF) and linear Support Vector Machine (LSVM) as the classifier, and two baseline RF and LSVM models are also trained on juXT. A compact RF model, called rSNFi, trained on the intersection of top-ranked biomarkers from the two approaches juXT and rSNF is finally derived. All the classifiers are run in a 10x5-fold cross-validation schema to warrant reproducibility, following the guidelines for an unbiased Data Analysis Plan by the US FDA-led initiatives MAQC/SEQC. INF is demonstrated on four classification tasks on three multi-modal TCGA oncogenomics datasets. Gene expression, protein expression and copy number variants are used to predict estrogen receptor status (BRCA-ER, N = 381) and breast invasive carcinoma subtypes (BRCA-subtypes, N = 305), while gene expression, miRNA expression and methylation data is used as predictor layers for acute myeloid leukemia and renal clear cell carcinoma survival (AML-OS, N = 157; KIRC-OS, N = 181). In test, INF achieved similar Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC) values and 97% to 83% smaller feature sizes (FS), compared with juXT for BRCA-ER (MCC: 0.83 vs. 0.80; FS: 56 vs. 1801) and BRCA-subtypes (0.84 vs. 0.80; 302 vs. 1801), improving KIRC-OS performance (0.38 vs. 0.31; 111 vs. 2319). INF predictions are generally more accurate in test than one-dimensional omics models, with smaller signatures too, where transcriptomics consistently play the leading role. Overall, the INF framework effectively integrates multiple data levels in oncogenomics classification tasks, improving over the performance of single layers alone and naive juxtaposition, and provides compact signature sizes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicole Bussola
- Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, Italy
- University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | | | - Margherita Francescatto
- Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, Italy
- Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
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25
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Grillone K, Riillo C, Scionti F, Rocca R, Tradigo G, Guzzi PH, Alcaro S, Di Martino MT, Tagliaferri P, Tassone P. Non-coding RNAs in cancer: platforms and strategies for investigating the genomic "dark matter". J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2020; 39:117. [PMID: 32563270 PMCID: PMC7305591 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-020-01622-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The discovery of the role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in the onset and progression of malignancies is a promising frontier of cancer genetics. It is clear that ncRNAs are candidates for therapeutic intervention, since they may act as biomarkers or key regulators of cancer gene network. Recently, profiling and sequencing of ncRNAs disclosed deep deregulation in human cancers mostly due to aberrant mechanisms of ncRNAs biogenesis, such as amplification, deletion, abnormal epigenetic or transcriptional regulation. Although dysregulated ncRNAs may promote hallmarks of cancer as oncogenes or antagonize them as tumor suppressors, the mechanisms behind these events remain to be clarified. The development of new bioinformatic tools as well as novel molecular technologies is a challenging opportunity to disclose the role of the "dark matter" of the genome. In this review, we focus on currently available platforms, computational analyses and experimental strategies to investigate ncRNAs in cancer. We highlight the differences among experimental approaches aimed to dissect miRNAs and lncRNAs, which are the most studied ncRNAs. These two classes indeed need different investigation taking into account their intrinsic characteristics, such as length, structures and also the interacting molecules. Finally, we discuss the relevance of ncRNAs in clinical practice by considering promises and challenges behind the bench to bedside translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katia Grillone
- Laboratory of Translational Medical Oncology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Caterina Riillo
- Laboratory of Translational Medical Oncology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
- Medical and Translational Oncology Units, AOU Mater Domini, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Francesca Scionti
- Laboratory of Translational Medical Oncology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Roberta Rocca
- Laboratory of Translational Medical Oncology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
- Net4science srl, Magna Graecia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Tradigo
- Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Pietro Hiram Guzzi
- Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Stefano Alcaro
- Net4science srl, Magna Graecia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
- Department of Health Sciences, Magna Græcia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Maria Teresa Di Martino
- Laboratory of Translational Medical Oncology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
- Medical and Translational Oncology Units, AOU Mater Domini, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Pierosandro Tagliaferri
- Laboratory of Translational Medical Oncology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
- Medical and Translational Oncology Units, AOU Mater Domini, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Pierfrancesco Tassone
- Laboratory of Translational Medical Oncology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
- Medical and Translational Oncology Units, AOU Mater Domini, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
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26
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Sauta E, Demartini A, Vitali F, Riva A, Bellazzi R. A Bayesian data fusion based approach for learning genome-wide transcriptional regulatory networks. BMC Bioinformatics 2020; 21:219. [PMID: 32471360 PMCID: PMC7257163 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-020-3510-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Reverse engineering of transcriptional regulatory networks (TRN) from genomics data has always represented a computational challenge in System Biology. The major issue is modeling the complex crosstalk among transcription factors (TFs) and their target genes, with a method able to handle both the high number of interacting variables and the noise in the available heterogeneous experimental sources of information. RESULTS In this work, we propose a data fusion approach that exploits the integration of complementary omics-data as prior knowledge within a Bayesian framework, in order to learn and model large-scale transcriptional networks. We develop a hybrid structure-learning algorithm able to jointly combine TFs ChIP-Sequencing data and gene expression compendia to reconstruct TRNs in a genome-wide perspective. Applying our method to high-throughput data, we verified its ability to deal with the complexity of a genomic TRN, providing a snapshot of the synergistic TFs regulatory activity. Given the noisy nature of data-driven prior knowledge, which potentially contains incorrect information, we also tested the method's robustness to false priors on a benchmark dataset, comparing the proposed approach to other regulatory network reconstruction algorithms. We demonstrated the effectiveness of our framework by evaluating structural commonalities of our learned genomic network with other existing networks inferred by different DNA binding information-based methods. CONCLUSIONS This Bayesian omics-data fusion based methodology allows to gain a genome-wide picture of the transcriptional interplay, helping to unravel key hierarchical transcriptional interactions, which could be subsequently investigated, and it represents a promising learning approach suitable for multi-layered genomic data integration, given its robustness to noisy sources and its tailored framework for handling high dimensional data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Sauta
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 5, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Andrea Demartini
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 5, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Francesca Vitali
- Center for Biomedical Informatics and Biostatistics, Dept. of Medicine, The University of Arizona Health Sciences, 1230 Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
| | - Alberto Riva
- Bioinformatics Core, Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA
| | - Riccardo Bellazzi
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 5, 27100, Pavia, Italy
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27
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Moroni L, Barbaro F, Caiment F, Coleman O, Costagliola S, Di Conza G, Elviri L, Giselbrecht S, Krause C, Mota C, Nazzari M, Pennington SR, Ringwald A, Sandri M, Thomas S, Waddington J, Toni R. SCREENED: A Multistage Model of Thyroid Gland Function for Screening Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in a Biologically Sex-Specific Manner. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E3648. [PMID: 32455722 PMCID: PMC7279272 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21103648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Revised: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are chemicals that contribute to health problems by interfering with the physiological production and target effects of hormones, with proven impacts on a number of endocrine systems including the thyroid gland. Exposure to EDs has also been associated with impairment of the reproductive system and incidence in occurrence of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases during ageing. SCREENED aims at developing in vitro assays based on rodent and human thyroid cells organized in three different three-dimensional (3D) constructs. Due to different levels of anatomical complexity, each of these constructs has the potential to increasingly mimic the structure and function of the native thyroid gland, ultimately achieving relevant features of its 3D organization including: 1) a 3D organoid based on stem cell-derived thyrocytes, 2) a 3D organoid based on a decellularized thyroid lobe stromal matrix repopulated with stem cell-derived thyrocytes, and 3) a bioprinted organoid based on stem cell-derived thyrocytes able to mimic the spatial and geometrical features of a native thyroid gland. These 3D constructs will be hosted in a modular microbioreactor equipped with innovative sensing technology and enabling precise control of cell culture conditions. New superparamagnetic biocompatible and biomimetic particles will be used to produce "magnetic cells" to support precise spatiotemporal homing of the cells in the 3D decellularized and bioprinted constructs. Finally, these 3D constructs will be used to screen the effect of EDs on the thyroid function in a unique biological sex-specific manner. Their performance will be assessed individually, in comparison with each other, and against in vivo studies. The resulting 3D assays are expected to yield responses to low doses of different EDs, with sensitivity and specificity higher than that of classical 2D in vitro assays and animal models. Supporting the "Adverse Outcome Pathway" concept, proteogenomic analysis and biological computational modelling of the underlying mode of action of the tested EDs will be pursued to gain a mechanistic understanding of the chain of events from exposure to adverse toxic effects on thyroid function. For future uptake, SCREENED will engage discussion with relevant stakeholder groups, including regulatory bodies and industry, to ensure that the assays will fit with purposes of ED safety assessment. In this project review, we will briefly discuss the current state of the art in cellular assays of EDs and how our project aims at further advancing the field of cellular assays for EDs interfering with the thyroid gland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Moroni
- MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, Maastricht University, 6229ET Maastricht, The Netherlands;
| | - Fulvio Barbaro
- Department of Medicine and Surgery—DIMEC, Unit of Biomedical, Biotechnological and Translational Sciences (S.BI.BI.T.), Laboratory of Regenerative Morphology and Bioartificial Structures (Re.Mo.Bio.S. Lab.), University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy; (F.B.); (G.D.C.); (R.T.)
| | - Florian Caiment
- Toxicogenomics, Maastricht University, 6229ET Maastricht, The Netherlands; (F.C.); (M.N.)
| | - Orla Coleman
- Atturos Ltd., c/o Conway Research Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland; (O.C.); (S.R.P.)
| | - Sabine Costagliola
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Research in Molecular Human Biology (IRIBHM), Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Brussels, Belgium;
| | - Giusy Di Conza
- Department of Medicine and Surgery—DIMEC, Unit of Biomedical, Biotechnological and Translational Sciences (S.BI.BI.T.), Laboratory of Regenerative Morphology and Bioartificial Structures (Re.Mo.Bio.S. Lab.), University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy; (F.B.); (G.D.C.); (R.T.)
| | - Lisa Elviri
- Food and Drug Department, University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy;
| | - Stefan Giselbrecht
- MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Department of Instruct Biomaterials Engineering, Maastricht University, 6229ET Maastricht, The Netherlands;
| | | | - Carlos Mota
- MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, Maastricht University, 6229ET Maastricht, The Netherlands;
| | - Marta Nazzari
- Toxicogenomics, Maastricht University, 6229ET Maastricht, The Netherlands; (F.C.); (M.N.)
| | - Stephen R. Pennington
- Atturos Ltd., c/o Conway Research Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland; (O.C.); (S.R.P.)
- UCD Conway Institute, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;
| | | | - Monica Sandri
- Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics, National Research Council of Italy (ISTEC-CNR), 48018 Faenza, Italy;
| | - Simon Thomas
- Cyprotex Discovery Ltd., No. 24 Mereside, Alderley Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 4TG, UK;
| | - James Waddington
- UCD Conway Institute, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;
| | - Roberto Toni
- Department of Medicine and Surgery—DIMEC, Unit of Biomedical, Biotechnological and Translational Sciences (S.BI.BI.T.), Laboratory of Regenerative Morphology and Bioartificial Structures (Re.Mo.Bio.S. Lab.), University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy; (F.B.); (G.D.C.); (R.T.)
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Tufts Medical Center - Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA
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28
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Liptay M, Barbosa JS, Rottenberg S. Replication Fork Remodeling and Therapy Escape in DNA Damage Response-Deficient Cancers. Front Oncol 2020; 10:670. [PMID: 32432041 PMCID: PMC7214843 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.00670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Most cancers have lost a critical DNA damage response (DDR) pathway during tumor evolution. These alterations provide a useful explanation for the initial sensitivity of tumors to DNA-targeting chemotherapy. A striking example is dysfunctional homology-directed repair (HDR), e.g., due to inactivating mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Extensive efforts are being made to develop novel targeted therapies exploiting such an HDR defect. Inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) are an instructive example of this approach. Despite the success of PARP inhibitors, the presence of primary or acquired therapy resistance remains a major challenge in clinical oncology. To move the field of precision medicine forward, we need to understand the precise mechanisms causing therapy resistance. Using preclinical models, various mechanisms underlying chemotherapy resistance have been identified. Restoration of HDR seems to be a prevalent mechanism but this does not explain resistance in all cases. Interestingly, some factors involved in DNA damage response (DDR) have independent functions in replication fork (RF) biology and their loss causes RF instability and therapy sensitivity. However, in BRCA-deficient tumors, loss of these factors leads to restored stability of RFs and acquired drug resistance. In this review we discuss the recent advances in the field of RF biology and its potential implications for chemotherapy response in DDR-defective cancers. Additionally, we review the role of DNA damage tolerance (DDT) pathways in maintenance of genome integrity and their alterations in cancer. Furthermore, we refer to novel tools that, combined with a better understanding of drug resistance mechanisms, may constitute a great advance in personalized diagnosis and therapeutic strategies for patients with HDR-deficient tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Liptay
- Institute of Animal Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Joana S. Barbosa
- Institute of Animal Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sven Rottenberg
- Institute of Animal Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Bern Center for Precision Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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29
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Olivier M, Asmis R, Hawkins GA, Howard TD, Cox LA. The Need for Multi-Omics Biomarker Signatures in Precision Medicine. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20194781. [PMID: 31561483 PMCID: PMC6801754 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20194781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 242] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Revised: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 09/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in omics technologies have led to unprecedented efforts characterizing the molecular changes that underlie the development and progression of a wide array of complex human diseases, including cancer. As a result, multi-omics analyses—which take advantage of these technologies in genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and other omics areas—have been proposed and heralded as the key to advancing precision medicine in the clinic. In the field of precision oncology, genomics approaches, and, more recently, other omics analyses have helped reveal several key mechanisms in cancer development, treatment resistance, and recurrence risk, and several of these findings have been implemented in clinical oncology to help guide treatment decisions. However, truly integrated multi-omics analyses have not been applied widely, preventing further advances in precision medicine. Additional efforts are needed to develop the analytical infrastructure necessary to generate, analyze, and annotate multi-omics data effectively to inform precision medicine-based decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Olivier
- Center for Precision Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest Baptist Health Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
| | - Reto Asmis
- Center for Precision Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest Baptist Health Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
| | - Gregory A Hawkins
- Center for Precision Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Wake Forest Baptist Health Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
| | - Timothy D Howard
- Center for Precision Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
| | - Laura A Cox
- Center for Precision Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest Baptist Health Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
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30
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Suraj J, Kurpińska A, Zakrzewska A, Sternak M, Stojak M, Jasztal A, Walczak M, Chlopicki S. Early and late endothelial response in breast cancer metastasis in mice: simultaneous quantification of endothelial biomarkers using a mass spectrometry-based method. Dis Model Mech 2019; 12:dmm.036269. [PMID: 30683749 PMCID: PMC6451429 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.036269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The endothelium plays an important role in cancer metastasis, but the mechanisms involved are still not clear. In the present work, we characterised the changes in endothelial function at early and late stages of breast cancer progression in an orthotopic model of murine mammary carcinoma (4T1 cells). Endothelial function was analysed based on simultaneous microflow liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry using multiple reaction monitoring (microLC/MS-MRM) quantification of 12 endothelium-related biomarkers, including those reflecting glycocalyx disruption – syndecan-1 (SDC-1), endocan (ESM-1); endothelial inflammation – vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), E-selectin (E-sel); endothelial permeability – fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (FLT-1), angiopoietin 2 (Angpt-2); and haemostasis – von Willebrand factor (vWF), tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), as well as those that are pathophysiologically linked to endothelial function – adrenomedullin (ADM) and adiponectin (ADN). The early phase of metastasis in mouse plasma was associated with glycocalyx disruption (increased SDC-1 and ESM-1), endothelial inflammation [increased soluble VCAM-1 (sVCAM-1)] and increased vascular permeability (Angpt-2). During the late phase of metastasis, additional alterations in haemostasis (increased PAI-1 and vWF), as well as a rise in ADM and substantial fall in ADN concentration, were observed. In conclusion, in a murine model of breast cancer metastasis, we identified glycocalyx disruption, endothelial inflammation and increased endothelial permeability as important events in early metastasis, while the late phase of metastasis was additionally characterised by alterations in haemostasis. Summary: A microLC/MS-MRM-based approach for simultaneous determination of endothelium-related biomarkers identified glycocalyx disruption, endothelial inflammation and increased endothelial permeability as important events in early pulmonary metastasis in a murine model of breast cancer metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Suraj
- Jagiellonian University, Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics, Bobrzynskiego 14, 30-348 Krakow, Poland.,Jagiellonian University Medical College, Faculty of Pharmacy, Chair and Department of Toxicology, Medyczna 9, 30-688 Krakow, Poland
| | - Anna Kurpińska
- Jagiellonian University, Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics, Bobrzynskiego 14, 30-348 Krakow, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Zakrzewska
- Jagiellonian University, Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics, Bobrzynskiego 14, 30-348 Krakow, Poland
| | - Magdalena Sternak
- Jagiellonian University, Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics, Bobrzynskiego 14, 30-348 Krakow, Poland
| | - Marta Stojak
- Jagiellonian University, Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics, Bobrzynskiego 14, 30-348 Krakow, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Jasztal
- Jagiellonian University, Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics, Bobrzynskiego 14, 30-348 Krakow, Poland
| | - Maria Walczak
- Jagiellonian University, Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics, Bobrzynskiego 14, 30-348 Krakow, Poland .,Jagiellonian University Medical College, Faculty of Pharmacy, Chair and Department of Toxicology, Medyczna 9, 30-688 Krakow, Poland
| | - Stefan Chlopicki
- Jagiellonian University, Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics, Bobrzynskiego 14, 30-348 Krakow, Poland .,Jagiellonian University Medical College, Faculty of Medicine, Chair of Pharmacology, Grzegorzecka 16, 31-531 Krakow, Poland
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