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Luo W, Hoang H, Miller KE, Zhu H, Xu S, Mo X, Garfinkle EAR, Costello H, Wijeratne S, Chemnitz W, Gandhi R, Liao Y, Ayello J, Gardenswartz A, Rosenblum JM, Cassady KA, Mardis ER, Lee DA, Cripe TP, Cairo MS. Combinatorial macrophage induced innate immunotherapy against Ewing sarcoma: Turning "Two Keys" simultaneously. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2024; 43:193. [PMID: 38992659 PMCID: PMC11238356 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-024-03093-w] [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: 04/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Macrophages play important roles in phagocytosing tumor cells. However, tumors escape macrophage phagocytosis in part through the expression of anti-phagocytic signals, most commonly CD47. In Ewing sarcoma (ES), we found that tumor cells utilize dual mechanisms to evade macrophage clearance by simultaneously over-expressing CD47 and down-regulating cell surface calreticulin (csCRT), the pro-phagocytic signal. Here, we investigate the combination of a CD47 blockade (magrolimab, MAG) to inhibit the anti-phagocytic signal and a chemotherapy regimen (doxorubicin, DOX) to enhance the pro-phagocytic signal to induce macrophage phagocytosis of ES cells in vitro and inhibit tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. METHODS Macrophages were derived from human peripheral blood monocytes by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). Flow cytometry- and microscopy-based in-vitro phagocytosis assays were performed to evaluate macrophage phagocytosis of ES cells. Annexin-V assay was performed to evaluate apoptosis. CD47 was knocked out by CRISPR/Cas9 approach. ES cell-based and patient-derived-xenograft (PDX)-based mouse models were utilized to assess the effects of MAG and/or DOX on ES tumor development and animal survival. RNA-Seq combined with CIBERSORTx analysis was utilized to identify changes in tumor cell transcriptome and tumor infiltrating immune cell profiling in MAG and/or DOX treated xenograft tumors. RESULTS We found that MAG significantly increased macrophage phagocytosis of ES cells in vitro (p < 0.01) and had significant effect on reducing tumor burden (p < 0.01) and increasing survival in NSG mouse model (p < 0.001). The csCRT level on ES cells was significantly enhanced by DOX in a dose- and time-dependent manner (p < 0.01). Importantly, DOX combined with MAG significantly enhanced macrophage phagocytosis of ES cells in vitro (p < 0.01) and significantly decreased tumor burden (p < 0.01) and lung metastasis (p < 0.0001) and extended animal survival in vivo in two different mouse models of ES (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, we identified CD38, CD209, CD163 and CD206 as potential markers for ES-phagocytic macrophages. Moreover, we found increased M2 macrophage infiltration and decreased expression of Cd209 in the tumor microenvironment of MAG and DOX combinatorial therapy treated tumors. CONCLUSIONS By turning "two keys" simultaneously to reactivate macrophage phagocytic activity, our data demonstrated an effective and highly translatable alternative therapeutic approach utilizing innate (tumor associated macrophages) immunotherapy against high-risk metastatic ES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Luo
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, 15 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA.
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA.
| | - Hai Hoang
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, 15 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Katherine E Miller
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Hongwen Zhu
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, 15 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Serena Xu
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Xiaokui Mo
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Center for Biostatistics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Elizabeth A R Garfinkle
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Heather Costello
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Saranga Wijeratne
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Wiebke Chemnitz
- Department of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA
| | | | - Yanling Liao
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, 15 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Janet Ayello
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, 15 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Aliza Gardenswartz
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, 15 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Jeremy M Rosenblum
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, 15 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Kevin A Cassady
- Center for Childhood Cancer Research, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Elaine R Mardis
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Dean A Lee
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Timothy P Cripe
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Center for Childhood Cancer Research, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Mitchell S Cairo
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, 15 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA.
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA.
- Department of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA.
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA.
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2
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Goodspeed A, Bodlak A, Duffy AB, Nelson-Taylor S, Oike N, Porfilio T, Shirai R, Walker D, Treece A, Black J, Donaldson N, Cost C, Garrington T, Greffe B, Luna-Fineman S, Demedis J, Lake J, Danis E, Verneris M, Adams DL, Hayashi M. Characterization of transcriptional heterogeneity and novel therapeutic targets using single cell RNA-sequencing of primary and circulating Ewing sarcoma cells. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.18.576251. [PMID: 38293103 PMCID: PMC10827204 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.18.576251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma is the second most common bone cancer in children, accounting for 2% of pediatric cancer diagnoses. Patients who present with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis have a dismal prognosis, compared to the >70% 5-year survival of those with localized disease. Here, we utilized single cell RNA-sequencing to characterize the transcriptional landscape of primary Ewing sarcoma tumors and surrounding tumor microenvironment (TME). Copy-number analysis identified subclonal evolution within patients prior to treatment. Primary tumor samples demonstrate a heterogenous transcriptional landscape with several conserved gene expression programs, including those composed of genes related to proliferation and EWS targets. Single cell RNA-sequencing and immunofluorescence of circulating tumor cells at the time of diagnosis identified TSPAN8 as a novel therapeutic target.
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3
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Wang Z, He A, Lu Z, Xu W, Wu G, Peng T. Predicting prognosis and immune status in sarcomas by identifying necroptosis-related lncRNAs. Aging (Albany NY) 2024; 16:493-517. [PMID: 38194709 PMCID: PMC10817413 DOI: 10.18632/aging.205383] [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: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sarcomas are a type of highly heterogeneous malignant tumors originating from mesenchymal tissues. Necroptosis is intricately connected to the oncogenesis and progression of tumors. The main goal of this research is to assess the prognostic value of necroptosis-related lncRNAs (NRlncRNAs) in sarcomas and to develop a risk model based on NRlncRNAs to evaluate prognostic and immune status of the sarcomas. METHODS We screened NRlncRNAs using the gene co-expression network, developed a prognostic risk model of sarcomas, and then verified the model. Following that, various bioinformatics analysis algorithms were employed to analyze the distinct characteristics of patients of the risk model. Furthermore, the function and regulatory mechanism of NRlncRNA SNHG6 in sarcomas were investigated through osteosarcoma cell experiments, such as qRT-PCR, Western blot, CCK-8, clone formation, and transwell assay. RESULTS We successfully developed a NRlncRNAs-related prognostic risk model and screened 5 prognosis-related NRlncRNAs, with SNGH6 being the most significant for prognosis of patients. According to results, the significant differences exist in prognosis, clinical characteristics, and tumor immune status among patients of the risk model. The experiments of osteosarcoma cells demonstrated that NRlncRNA SNHG6 knockdown significantly attenuated the cells' proliferation, migration, and invasion. qRT-PCR and WB results showed that SNHG6 regulated AXL and AKT signaling. CONCLUSIONS We have developed an innovative investigation on NRlncRNAs, which can serve as a reference for diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis of sarcomas. Additionally, we demonstrated that NRlncRNA SNHG6 regulated AXL and AKT signaling in osteosarcoma cells and the proliferation, migration, and invasion of tumor cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Wang
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China
| | - Anfang He
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China
| | - Zhengyu Lu
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China
| | - Wenli Xu
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China
| | - Gang Wu
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China
| | - Tingsheng Peng
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China
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Yang ZQ, Guo LY, Xiao KW, Zhang C, Wu MH, Yan FF, Cai L. Molecular characterization of ferroptosis in soft tissue sarcoma constructs a prognostic and immunotherapeutic signature through experimental and bioinformatics analyses. Aging (Albany NY) 2023; 15:11412-11447. [PMID: 37874682 PMCID: PMC10637810 DOI: 10.18632/aging.205133] [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: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
Ferroptosis regulators have been found to affect tumor progression. However, studies focusing on ferroptosis and soft tissue sarcoma (STS) are rare. Somatic mutation, copy number variation, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis, consensus clustering, differentially expressed genes analysis (DEGs), principal component analysis (PCA) and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were used to identify and explore different ferroptosis modifications in STS. A nomogram was constructed to predict the prognosis of STS. Moreover, three immunotherapy datasets were used to assess the Fescore. Western blotting, siRNA transfection, EdU assay and reactive oxygen species (ROS) measurement were performed. 16 prognostic ferroptosis regulators were screened and significant differences were observed in somatic mutation, copy number variation (CNV) and RT-qPCR among these ferroptosis regulators. 2 different ferroptosis modification patterns were found (Fe cluster A and B). Fe cluster A with higher Fescore was correlated with p53 pathway and had better prognosis of STS (p = 0.002) while Fe cluster B with lower Fescore was correlated with angiogenesis and MYC pathway and showed a poorer outcome. Besides, the nomogram effectively predicted the outcome of STS and the Fescore could also well predict the prognosis of other 16 tumors and immunotherapy response. Downregulation of LOX also inhibited growth and increased ROS production in sarcoma cells. The molecular characterization of ferroptosis regulators in STS was explored and an Fescore was constructed. The Fescore quantified ferroptosis modification in STS patients and effectively predicted the prognosis of a variety of tumors, providing novel insights for precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Qiang Yang
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, People’s Republic of China
| | - Liang-Yu Guo
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, People’s Republic of China
| | - Kang-Wen Xiao
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, People’s Republic of China
- School of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Chong Zhang
- Department of Orthopedics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, People’s Republic of China
| | - Min-Hao Wu
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, People’s Republic of China
| | - Fei-Fei Yan
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lin Cai
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, People’s Republic of China
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5
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Cao B, Sun H, Fan Z, Khawar MB, Cai L, Yu S, Liang Z, Lv D, Wang N, Bi C, Sun H. Integrative analyses of bulk microarray data to discover genes, pathways, and immune infiltration characteristics associated with targeting of Ewing sarcoma. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2023; 149:6967-6977. [PMID: 36849756 PMCID: PMC10374716 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-023-04642-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To explore transcriptome and immunological features of patients with Ewing sarcoma (ES) using all publicly available microarray data. METHODS Data of 479 ES tissues were integrated and normalized. Gene expression, immune infiltration, and cancer-specific pathways were analyzed. Genes of interest were knocked down, followed by cell proliferation and colony formation assays. RESULTS Consistent with the previous reports of differential expressed genes (DEGs) in ES, our analysis identified CCND1, HMCN1, and NKX2-2 were among the most highly expressed, while TWNC1, MYBPC1, and CKM were among the lowest expressed genes. GO, KEGG, and GSEA enrichment analysis identified that the DEGs related to bone and muscle functioning, those that contributed to crucial cellular, and metabolism pathways such as actin binding, apoptosis, TCA cycle, and cell cycle were also significantly enriched. Immune infiltration analysis discovered that many T cell subsets including CD4T, CD8 T, and Gamma delta T cells were highly infiltrated, while monocytes and B cells were less infiltrated in tumors. A total of 138 genes were both significantly up-regulated in tumors and associated with decreased survival, while 38 significantly down-regulated genes were associated with increased survival, many of which were previously reported as oncogenes and tumor suppressors in ES and other cancers. Silencing of four newly identified top ranked up-regulated genes with decreased survivals in ES inhibited proliferation and colony formation of ES cells. CONCLUSION This study may provide a clear representative transcriptome profile of ES, providing diagnostic biomarkers, pathways, and immune infiltrative characteristics targets for ES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binjie Cao
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Experimental and, Translational Non-Coding RNA Research, Yangzhou, China
| | - Haijian Sun
- Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhehao Fan
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Experimental and, Translational Non-Coding RNA Research, Yangzhou, China
| | - Muhammad Babar Khawar
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Experimental and, Translational Non-Coding RNA Research, Yangzhou, China
- Applied Molecular Biology and Biomedicine Lab, Department of Zoology, University of Narowal, Narowal, Pakistan
| | - Liangliang Cai
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Experimental and, Translational Non-Coding RNA Research, Yangzhou, China
| | - Shiyi Yu
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Experimental and, Translational Non-Coding RNA Research, Yangzhou, China
| | - Zhengyan Liang
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Experimental and, Translational Non-Coding RNA Research, Yangzhou, China
| | - Dan Lv
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Experimental and, Translational Non-Coding RNA Research, Yangzhou, China
| | - Ning Wang
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Experimental and, Translational Non-Coding RNA Research, Yangzhou, China
| | - Caili Bi
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Experimental and, Translational Non-Coding RNA Research, Yangzhou, China
| | - Haibo Sun
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Experimental and, Translational Non-Coding RNA Research, Yangzhou, China.
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6
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Li Q, Xu X, Jiao X. Prognostic implication of cuproptosis related genes associates with immunity in Ewing's sarcoma. Transl Oncol 2023; 31:101646. [PMID: 36871208 PMCID: PMC10006858 DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2023.101646] [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: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence demonstrated that cuproptosis play critical roles in human cancers. We aimed to identify the roles of cuproptosis related genes (CRGs) in prognosis and immunity of Ewing's sarcoma. The data of GSE17674 and GSE63156 were obtained from GEO. The expression of 17 CRGs and immune cells were explored, then correlation was analyzed. Based on CRGs, two molecular clusters were identified by consensus clustering algorithm. KM survival and IME features including immune cells, immune response, checkpoint genes between clusters were evaluated. NFE2L2, LIAS, and CDKN2A were screened out as prognostic signatures by univariate, LASSO and step regression. A risk model was established, and validated by KM method with p = 0.0026, and perfect AUC values. The accuracy of risk model was also well validated in external dataset. A nomogram was constructed and evaluated by calibration curves and DCA. Low level of immune cells, immune response, and enriched checkpoint genes were found in high-risk group. GSEA of signatures and GSVA of ES-related pathways revealed the potential molecular mechanism involved in ES progression. Several drugs showed sensitivity to ES samples. DEGs between risk groups were screened out, and function enrichment was conducted. Finally, scRNA analysis of GSE146221 was done. NFE2L2, and LIAS played crucial role in the evolution of ES by pesudotime and trajectory methods. Our study provided new aspects for further research in ES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingbo Li
- Department of Orthopedic, Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Xiao Xu
- Sterile Supply Department, First People's Hospital of Jinan, Jinan, China
| | - Xiejia Jiao
- Department of Orthopedic, Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
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7
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Gong S, Wu H, Wu C, Duan Y, Zhang B, Wu P, Tang J, Fu J. A human pan-cancer system analysis of regulator of chromatin condensation 2. Heliyon 2023; 9:e13599. [PMID: 36865448 PMCID: PMC9970930 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13599] [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: 09/25/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Regulation of chromosome condensation 2 (RCC2) is associated with the cell cycle and is a crucial regulator of the chromatin condensation 1 (RCC1) family. The members of this family were normally regulators in the process of DNA replication and nucleocytoplasmic transport. RCC2 overexpression may lead to tumor formation and poor prognosis in some tumors including breast cancer and lung adenocarcinoma. However, the possible role of RCC2 in tumor formation and its prognostic function remains unclear. In this study, expression analysis from databases including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) were combined to perform the first integrative and comprehensive analysis of RCC2 in human pan-cancer. RCC2 was highly expressed in most tumors which may lead to a poor prognosis. RCC2 expression was associated with immune/stromal infiltration, immune checkpoints, tumor mutational burden, and microsatellite instability. Thus, RCC2 could be a novel biomarker for prognosis and a promising cancer therapy target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siming Gong
- Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China,National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China,Institute of Anatomy, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hao Wu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Changwu Wu
- Institute of Anatomy, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Yingjuan Duan
- Faculty of Chemistry and Mineralogy, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Bixi Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Panfeng Wu
- Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China,National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Juyu Tang
- Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China,National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Jinfei Fu
- Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China,National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China,Corresponding author. Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
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8
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Wu S, Li M, Su R, Shen H, He Y, Zhou Y. Modification of m5C regulators in sarcoma can guide different immune infiltrations as well as immunotherapy. Front Surg 2023; 9:948371. [PMID: 36684288 PMCID: PMC9853431 DOI: 10.3389/fsurg.2022.948371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Recent studies have found that 5-methylcytosine (m5C) modulators are associated with the prognosis and treatment of cancer. However, the relevance of m5C modulators in sarcoma prognosis and the tumour microenvironment is unclear. Methods We selected 15 m5C regulators and performed unsupervised clustering to identify m5C modification patterns and differentially expressed genes associated with the m5C phenotype in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) sarcomas. The extent of immune cell infiltration in different clustering groups was explored using single-sample gene set enrichment analysis and estimation algorithms. A principal component analysis algorithm-based m5C scoring protocol was performed to assess the m5C modification patterns of individual tumors. Results We identified two distinct m5C modification patterns in the TCGA sarcoma cohort, which possess different clinical outcomes and biological processes. Tumour microenvironment analysis revealed two groups of immune infiltration patterns highly consistent with m5C modification patterns, classified as immune inflammatory and immune desert types. We constructed m5C scores and found that high m5C scores were closely associated with leiomyosarcoma and other subtypes, and were associated with poorer prognosis, lower PD-L1 expression, and poorer immunotherapy outcomes. The best application was validated against the m5C database. Conclusion We constructed an m5C score for sarcoma based on the TCGA database and identified a poorer prognosis in the high m5c score group. The stability and good prognostic predictive power of the m5C score was verified by an external database. We found that sarcomas in the low m5C score group may have a better response to immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shusheng Wu
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Mengge Li
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Rixin Su
- Department of Medical Oncology, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Hao Shen
- Department of Medical Oncology, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Yifu He
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China,Correspondence: Yangfan Zhou Yifu He
| | - Yangfan Zhou
- Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China,Correspondence: Yangfan Zhou Yifu He
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Qu G, Xu Y, Qu Y, Qiu J, Chen G, Zhao N, Deng J. Identification and validation of a novel ubiquitination-related gene UBE2T in Ewing's sarcoma. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1000949. [PMID: 36910645 PMCID: PMC9997212 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1000949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Ewing's sarcoma (ES) is one of the most prevalent malignant bone tumors worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms of the genes and signaling pathways of ES are still not well sufficiently comprehended. To identify candidate genes involved in the development and progression of ES, the study screened for key genes and biological pathways related to ES using bioinformatics methods. Methods The GSE45544 and GSE17618 microarray datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and functional enrichment analysis was performed. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was built, and key module analysis was performed using STRING and Cytoscape. A core-gene was gained and was validated by the validation dataset GSE67886 and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The diagnostic value and prognosis evaluation of ES were executed using, respectively, the ROC approach and Cox Regression. Results A total of 187 DEGs, consisting of 56 downregulated genes and 131 upregulated genes, were identified by comparing the tumor samples to normal samples. The enriched functions and pathways of the DEGs, including cell division, mitotic nuclear division, cell proliferation, cell cycle, oocyte meiosis, and progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, were analyzed. There were 149 nodes and 1246 edges in the PPI network, and 15 hub genes were identified according to the degree levels. The core gene (UBE2T) showed high expression in ES, validated by using GSE67886 and IHC. The ROC analysis revealed UBE2T had outstanding diagnostic value in ES (AUC = 0.75 in the training set, AUC = 0.90 in the validation set). Kaplan-Meier (analysis of survival rate) and Cox Regression analyses indicated that UBE2T was a sign of adverse results for sufferers with ES. Conlusion UBE2T was a significant value biomarker for diagnosis and treatment of ES, thereby presenting a novel potential therapeutic target for ES as well as a new perspective for assessing the effect of treatment and prognostic prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoxin Qu
- Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China.,Department of Emergency, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.,Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuanchun Xu
- Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.,Department of Trauma Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
| | - Ye Qu
- Department of Trauma Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
| | - Jinchao Qiu
- Department of Emergency, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
| | - Guosheng Chen
- Department of Emergency, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
| | - Nannan Zhao
- Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China.,Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
| | - Jin Deng
- Department of Emergency, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
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10
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Prexler C, Knape MS, Erlewein-Schweizer J, Roll W, Specht K, Woertler K, Weichert W, von Luettichau I, Rossig C, Hauer J, Richter GHS, Weber W, Burdach S. Correlation of Transcriptomics and FDG-PET SUVmax Indicates Reciprocal Expression of Stemness-Related Transcription Factor and Neuropeptide Signaling Pathways in Glucose Metabolism of Ewing Sarcoma. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14235999. [PMID: 36497479 PMCID: PMC9735504 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14235999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In Ewing sarcoma (EwS), long-term treatment effects and poor survival rates for relapsed or metastatic cases require individualization of therapy and the discovery of new treatment methods. Tumor glucose metabolic activity varies significantly between patients, and FDG-PET signals have been proposed as prognostic factors. However, the biological basis for the generally elevated but variable glucose metabolism in EwS is not well understood. METHODS We retrospectively included 19 EwS samples (17 patients). Affymetrix gene expression was correlated with maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) using machine learning, linear regression modelling, and gene set enrichment analyses for functional annotation. RESULTS Expression of five genes correlated (MYBL2, ELOVL2, NETO2) or anticorrelated (FAXDC2, PLSCR4) significantly with SUVmax (adjusted p-value ≤ 0.05). Additionally, we identified 23 genes with large SUVmax effect size, which were significantly enriched for "neuropeptide Y receptor activity (GO:0004983)" (adjusted p-value = 0.0007). The expression of the members of this signaling pathway (NPY, NPY1R, NPY5R) anticorrelated with SUVmax. In contrast, three transcription factors associated with maintaining stemness displayed enrichment of their target genes with higher SUVmax: RNF2, E2F family, and TCF3. CONCLUSION Our large-scale analysis examined comprehensively the correlations between transcriptomics and tumor glucose utilization. Based on our findings, we hypothesize that stemness may be associated with increased glucose uptake, whereas neuroectodermal differentiation may anticorrelate with glucose uptake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Prexler
- Department of Pediatrics and Children’s Cancer Research Center, Kinderklinik München Schwabing, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Fakultät für Medizin, Technische Universität München, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Marie Sophie Knape
- Department of Pediatrics and Children’s Cancer Research Center, Kinderklinik München Schwabing, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Fakultät für Medizin, Technische Universität München, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | | | - Wolfgang Roll
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1 A1, 48149 Munster, Germany
| | - Katja Specht
- Institute of Pathology, Technische Universität München, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Klaus Woertler
- Musculoskeletal Radiology Section, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Wilko Weichert
- Institute of Pathology, Technische Universität München, 81675 Munich, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Irene von Luettichau
- Department of Pediatrics and Children’s Cancer Research Center, Kinderklinik München Schwabing, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Fakultät für Medizin, Technische Universität München, 80804 Munich, Germany
- ERN PaedCan, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Claudia Rossig
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Muenster, 48149 Muenster, Germany
- Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence (EXC 1003-CiM), University of Muenster, 48149 Muenster, Germany
| | - Julia Hauer
- Department of Pediatrics and Children’s Cancer Research Center, Kinderklinik München Schwabing, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Fakultät für Medizin, Technische Universität München, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Guenther H. S. Richter
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Oncology and Hematology, Charite–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Weber
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Stefan Burdach
- Department of Pediatrics and Children’s Cancer Research Center, Kinderklinik München Schwabing, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Fakultät für Medizin, Technische Universität München, 80804 Munich, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, Technische Universität München, 81675 Munich, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
- Academy of Translational Medicine and Department of Molecular Oncology–British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 675 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L3, Canada
- Correspondence:
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11
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A Novel Ferroptosis-Related Gene Signature for Prognosis Prediction in Ewing Sarcoma. Anal Cell Pathol (Amst) 2022; 2022:6711629. [PMID: 36050939 PMCID: PMC9425108 DOI: 10.1155/2022/6711629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Ferroptosis, as a form of programmed cell death independent of apoptosis, has been demonstrated that plays a major role in tumorigenesis and cancer treatment. A comprehensive analysis of ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) may lead to a novel choice for the treatment of Ewing sarcoma (ES). Here, 148 differentially expressed FRGs (DEFRGs) were identified between normal and ES tissue. And the GO and KEGG analyses of DEFRGs indicated that these genes were enriched in cancer and immune-related signaling pathways. Then, the GSE17679 cohort was randomly divided into train and test cohorts. Based on the train cohort, AURKA, RGS4, and RIPK1 were identified as key genes through the univariate Cox regression analysis, the random survival forest algorithm, and the multivariate Cox regression analysis and utilized to establish a prognostic FRG signature. The validation results demonstrated that the gene signature has not only excellent prediction performance and generalization ability but is also good at predicting the response of immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Subsequent analysis indicated that all 3 key genes play key roles in tumor immunity and prognosis of ES. Of these, AURKA was highly associated with EWSR1, which was verified by a single-cell dataset (GSE130019). Therefore, the 3 genes may be potential therapeutic targets for ES. At the end of this study, we also constructed an accurate nomogram that helps clinicians to assess the survival time of ES patients. In conclusion, our study constructed an excellent gene signature, which is helpful in improving the prognosis of ES patients.
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12
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Wen J, Wan L, Dong X. The prognostic value of autophagy related genes with potential protective function in Ewing sarcoma. BMC Bioinformatics 2022; 23:306. [PMID: 35902797 PMCID: PMC9335970 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-022-04849-x] [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: 04/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Ewing sarcoma (ES) is the second most common primary malignant bone tumor mainly occurring in children, adolescents and young adults with high metastasis and mortality. Autophagy has been reported to be involved in the survival of ES, but the role remains unclear. Therefore, it’s necessary to investigate the prognostic value of autophagy related genes using bioinformatics methods. Results ATG2B, ATG10 and DAPK1 were final screened genes for a prognostic model. KM and risk score plots showed patients in high score group had better prognoses both in training and validation sets. C-indexes of the model for training and validation sets were 0.68 and 0.71, respectively. Calibration analyses indicated the model had high prediction accuracy in training and validation sets. The AUC values of ROC for 1-, 3-, 5-year prediction were 0.65, 0.73 and 0.84 in training set, 0.88, 0.73 and 0.79 in validation set, which suggested high prediction accuracy of the model. Decision curve analyses showed that patients could benefit much from the model. Differential and functional analyses suggested that autophagy and apoptosis were upregulated in high risk score group. Conclusions ATG2B, ATG10 and DAPK1 were autophagy related genes with potential protective function in ES. The prognostic model established by them exhibited excellent prediction accuracy and discriminatory capacities. They might be used as potential prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in ES. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12859-022-04849-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Wen
- Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi, China.,Department of Orthopedics, Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, 152 Aiguo Road, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi, China.,JXHC Key Laboratory of Digital Orthopedics (Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital), 152 Aiguo Road, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi, China
| | - Lijia Wan
- Department of Pediatrics, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China
| | - Xieping Dong
- Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi, China. .,Department of Orthopedics, Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, 152 Aiguo Road, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi, China. .,JXHC Key Laboratory of Digital Orthopedics (Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital), 152 Aiguo Road, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi, China.
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13
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Novel prognostic biomarkers, METTL14 and YTHDF2, associated with RNA methylation in Ewing's sarcoma. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7041. [PMID: 35487915 PMCID: PMC9054816 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06744-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing’s sarcoma has a poor prognosis and high metastasis rate; thus, it is critical to explore prognostic biomarkers of m6A-related genes. Two datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, m6A-related genes were extracted, and prognostic models were constructed using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and multivariate COX regression analyses. Immune cell composition and drug sensitivity analyses were performed, and our analysis was validated using laboratory methods of immunohistochemical specific staining and qRT-PCR. Ewing’s sarcoma prognostic model demonstrated that the survival rate of cases in the high-risk group was much lower than that of the low-risk group. Naïve B cells, macrophages M0, macrophages M1, and resting mast cells are closely associated with Ewing’s sarcoma. METTL14 and YTHDF2 are strongly associated with multiple drug sensitivity. Immunohistochemical specific staining revealed higher expression of both METTL14 and YTHDF2 in Ewing’s sarcoma than in the paraneoplastic tissues. The results of qRT-PCR showed that METTL14 expression was significantly higher in both ES cell lines than in the control cell line. The prognostic model constructed using m6A-related genes METTL14 and TYHDF2, can be a potential prognostic biomarker for Ewing’s sarcoma, with the survival rate of cases in the high-risk group being much lower than that of the low-risk group.
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14
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Xiao KW, Yang ZQ, Yan X, Liu ZB, Yang M, Guo LY, Cai L. Molecular Characteristics of m6A Regulators and Tumor Microenvironment Infiltration in Soft Tissue Sarcoma: A Gene-Based Study. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:846812. [PMID: 35519620 PMCID: PMC9062003 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.846812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation played a key role in tumor growth. However, the relationship between m6A and soft tissue sarcoma (STS) was still unclear. Methods: The characterization and patterns of m6A modification in STS (TCGA-SARC and GSE17674) were analyzed comprehensively through bioinformatics and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The effects of different m6A modification patterns on prognosis and immune infiltration of STS were further explored. Differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis was performed. Moreover, an m6Ascore was constructed by principal component analysis (PCA). In addition, two immunotherapy datasets (IMvigor210 and GSE78220) and a sarcoma dataset (GSE17618) were used to evaluate the m6Ascore. Results: Huge differences were found in somatic mutation, CNV, and expression of 25 m6A regulators in STS. Two modification patterns (A and B) in STS were further identified and the m6A cluster A showed a better clinical outcome with a lower immune/stromal score compared with the m6A cluster B (p < 0.050).In addition to , most STS samples from m6A cluster A showed a high m6Ascore, which was related to mismatch repair and a better prognosis of STS (p < 0.001). In contrast, the m6A cluster B, characterized by a low m6Ascore, was related to the MYC signaling pathway, which led to a poor prognosis of STS. A high m6Ascore also contributed to a better outcome of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade immunotherapy. Conclusion: The modification patterns of 25 m6A regulators in the STS microenvironment were explored comprehensively. The novel m6Ascore effectively predicted the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and outcome in STS and provided novel insights for future immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang-Wen Xiao
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhi-Qiang Yang
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xin Yan
- Department of Urology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhi-Bo Liu
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Min Yang
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Liang-Yu Guo
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Lin Cai
- Department of Orthopedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- *Correspondence: Lin Cai,
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15
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Chiarini F, Paganelli F, Balestra T, Capanni C, Fazio A, Manara MC, Landuzzi L, Petrini S, Evangelisti C, Lollini PL, Martelli AM, Lattanzi G, Scotlandi K. Lamin A and the LINC complex act as potential tumor suppressors in Ewing Sarcoma. Cell Death Dis 2022; 13:346. [PMID: 35422060 PMCID: PMC9010457 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-022-04729-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Lamin A, a main constituent of the nuclear lamina, is involved in mechanosignaling and cell migration through dynamic interactions with the LINC complex, formed by the nuclear envelope proteins SUN1, SUN2 and the nesprins. Here, we investigated lamin A role in Ewing Sarcoma (EWS), an aggressive bone tumor affecting children and young adults. In patients affected by EWS, we found a significant inverse correlation between LMNA gene expression and tumor aggressiveness. Accordingly, in experimental in vitro models, low lamin A expression correlated with enhanced cell migration and invasiveness and, in vivo, with an increased metastatic load. At the molecular level, this condition was linked to altered expression and anchorage of nuclear envelope proteins and increased nuclear retention of YAP/TAZ, a mechanosignaling effector. Conversely, overexpression of lamin A rescued LINC complex organization, thus reducing YAP/TAZ nuclear recruitment and preventing cell invasiveness. These effects were also obtained through modulation of lamin A maturation by a statin-based pharmacological treatment that further elicited a more differentiated phenotype in EWS cells. These results demonstrate that drugs inducing nuclear envelope remodeling could be exploited to improve therapeutic strategies for EWS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Chiarini
- CNR Institute of Molecular Genetics "Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza", Unit of Bologna, 40136, Bologna, Italy. .,IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, 40136, Bologna, Italy.
| | - Francesca Paganelli
- CNR Institute of Molecular Genetics "Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza", Unit of Bologna, 40136, Bologna, Italy.,Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, 40136, Bologna, Italy
| | - Tommaso Balestra
- IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Experimental Oncology Laboratory, 40136, Bologna, Italy.,Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, 40138, Bologna, Italy
| | - Cristina Capanni
- CNR Institute of Molecular Genetics "Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza", Unit of Bologna, 40136, Bologna, Italy.,IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, 40136, Bologna, Italy
| | - Antonietta Fazio
- Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, 40136, Bologna, Italy
| | - Maria Cristina Manara
- IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Experimental Oncology Laboratory, 40136, Bologna, Italy
| | - Lorena Landuzzi
- IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Experimental Oncology Laboratory, 40136, Bologna, Italy
| | - Stefania Petrini
- Confocal Microscopy Core Facility, Research Center, Bambino Gesu' Children's Hospital IRCCS, 00146, Rome, Italy
| | - Camilla Evangelisti
- Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, 40136, Bologna, Italy
| | - Pier-Luigi Lollini
- Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, 40138, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alberto M Martelli
- Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, 40136, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giovanna Lattanzi
- CNR Institute of Molecular Genetics "Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza", Unit of Bologna, 40136, Bologna, Italy. .,IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, 40136, Bologna, Italy.
| | - Katia Scotlandi
- IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Experimental Oncology Laboratory, 40136, Bologna, Italy.
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16
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Zhong D, Chen D, Zhang G, Lin S, Mei R, Yu X. Screening of Potential Key Biomarkers for Ewing Sarcoma: Evidence from Gene Array Analysis. Int J Gen Med 2022; 15:2575-2588. [PMID: 35342299 PMCID: PMC8943648 DOI: 10.2147/ijgm.s346251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Ewing’s sarcoma (ES) is a common bone cancer in children and adolescents. There are ethnic differences in the incidence and treatment effects. People have made great efforts to clarify the cause; however, the molecular mechanism of ES is still poorly understood. Methods We download the microarray datasets GSE68776, GSE45544 and GSE17674 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of the three datasets were screened and enrichment analysis was performed. STRING and Cytoscape were used to carry out module analysis, building a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network. Finally, a series of analyses such as survival analysis and immune infiltration analysis were performed on the selected genes. Results A total of 629 differentially expressed genes were screened, including 206 up-regulated genes and 423 down-regulated genes. The pathways and rich-functions of DEGs include protein activation cascade, carbohydrate binding, cell-cell adhesion junctions, mitotic cell cycle, p53 pathway, and cancer pathways. Then, a total of 10 hub genes were screened out. Biological process analysis showed that these genes were mainly enriched in mitotic nuclear division, protein kinase activity, cell division, cell cycle, and protein phosphorylation. Conclusion Survival analysis and multiple gene comparison analysis showed that CDCA8, MAD2L1 and FANCI may be involved in the occurrence and prognosis of ES. The purpose of our study is to clarify the DEG and key genes, which will help us know more about the molecular mechanisms of ES, provide potential pathway or targets for the diagnosis and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duming Zhong
- Department of Orthopedics, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Dan Chen
- Department of Orthopedics, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Guangquan Zhang
- Department of Orthopedics, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Shaobai Lin
- Department of Orthopedics, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Runhong Mei
- Department of Orthopedics, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xuefeng Yu
- Department of Orthopedics, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China
- Correspondence: Xuefeng Yu; Runhong Mei, Email ;
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17
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Zhou Y, Fang Y, Zhou J, Liu Y, Wu S, Xu B. NPM1 is a Novel Therapeutic Target and Prognostic Biomarker for Ewing Sarcoma. Front Genet 2021; 12:771253. [PMID: 34899858 PMCID: PMC8662625 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.771253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (ES) is a cancer that may originate from stem mesenchymal or neural crest cells and is highly prevalent in children and adolescents. In recent years, targeted therapies against immune-related genes have shown good efficacy in a variety of cancers. However, effective targets for immunotherapy in ES are yet to be developed. In our study, we first identified the immune-associated differential hub gene NPM1 by bioinformatics methods as a differentially expressed gene, and then validated it using real time-PCR and western blotting, and found that this gene is not only closely related to the immune infiltration in ES, but also can affect the proliferation and apoptosis of ES cells, and is closely related to the survival of patients. The results of our bioinformatic analysis showed that NPM1 can be a hub gene in ES and an immunotherapeutic target to reactivate immune infiltration in patients with ES. In addition, treatment with NPM1 promoted apoptosis and inhibited the proliferation of ES cells. The NPM1 inhibitor NSC348884 can induce apoptosis of ES cells in a dose-dependent manner and is expected to be a potential therapeutic agent for ES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangfan Zhou
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Yuan Fang
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Junjie Zhou
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Yulian Liu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Shusheng Wu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of (University of Science and Technology of China) USTC, Hefei, China
| | - Bin Xu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
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18
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Netti GS, Franzin R, Stasi A, Spadaccino F, Dello Strologo A, Infante B, Gesualdo L, Castellano G, Ranieri E, Stallone G. Role of Complement in Regulating Inflammation Processes in Renal and Prostate Cancers. Cells 2021; 10:cells10092426. [PMID: 34572075 PMCID: PMC8471315 DOI: 10.3390/cells10092426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
For decades, the complement system, the central pillar of innate immune response, was recognized as a protective mechanism against cancer cells and the manipulation of complement effector functions in cancer setting offered a great opportunity to improve monoclonal antibody-based cancer immunotherapies. Similarly, cellular senescence, the process of cell cycle arrest that allow DNA and tissue repair has been traditionally thought to be able to suppress tumor progression. However, in recent years, extensive research has identified the complement system and cellular senescence as two main inducers of tumour growth in the context of chronic, persistent inflammation named inflammaging. Here, we discuss the data describing the ambivalent role of senescence in cancer with a particular focus on tumors that are strongly dependent on complement activation and can be understood by a new, senescence-related point of view: prostate cancer and renal cell carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Stefano Netti
- Clinical Pathology, Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.S.N.); (F.S.)
| | - Rossana Franzin
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation-Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124 Bari, Italy; (R.F.); (A.S.); (L.G.)
| | - Alessandra Stasi
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation-Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124 Bari, Italy; (R.F.); (A.S.); (L.G.)
| | - Federica Spadaccino
- Clinical Pathology, Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.S.N.); (F.S.)
| | - Andrea Dello Strologo
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences-Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit, Advanced Research Center on Kidney Aging (A.R.K.A.), University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (A.D.S.); (B.I.); (G.C.)
| | - Barbara Infante
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences-Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit, Advanced Research Center on Kidney Aging (A.R.K.A.), University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (A.D.S.); (B.I.); (G.C.)
| | - Loreto Gesualdo
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation-Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124 Bari, Italy; (R.F.); (A.S.); (L.G.)
| | - Giuseppe Castellano
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences-Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit, Advanced Research Center on Kidney Aging (A.R.K.A.), University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (A.D.S.); (B.I.); (G.C.)
| | - Elena Ranieri
- Clinical Pathology, Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (G.S.N.); (F.S.)
- Correspondence: (E.R.); (G.S.); Tel.: +39-0881-732611 (E.R.); +39-0881-736002 (G.S.)
| | - Giovanni Stallone
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences-Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit, Advanced Research Center on Kidney Aging (A.R.K.A.), University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy; (A.D.S.); (B.I.); (G.C.)
- Correspondence: (E.R.); (G.S.); Tel.: +39-0881-732611 (E.R.); +39-0881-736002 (G.S.)
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19
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Chen Y, Su H, Su Y, Zhang Y, Lin Y, Haglund F. Identification of an RNA-Binding-Protein-Based Prognostic Model for Ewing Sarcoma. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13153736. [PMID: 34359637 PMCID: PMC8345188 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13153736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Ewing sarcoma (ES) is an aggressive childhood tumor for which response to chemotherapy is central to long-term prognosis, but few prognostic markers have been identified. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are strong regulators of cell behavior, working, for example, through post-translational modifications of mRNA. In this study, we investigated whether patterns in the RBP levels were related to outcomes in ES patients. A total of three distinct patterns were recognized, and additional modelling suggested that 10 RPBs had predictive value, suggesting that this model could be used in a clinical setting to identify patients with a higher risk of mortality. Abstract RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are important transcriptomic regulators and may be important in tumorigenesis. Here, we sought to investigate the clinical impact of RBPs for patients with Ewing sarcoma (ES). ES transcriptome signatures were characterized from four previously published cohorts and grouped into new training and validation cohorts. A total of three distinct subtypes were identified and compared for differences in patient prognosis and RBP signatures. Next, univariate Cox and Lasso regression models were used to identify hub prognosis-related RBPs and construct a prognostic risk model, and prediction capacity was assessed through time-dependent receiver operating characteristics (ROCs), Kaplan–Meier curves, and nomograms. Across the three RBP subtypes, 29 significant prognostic-associated RBP genes were identified, of which 10 were used to build and validate an RBP-associated prognostic risk model (RPRM) that had a stable predictive value and could be considered valuable for clinical risk-stratification of ES. A comparison with immunohistochemistry validation showed a significant association between overall survival and NSUN7 immunoreactivity, which was an independent favorable prognostic marker. The association of RBP signatures with ES clinical prognosis provides a strong rationale for further investigation into RBPs molecular mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Chen
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden; (Y.S.); (Y.Z.); (Y.L.); (F.H.)
- Clinical Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden
- Correspondence:
| | - Huafang Su
- Department of Radiation and Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China;
| | - Yanhong Su
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden; (Y.S.); (Y.Z.); (Y.L.); (F.H.)
| | - Yifan Zhang
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden; (Y.S.); (Y.Z.); (Y.L.); (F.H.)
- Clinical Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Yingbo Lin
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden; (Y.S.); (Y.Z.); (Y.L.); (F.H.)
| | - Felix Haglund
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden; (Y.S.); (Y.Z.); (Y.L.); (F.H.)
- Clinical Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden
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20
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Jiang J, Zhan X, Xu G, Liang T, Yu C, Liao S, Chen L, Huang S, Sun X, Yi M, Zhang Z, Yao Y, Liu C. Glycolysis- and immune-related novel prognostic biomarkers of Ewing's sarcoma: glucuronic acid epimerase and triosephosphate isomerase 1. Aging (Albany NY) 2021; 13:17516-17535. [PMID: 34233293 PMCID: PMC8312448 DOI: 10.18632/aging.203242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Owing to the poor prognosis of Ewing's sarcoma, reliable prognostic biomarkers are highly warranted for clinical diagnosis of the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS A combination of the weighted correlation network analysis and differentially expression analysis was used for initial screening; glycolysis-related genes were extracted and subjected to univariate Cox, LASSO regression, and multivariate Cox analyses to construct prognostic models. The immune cell composition of each sample was analysed using CIBERSORT software. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed for assessing the differential expression of modelled genes in Ewing's sarcoma and paraneoplastic tissues. RESULTS A logistic regression model constructed for the prognosis of Ewing's sarcoma exhibited that the patient survival rate in the high-risk group is much lower than in the low-risk group. CIBERSORT analysis exhibited a strong correlation of Ewing's sarcoma with naïve B cells, CD8+ T cells, activated NK cells, and M0 macrophages (P < 0.05). Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the study findings. CONCLUSIONS GLCE and TPI1 can be used as prognostic biomarkers to predict the prognosis of Ewing's sarcoma, and a close association of Ewing's sarcoma with naïve B cells, CD8+ T cells, activated NK cells, and M0 macrophages provides a novel approach to the disease immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Jiang
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Xinli Zhan
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Guoyong Xu
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Tuo Liang
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Chaojie Yu
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Shian Liao
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Liyi Chen
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Shengsheng Huang
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Xuhua Sun
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Ming Yi
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Zide Zhang
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Yuanlin Yao
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
| | - Chong Liu
- The First Clinical Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
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21
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Chen Z, Wang X, Wang G, Xiao B, Ma Z, Huo H, Li W. A seven-lncRNA signature for predicting Ewing's sarcoma. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11599. [PMID: 34178467 PMCID: PMC8214847 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs with unique characteristics. These RNA can regulate cancer cells’ survival, proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis and are potential diagnostic and prognostic markers. We identified a seven-lncRNA signature related to the overall survival (OS) of patients with Ewing’s sarcoma (EWS). Methods We used an expression profile from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database as a training cohort to screen out the OS-associated lncRNAs in EWS and further established a seven-lncRNA signature using univariate Cox regression, the least absolute shrinkage, and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis. The prognostic lncRNA signature was validated in an external dataset from the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) as a validation cohort. Results We obtained 10 survival-related lncRNAs from the Kaplan-Meier and ROC curve analysis (log-rank test P < 0.05; AUC >0.6). Univariate Cox regression and LASSO regression analyses confirmed seven key lncRNAs and we established a lncRNA signature to predict an EWS prognosis. EWS patients in the training cohort were categorized into a low-risk group or a high-risk group based on their median risk score. The high-risk group’s survival time was significantly shorter than the low-risk group’s. This seven-lncRNA signature was further confirmed by the validation cohort. The area under the curve (AUC) for this lncRNA signature was up to 0.905 in the training group and 0.697 in the 3-year validation group. The nomogram’s calibration curves demonstrated that EWS probability in the two cohorts was consistent between the nomogram prediction and actual observation. Conclusion We screened a seven-lncRNA signature to predict the EWS patients’ prognosis. Our findings provide a new reference for the current prognostic evaluation of EWS and new direction for the diagnosis and treatment of EWS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihui Chen
- Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xinyu Wang
- Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Guozhu Wang
- Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China
| | - Bin Xiao
- Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zhe Ma
- Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China
| | - Hongliang Huo
- Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China
| | - Weiwei Li
- Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China
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22
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Adane B, Alexe G, Seong BKA, Lu D, Hwang EE, Hnisz D, Lareau CA, Ross L, Lin S, Dela Cruz FS, Richardson M, Weintraub AS, Wang S, Iniguez AB, Dharia NV, Conway AS, Robichaud AL, Tanenbaum B, Krill-Burger JM, Vazquez F, Schenone M, Berman JN, Kung AL, Carr SA, Aryee MJ, Young RA, Crompton BD, Stegmaier K. STAG2 loss rewires oncogenic and developmental programs to promote metastasis in Ewing sarcoma. Cancer Cell 2021; 39:827-844.e10. [PMID: 34129824 PMCID: PMC8378827 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2021.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The core cohesin subunit STAG2 is recurrently mutated in Ewing sarcoma but its biological role is less clear. Here, we demonstrate that cohesin complexes containing STAG2 occupy enhancer and polycomb repressive complex (PRC2)-marked regulatory regions. Genetic suppression of STAG2 leads to a compensatory increase in cohesin-STAG1 complexes, but not in enhancer-rich regions, and results in reprogramming of cis-chromatin interactions. Strikingly, in STAG2 knockout cells the oncogenic genetic program driven by the fusion transcription factor EWS/FLI1 was highly perturbed, in part due to altered enhancer-promoter contacts. Moreover, loss of STAG2 also disrupted PRC2-mediated regulation of gene expression. Combined, these transcriptional changes converged to modulate EWS/FLI1, migratory, and neurodevelopmental programs. Finally, consistent with clinical observations, functional studies revealed that loss of STAG2 enhances the metastatic potential of Ewing sarcoma xenografts. Our findings demonstrate that STAG2 mutations can alter chromatin architecture and transcriptional programs to promote an aggressive cancer phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biniam Adane
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Gabriela Alexe
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Bioinformatics Graduate Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bo Kyung A Seong
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Diana Lu
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elizabeth E Hwang
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Denes Hnisz
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Caleb A Lareau
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Linda Ross
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shan Lin
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Filemon S Dela Cruz
- Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Abraham S Weintraub
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sarah Wang
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Neekesh V Dharia
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Amy Saur Conway
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Amanda L Robichaud
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Jason N Berman
- Department of Pediatrics and Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Andrew L Kung
- Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Steven A Carr
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Martin J Aryee
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Richard A Young
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Brian D Crompton
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Kimberly Stegmaier
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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23
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Zhou Y, Xu B, Wu S, Liu Y. Prognostic Immune-Related Genes of Patients With Ewing's Sarcoma. Front Genet 2021; 12:669549. [PMID: 34122521 PMCID: PMC8194304 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.669549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Ewing's sarcoma (ES) is an extremely aggressive malignant bone tumor with a high incidence among children and adolescents. The immune microenvironment plays an important role in ES development. The aim of the current study was to investigate the immune microenvironment in ES patients to identify immune-related gene signatures. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was used to cluster the RNA sequences of 117 ES patients, and their immune cell infiltration data were downloaded and evaluated based on the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. High, medium, and low immune cell infiltration clusters were identified. Based on the comparison of clusters with high and low immune cell infiltration, normal skeletal muscle cells, and ES, we identified 198 common differentially expressed genes. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses indicated the underlying immune mechanism in ES. Cox and LASSO regression analyses were conducted to select immune-related prognostic genes. An external dataset from the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) was used to validate our results. Ten immune-related, independent prognostic genes (FMO2, GLCE, GPR64, IGFBP4, LOXHD1, PBK, SNAI2, SPP1, TAPT1-AS1, and ZIC2) were selected for analysis. These 10 immune-related genes signature were determined to exhibit independent prognostic significance for ES. The results of this study provide an approach for predicting the prognosis and survival of ES patients, and the elucidated genes may be a promising target for immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangfan Zhou
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Bin Xu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Shusheng Wu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei, China
| | - Yulian Liu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
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24
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Ren EH, Deng YJ, Yuan WH, Zhang GZ, Wu ZL, Li CY, Xie QQ. An Immune-Related Long Non-Coding RNA Signature to Predict the Prognosis of Ewing's Sarcoma Based on a Machine Learning Iterative Lasso Regression. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:651593. [PMID: 34124041 PMCID: PMC8187926 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.651593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to construct a new immune-associated long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) signature to predict the prognosis of Ewing sarcoma (ES) and explore its molecular mechanisms. We downloaded transcriptome and clinical prognosis data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GSE17679, which included 88 ES samples and 18 matched normal skeletal muscle samples), and used it as a training set to identify immune-related lncRNAs with different expression levels in ES. Univariable Cox regression was used to screen immune-related lncRNAs related to ES prognosis, and an immune-related lncRNA signature was constructed based on machine learning iterative lasso regression. An external verification set was used to confirm the predictive ability of the signature. Clinical feature subgroup analysis was used to explore whether the signature was an independent prognostic factor. In addition, CIBERSORT was used to explore immune cell infiltration in the high- and low-risk groups, and to analyze the correlations between the lncRNA signature and immune cell levels. Gene set enrichment and variation analyses were used to explore the possible regulatory mechanisms of the immune-related lncRNAs in ES. We also analyzed the expression of 17 common immunotherapy targets in the high- and low-risk groups to identify any that may be regulated by immune-related lncRNAs. We screened 35 immune-related lncRNAs by univariate Cox regression. Based on this, an immune-related 11-lncRNA signature was generated by machine learning iterative lasso regression. Analysis of the external validation set confirmed its high predictive ability. DPP10 antisense RNA 3 was negatively correlated with resting dendritic cell, neutrophil, and γδ T cell infiltration, and long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 1398 was positively correlated with resting dendritic cells and M2 macrophages. These lncRNAs may affect ES prognosis by regulating GSE17721_CTRL_VS_PAM3CSK4_12H_BMDC_UP, GSE2770_IL4_ACT_VS_ACT_CD4_TCELL_48H_UP, GSE29615_CTRL_VS_DAY3_ LAIV_IFLU_VACCINE_PBMC_UP, complement signaling, interleukin 2-signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 signaling, and protein secretion. The immune-related 11-lncRNA signature may also have regulatory effects on the immunotherapy targets CD40 molecule, CD70 molecule, and CD276 molecule. In conclusion, we constructed a new immune-related 11-lncRNA signature that can stratify the prognoses of patients with ES.
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Affiliation(s)
- En-Hui Ren
- Breast Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Qinghai University, Xining, China.,Department of Orthopaedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Ya-Jun Deng
- Department of Orthopaedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Wen-Hua Yuan
- Department of Orthopaedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Guang-Zhi Zhang
- Department of Orthopaedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zuo-Long Wu
- Department of Orthopaedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Chun-Ying Li
- The Fourth People's Hospital of Qinghai Province, Xining, China
| | - Qi-Qi Xie
- Breast Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Qinghai University, Xining, China.,Department of Orthopaedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
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25
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Reverse Engineering of Ewing Sarcoma Regulatory Network Uncovers PAX7 and RUNX3 as Master Regulators Associated with Good Prognosis. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13081860. [PMID: 33924679 PMCID: PMC8070584 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13081860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing Sarcoma (ES) is a rare malignant tumor occurring most frequently in adolescents and young adults. The ES hallmark is a chromosomal translocation between the chromosomes 11 and 22 that results in an aberrant transcription factor (TF) through the fusion of genes from the FET and ETS families, commonly EWSR1 and FLI1. The regulatory mechanisms behind the ES transcriptional alterations remain poorly understood. Here, we reconstruct the ES regulatory network using public available transcriptional data. Seven TFs were identified as potential MRs and clustered into two groups: one composed by PAX7 and RUNX3, and another composed by ARNT2, CREB3L1, GLI3, MEF2C, and PBX3. The MRs within each cluster act as reciprocal agonists regarding the regulation of shared genes, regulon activity, and implications in clinical outcome, while the clusters counteract each other. The regulons of all the seven MRs were differentially methylated. PAX7 and RUNX3 regulon activity were associated with good prognosis while ARNT2, CREB3L1, GLI3, and PBX3 were associated with bad prognosis. PAX7 and RUNX3 appear as highly expressed in ES biopsies and ES cell lines. This work contributes to the understanding of the ES regulome, identifying candidate MRs, analyzing their methilome and pointing to potential prognostic factors.
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26
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Morales-Molina A, Gambera S, Leo A, García-Castro J. Combination immunotherapy using G-CSF and oncolytic virotherapy reduces tumor growth in osteosarcoma. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 9:e001703. [PMID: 33737338 PMCID: PMC7978281 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2020-001703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant solid tumor that affects bones, however, survival rates of patients with relapsed osteosarcoma have not improved in the last 30 years. Oncolytic virotherapy, which uses viruses designed to selectively replicate in cancer cells, has emerged as a promising treatment for solid tumors. Our group uses mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to transport oncolytic adenoviruses (OAds) to the tumor site, a therapeutic strategy called Celyvir. This treatment has been already applied in human patients, canine patients and different mouse models. In parallel, previous results have probed that administration of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) increased immune infiltration in tumors. We then hypothesized that the mobilization of immune cells by G-CSF may increase the antitumor efficacy of Celyvir treatment by increasing the immune infiltration into the tumors. METHODS In this study, we use a murine version of Celyvir consisting in murine MSCs carrying the murine OAd dlE102-here called OAd-MSCs-in an immunocompetent model of osteosarcoma. We tested the antitumoral efficacy of the combination of OAd-MSCs plus G-CSF. RESULTS Our results show that treatment with OAd-MSCs or the union of OAd-MSCs with G-CSF (Combination) significantly reduced tumor growth of osteosarcoma in vivo. Moreover, treated tumors presented higher tumor infiltration of immune cells-especially tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes-and reduced T cell exhaustion, which seems to be enhanced in tumors treated with the Combination. The comparison of our results to those obtained from a cohort of pediatric osteosarcoma patients showed that the virotherapy induces immunological changes similar to those observed in patients with good prognosis. CONCLUSIONS The results open the possibility of using cellular virotherapy for the treatment of bone cancers. Indeed, its combination with G-CSF may be considered for the improvement of the therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stefano Gambera
- Cellular Biotechnology Unit, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Angela Leo
- Department of Biomedical, Experimental and Clinical Sciences, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
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27
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Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is a highly aggressive pediatric bone cancer that is defined by a somatic fusion between the EWSR1 gene and an ETS family member, most frequently the FLI1 gene, leading to expression of a chimeric transcription factor EWSR1-FLI1. Otherwise, EwS is one of the most genetically stable cancers. The situation when the major cancer driver is well known looks like a unique opportunity for applying the systems biology approach in order to understand the EwS mechanisms as well as to uncover some general mechanistic principles of carcinogenesis. A number of studies have been performed revealing the direct and indirect effects of EWSR1-FLI1 on multiple aspects of cellular life. Nevertheless, the emerging picture of the oncogene action appears to be highly complex and systemic, with multiple reciprocal influences between the immediate consequences of the driver mutation and intracellular and intercellular molecular mechanisms, including regulation of transcription, epigenome, and tumoral microenvironment. In this chapter, we present an overview of existing molecular profiling resources available for EwS tumors and cell lines and provide an online comprehensive catalogue of publicly available omics and other datasets. We further highlight the systems biology studies of EwS, involving mathematical modeling of networks and integration of molecular data. We conclude that despite the seeming simplicity, a lot has yet to be understood on the systems-wide mechanisms connecting the driver mutation and the major cellular phenotypes of this pediatric cancer. Overall, this chapter can serve as a guide for a systems biology researcher to start working on EwS.
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28
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Zhao Y, Ruan X. Identification of PGRMC1 as a Candidate Oncogene for Head and Neck Cancers and Its Involvement in Metabolic Activities. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 7:438. [PMID: 31970154 PMCID: PMC6960204 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2019.00438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Progesterone Receptor Membrane Component 1 (PGRMC1/Sigma-2 receptor) is located on chromosome Xq21 and encodes a haem-containing protein that interacts with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and cytochromes P450, with function in tumor proliferation and chemoresistance. Although the over-expression of PGRMC1 reported in many different types of human cancers, systematic analysis of its oncogenic role of PGRMC1 has not been performed for any cancer. In this work, we analyzed the transcriptomics, genomics, and clinical data of 498 head-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) samples from the public-accessible database, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The Cox regression was performed to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) of PGRMC1 expression as a prognosis feature for overall survival (OS). Our results demonstrated that PGRMC1 expression served as a predictor for worse OS (HR = 1.95, P = 0.0005) in head-neck squamous cell carcinoma. And the over-expression of PGRMC1 was strongly correlated with various metabolic process activity as well as cancer metastasis and cell proliferation features in human head-neck squamous cell carcinoma patient's cohort. Besides, the over-expression and unfavorable prognosis value of PGRMC1 were also observed in many other cancer types. This study provides insights into the potential oncogenic functional significance of PGRMC1 in cancer research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Zhao
- Department of Gynecological Endocrinology, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangyan Ruan
- Department of Gynecological Endocrinology, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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29
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Deng Y, Xie Q, Zhang G, Li S, Wu Z, Ma Z, He X, Gao Y, Wang Y, Kang X, Wang J. Slow skeletal muscle troponin T, titin and myosin light chain 3 are candidate prognostic biomarkers for Ewing's sarcoma. Oncol Lett 2019; 18:6431-6442. [PMID: 31807166 PMCID: PMC6876326 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2019.11044] [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: 03/16/2019] [Accepted: 09/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing's sarcoma (ES) is a common malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. Although great efforts have been made to understand the pathogenesis and development of ES, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. The present study aimed to identify new key genes as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis, targeted therapy or prognosis of ES. mRNA expression profile chip data sets GSE17674, GSE17679 and GSE45544 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened using the R software limma package, and functional and pathway enrichment analyses were performed using the enrichplot package and GSEA software. The NetworkAnalyst online tool, as well as Cytoscape and its plug-ins cytoHubba and NetworkAnalyzer, were used to construct a protein-protein interaction network (PPI) and conduct module analysis to screen key (hub) genes. LABSO COX regression and overall survival (OS) analysis of the Hub genes were performed. A total of 211 DEGs were obtained by integrating and analyzing the three data sets. The functions and pathways of the DEGs were mainly associated with the regulation of small-molecule metabolic processes, cofactor-binding, amino acid, proteasome and ribosome biosynthesis in eukaryotes, as well as the Rac1, cell cycle and P53 signaling pathways. A total of one important module and 20 hub genes were screened from the PPI network using the Maximum Correlation Criteria algorithm of cytoHubba. LASSO COX regression results revealed that titin (TTN), fast skeletal muscle troponin T, skeletal muscle actin α-actin, nebulin, troponin C type 2 (fast), myosin light-chain 3 (MYL3), slow skeletal muscle troponin T (TNNT1), myosin-binding protein C1 slow-type, tropomyosin 3 and myosin heavy-chain 7 were associated with prognosis in patients with ES. The Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated that high mRNA expression levels of TNNT1 (P<0.001), TTN (P=0.049), titin-cap (P=0.04), tropomodulin 1 (P=0.011), troponin I2 fast skeletal type (P=0.021) and MYL3 (P=0.017) were associated with poor OS in patients with ES. In conclusion, the DEGs identified in the present study may be key genes in the pathogenesis of ES, three of which, namely TNNT1, TTN and MYL3, may be potential prognostic biomarkers for ES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajun Deng
- Department of Orthopedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.,Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Disease of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China
| | - Qiqi Xie
- Department of Orthopedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.,Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Disease of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China
| | - Guangzhi Zhang
- Department of Orthopedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.,Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Disease of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China
| | - Shaoping Li
- Department of Orthopedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.,Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Disease of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China
| | - Zuolong Wu
- Department of Orthopedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.,Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Disease of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China
| | - Zhanjun Ma
- Department of Orthopedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.,Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Disease of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China
| | - Xuegang He
- Department of Orthopedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.,Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Disease of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China
| | - Yicheng Gao
- Department of Orthopedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.,Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Disease of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China
| | - Yonggang Wang
- Department of Orthopedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China
| | - Xuewen Kang
- Department of Orthopedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.,Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Disease of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Orthopedics, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.,Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Disease of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China
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Zhang J, Zhang Y, Li Z, Wu H, Xun J, Feng H. Bioinformatics analysis of Ewing's sarcoma: Seeking key candidate genes and pathways. Oncol Lett 2019; 18:6008-6016. [PMID: 31788075 PMCID: PMC6865160 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2019.10936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing's sarcoma (ES) is the second most common bone tumor among children and adolescents worldwide. However, the genes and signaling pathways involved in ES tumorigenesis and progression remain unclear. The present study used two gene-expression profile datasets (GSE17674 and GSE31215) to elucidate key potential candidate genes and pathways in ES. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified and a functional enrichment analysis was performed. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, and the most significant module in the PPI network was selected from the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins database. A total of 278 genes were identified by comparing the tumor samples with non-cancerous samples; these included 272 upregulated and 6 downregulated genes. The pathway analysis demonstrated significant enrichment in the positive regulation of transcription in the DEGs coding for RNA polymerase II promoter, plasma membrane and chromatin binding pathways in cancer in general. There were 269 nodes and 292 edges in the PPI network. Finally, MYC, IGF1, OAS1, EZH2 and ISG15 were identified as the hub genes according to the degree levels. The survival analysis revealed that EZH2 is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with ES. In conclusion, the DEGs, associated pathways and hub genes identified in the present study help elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of ES carcinogenesis and progression, and provide potential molecular targets and biomarkers for ES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinming Zhang
- Department of Orthopedics, Hebei Medical University Fourth Affiliated Hospital and Hebei Provincial Tumor Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050011, P.R. China
| | - Yao Zhang
- Department of Breast Cancer Center, Hebei Medical University Fourth Affiliated Hospital and Hebei Provincial Tumor Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050011, P.R. China
| | - Ze Li
- Department of Emergency, Hebei Medical University Second Affiliated Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, P.R. China
| | - Hongzeng Wu
- Department of Orthopedics, Hebei Medical University Fourth Affiliated Hospital and Hebei Provincial Tumor Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050011, P.R. China
| | - Jianjun Xun
- Department of Orthopedics, Hebei Medical University Fourth Affiliated Hospital and Hebei Provincial Tumor Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050011, P.R. China
| | - Helin Feng
- Department of Orthopedics, Hebei Medical University Fourth Affiliated Hospital and Hebei Provincial Tumor Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050011, P.R. China
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31
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Imatinib revives the therapeutic potential of metformin on ewing sarcoma by attenuating tumor hypoxic response and inhibiting convergent signaling pathways. Cancer Lett 2019; 469:195-206. [PMID: 31672491 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2019.10.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2019] [Revised: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is an aggressive pediatric tumor treated with intensive cytotoxic chemotherapies. Overall survival for metastatic or relapsed disease is only 20-30%. Metformin has long been an attractive therapeutic option for EwS, but hypoxia limits its efficacy. Through a systematic integration of drug combination screening, bioinformatics analyses, functional and in vivo studies, and correlation with clinical outcome, we identified another known drug, imatinib that could augment the in vivo anti-tumor capacity of metformin by attenuating tumor hypoxic response. This drug combination regimen widely suppressed multiple dominant mechanisms in EwS genesis, growth, and metastasis, including key EWS-FLI1 downstream targets that converge into the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. In addition, the combination significantly enhanced inhibition on tumor cell proliferation by standard EwS chemotherapy drugs, including cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide. This suggests a potential clinical benefit of the metformin/imatinib combination by allowing the reduction in dose intensity of standard chemotherapy without compromising survival outcome and represents a potential faster track application for EwS patients.
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32
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Stahl D, Gentles AJ, Thiele R, Gütgemann I. Prognostic profiling of the immune cell microenvironment in Ewing´s Sarcoma Family of Tumors. Oncoimmunology 2019; 8:e1674113. [PMID: 31741777 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2019.1674113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Revised: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing´s Sarcoma Family of Tumors (ESFT) are clinically aggressive bone and soft tissue tumors in children and young adults. Analysis of the immune tumor microenvironment (TME) provides insight into tumor evolution and novel treatment options. So far, the scarcity of immune cells in ESFT has hindered a comprehensive analysis of rare subtypes. We determined the relative fraction of 22 immune cell types using 197 microarray gene expression datasets of primary ESFT tumor samples by using CIBERSORT, a deconvolution algorithm enumerating infiltrating leucocytes in bulk tumor tissue. The most abundant cells were macrophages (mean 43% of total tumor-infiltrating leukocytes, TILs), predominantly immunosuppressive M2 type macrophages, followed by T cells (mean 23% of TILs). Increased neutrophils, albeit at low number, were associated with a poor overall survival (OS) (p = .038) and increased M2 macrophages predicted a shorter event-free survival (EFS) (p = .033). High frequency of T cells and activated NK cells correlated with prolonged OS (p = .044 and p = .007, respectively). A small patient population (9/32) with combined low infiltrating M2 macrophages, low neutrophils, and high total T cells was identified with favorable outcome. This finding was confirmed in a validation cohort of patients with follow up (11/38). When comparing the immune TME with expression of known stemness genes, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 α (HIF1α) correlated with high abundance of macrophages and neutrophils and decreased T cell levels. The immune TME in ESFTs shows a distinct composition including rare immune cell subsets that in part may be due to expression of HIF1α.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Stahl
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Andrew J Gentles
- Departments of Medicine and Biomedical Data Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ralf Thiele
- Department of Computer Science, Bonn-Rhine-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Sankt Augustin, Germany
| | - Ines Gütgemann
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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Musa J, Cidre-Aranaz F, Aynaud MM, Orth MF, Knott MML, Mirabeau O, Mazor G, Varon M, Hölting TLB, Grossetête S, Gartlgruber M, Surdez D, Gerke JS, Ohmura S, Marchetto A, Dallmayer M, Baldauf MC, Stein S, Sannino G, Li J, Romero-Pérez L, Westermann F, Hartmann W, Dirksen U, Gymrek M, Anderson ND, Shlien A, Rotblat B, Kirchner T, Delattre O, Grünewald TGP. Cooperation of cancer drivers with regulatory germline variants shapes clinical outcomes. Nat Commun 2019; 10:4128. [PMID: 31511524 PMCID: PMC6739408 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12071-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Pediatric malignancies including Ewing sarcoma (EwS) feature a paucity of somatic alterations except for pathognomonic driver-mutations that cannot explain overt variations in clinical outcome. Here, we demonstrate in EwS how cooperation of dominant oncogenes and regulatory germline variants determine tumor growth, patient survival and drug response. Binding of the oncogenic EWSR1-FLI1 fusion transcription factor to a polymorphic enhancer-like DNA element controls expression of the transcription factor MYBL2 mediating these phenotypes. Whole-genome and RNA sequencing reveals that variability at this locus is inherited via the germline and is associated with variable inter-tumoral MYBL2 expression. High MYBL2 levels sensitize EwS cells for inhibition of its upstream activating kinase CDK2 in vitro and in vivo, suggesting MYBL2 as a putative biomarker for anti-CDK2-therapy. Collectively, we establish cooperation of somatic mutations and regulatory germline variants as a major determinant of tumor progression and highlight the importance of integrating the regulatory genome in precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Musa
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Florencia Cidre-Aranaz
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Marie-Ming Aynaud
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC Genetics and Biology of Pediatric Cancers, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, Paris, France
| | - Martin F Orth
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Maximilian M L Knott
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Olivier Mirabeau
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC Genetics and Biology of Pediatric Cancers, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, Paris, France
| | - Gal Mazor
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Mor Varon
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Tilman L B Hölting
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Sandrine Grossetête
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC Genetics and Biology of Pediatric Cancers, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, Paris, France
| | - Moritz Gartlgruber
- Neuroblastoma Genomics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Didier Surdez
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC Genetics and Biology of Pediatric Cancers, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, Paris, France
| | - Julia S Gerke
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Shunya Ohmura
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Aruna Marchetto
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Marlene Dallmayer
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Michaela C Baldauf
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Stefanie Stein
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Giuseppina Sannino
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jing Li
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Romero-Pérez
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Frank Westermann
- Neuroblastoma Genomics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Hartmann
- Division of Translational Pathology, Gerhard-Domagk Institute of Pathology, University Hospital of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Uta Dirksen
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Melissa Gymrek
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Nathaniel D Anderson
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Adam Shlien
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Paediatric Laboratory Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Barak Rotblat
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Thomas Kirchner
- Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner site Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Olivier Delattre
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC Genetics and Biology of Pediatric Cancers, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, Paris, France
| | - Thomas G P Grünewald
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner site Munich, Munich, Germany.
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
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Sannino G, Marchetto A, Ranft A, Jabar S, Zacherl C, Alba-Rubio R, Stein S, Wehweck FS, Kiran MM, Hölting TLB, Musa J, Romero-Pérez L, Cidre-Aranaz F, Knott MML, Li J, Jürgens H, Sastre A, Alonso J, Da Silveira W, Hardiman G, Gerke JS, Orth MF, Hartmann W, Kirchner T, Ohmura S, Dirksen U, Grünewald TGP. Gene expression and immunohistochemical analyses identify SOX2 as major risk factor for overall survival and relapse in Ewing sarcoma patients. EBioMedicine 2019; 47:156-162. [PMID: 31427232 PMCID: PMC6796576 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Up to 30-40% of Ewing sarcoma (EwS) patients with non-metastatic disease develop local or metastatic relapse within a time span of 2-10 years. This is in part caused by the absence of prognostic biomarkers that can identify high-risk patients and thus assign them to risk-adapted monitoring and treatment regimens. Since cancer stemness has been associated with tumour relapse and poor patient outcomes, we investigated in the current study the prognostic potential SOX2 (sex determining region Y box 2) - a major transcription factor involved in development and stemness - which was previously described to contribute to the undifferentiated phenotype of EwS. METHODS Two independent patient cohorts, one consisting of 189 retrospectively collected EwS tumours with corresponding mRNA expression data (test-cohort) and the other consisting of 141 prospectively collected formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded resected tumours (validation and cohort), were employed to analyse SOX2 expression levels through DNA microarrays or immunohistochemistry, respectively, and to compare them with clinical parameters and patient outcomes. Two methods were employed to test the validity of the results at both the mRNA and protein levels. FINDINGS Both cohorts showed that only a subset of EwS patients (16-20%) expressed high SOX2 mRNA or protein levels, which significantly correlated with poor overall survival. Multivariate analyses of our validation-cohort revealed that high SOX2 expression represents a major risk-factor for poor survival (HR = 3·19; 95%CI 1·74-5·84; p < 0·01) that is independent from metastasis and other known clinical risk-factors at the time of diagnosis. Univariate analyses demonstrated that SOX2-high expression was correlated with tumour relapse (p = 0·002). The median first relapse was at 14·7 months (range: 3·5-180·7). INTERPRETATION High SOX2 expression constitutes an independent prognostic biomarker for EwS patients with poor outcomes. This may help to identify patients with localised disease who are at high risk for tumour relapse within the first two years after diagnosis. FUNDING The laboratory of T. G. P. Grünewald is supported by grants from the 'Verein zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Forschung an der Medizinischen Fakultät der LMU München (WiFoMed)', by LMU Munich's Institutional Strategy LMUexcellent within the framework of the German Excellence Initiative, the 'Mehr LEBEN für krebskranke Kinder - Bettina-Bräu-Stiftung', the Walter Schulz Foundation, the Wilhelm Sander-Foundation (2016.167.1), the Friedrich-Baur foundation, the Matthias-Lackas foundation, the Barbara & Hubertus Trettner foundation, the Dr. Leopold & Carmen Ellinger foundation, the Gert & Susanna Mayer foundation, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG 391665916), and by the German Cancer Aid (DKH-111886 and DKH-70112257). J. Li was supported by a scholarship of the China Scholarship Council (CSC), J. Musa was supported by a scholarship of the Kind-Philipp foundation, and T. L. B. Hölting by a scholarship of the German Cancer Aid. M. F. Orth and M. M. L. Knott were supported by scholarships of the German National Academic Foundation. G. Sannino was supported by a scholarship from the Fritz-Thyssen Foundation (FTF-40.15.0.030MN). The work of U. Dirksen is supported by grants from the German Cancer Aid (DKH-108128, DKH-70112018, and DKH-70113419), the ERA-Net-TRANSCAN consortium (project number 01KT1310), and Euro Ewing Consortium (EEC, project number EU-FP7 602,856), both funded under the European Commission Seventh Framework Program FP7-HEALTH (http://cordis.europa.eu/), the Barbara & Hubertus Trettner foundation, and the Gert & Susanna Mayer foundation. G. Hardiman was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (SC EPSCoR) and National Institutes of Health (U01-DA045300). The laboratory of J. Alonso was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI12/00816; PI16CIII/00026); Asociación Pablo Ugarte (TPY-M 1149/13; TRPV 205/18), ASION (TVP 141/17), Fundación Sonrisa de Alex & Todos somos Iván (TVP 1324/15).
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppina Sannino
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Aruna Marchetto
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Ranft
- Department of Pediatrics III, West German Cancer Centre, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Susanne Jabar
- Department of Pediatrics III, West German Cancer Centre, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Constanze Zacherl
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Rebeca Alba-Rubio
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Stefanie Stein
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Fabienne S Wehweck
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Merve M Kiran
- Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Tilman L B Hölting
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Julian Musa
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Romero-Pérez
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Florencia Cidre-Aranaz
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Maximilian M L Knott
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jing Li
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Heribert Jürgens
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Ana Sastre
- Unidad hemato-oncología pediátrica, Hospital Infantil Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Alonso
- Pediatric Solid Tumour Laboratory, Institute of Rare Diseases Research (IIER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CB06/07/1009; CIBERER-ISCIII), Spain
| | - Willian Da Silveira
- Center for Genomics Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Gary Hardiman
- Center for Genomics Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA; School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Julia S Gerke
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Martin F Orth
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Hartmann
- Gerhard-Domagk Institute of Pathology, University Hospital of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas Kirchner
- Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Munich, Germany; German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Shunya Ohmura
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Uta Dirksen
- Department of Pediatrics III, West German Cancer Centre, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Essen, Germany.
| | - Thomas G P Grünewald
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Munich, Germany; German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
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35
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BORIS promotes chromatin regulatory interactions in treatment-resistant cancer cells. Nature 2019; 572:676-680. [PMID: 31391581 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1472-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2017] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF), which anchors DNA loops that organize the genome into structural domains, has a central role in gene control by facilitating or constraining interactions between genes and their regulatory elements1,2. In cancer cells, the disruption of CTCF binding at specific loci by somatic mutation3,4 or DNA hypermethylation5 results in the loss of loop anchors and consequent activation of oncogenes. By contrast, the germ-cell-specific paralogue of CTCF, BORIS (brother of the regulator of imprinted sites, also known as CTCFL)6, is overexpressed in several cancers7-9, but its contributions to the malignant phenotype remain unclear. Here we show that aberrant upregulation of BORIS promotes chromatin interactions in ALK-mutated, MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma10 cells that develop resistance to ALK inhibition. These cells are reprogrammed to a distinct phenotypic state during the acquisition of resistance, a process defined by the initial loss of MYCN expression followed by subsequent overexpression of BORIS and a concomitant switch in cellular dependence from MYCN to BORIS. The resultant BORIS-regulated alterations in chromatin looping lead to the formation of super-enhancers that drive the ectopic expression of a subset of proneural transcription factors that ultimately define the resistance phenotype. These results identify a previously unrecognized role of BORIS-to promote regulatory chromatin interactions that support specific cancer phenotypes.
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Wang B, Li J, Li X, Ou Y. Identifying prognosis and metastasis-associated genes associated with Ewing sarcoma by weighted gene co-expression network analysis. Oncol Lett 2019; 18:3527-3536. [PMID: 31516570 PMCID: PMC6732955 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2019.10681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (ES) is a highly malignant pediatric tumor with a low survival rate and a high rate of metastasis. However, there have been limited reports on the exploration of new biomarkers of ES. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify the potential hub genes associated with overall vital survival (OVS) and metastasis in ES. Traditional methods for identifying differentially expressed genes lack the in-depth information of mechanistic studies. In this study, a weighted co-expression network for ES was constructed through weighted gene co-expression network analysis to identify co-expression modules associated with clinical phenotypes. The hub genes in the metastasis- and OVS-related co-expression modules were extracted, and the association between the hub genes and patient OVS was verified in another independent Gene Expression Omnibus dataset. Functional annotations and protein-protein interaction analysis of co-expression modules were also used to understand the potential regulatory mechanisms. The results of the functional enrichment analysis revealed that the OVS-associated module was mainly enriched in the cell cycle and immune response, and the metastasis-associated module was enriched in metabolism. A total of four genes (proteasome subunit α4, L1 cell adhesion molecule, serine/threonine kinase receptor-associated protein and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4) in the OVS-related module and two genes (calcium voltage-gated channel auxiliary subunit γ2 and γ-aminobutyric acid type B receptor subunit 2) in the metastasis-related module were selected as hub genes. Further research on the hub genes identified in the present study may contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of ES metastasis and progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Wang
- Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Yuzhong, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China
| | - Jie Li
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Yuzhong, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China
| | - Xin Li
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Yuzhong, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China
| | - Yunsheng Ou
- Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Yuzhong, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China
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Liao H, Xie X, Xu Y, Huang G. Identification of driver genes associated with chemotherapy resistance of Ewing's sarcoma. Onco Targets Ther 2018; 11:6947-6956. [PMID: 30410352 PMCID: PMC6199211 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s172190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The aim of this study was to identify the driver genes associated with chemotherapy resistance of Ewing’s sarcoma and potential targets for Ewing’s sarcoma treatment. Methods Two mRNA microarray datasets, GSE12102 and GSE17679, were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, which contain 94 human Ewing’s sarcoma samples, including 65 from those who experienced a relapse and 29 from those with no evidence of disease. The differen tially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using LIMMA package R. Subsequently, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses were performed for DEGs using Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Analysis. The protein–protein interaction network was constructed using Cytoscape software, and module analysis was performed using Molecular Complex Detection. Results A total of 206 upregulated DEGs and 141 downregulated DEGs were identified. Upregulated DEGs were primarily enriched in DNA replication, nucleoplasm and protein kinase binding for biological processes, cellular component and molecular functions, respectively. Downregulated DEGs were predominantly involved in receptor clustering, membrane raft, and ligand-dependent nuclear receptor binding. The protein–protein interaction network of DEGs consisted of 150 nodes and 304 interactions. Thirteen hub genes were identified, and biological analysis revealed that these genes were primarily enriched in cell division, cell cycle, and mitosis. Furthermore, based on closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, and degree centrality, the three most significant genes were identified as GAPDH, AURKA, and EHMT2. Furthermore, the significant network module was composed of nine genes. These genes were primarily enriched in mitotic nuclear division, mitotic chromosome condensation, and nucleoplasm. Conclusion These hub genes, especially GAPDH, AURKA, and EHMT2, may be closely associated with the progression of Ewing’s sarcoma chemotherapy resistance, and further experiments are needed for confirmation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongyi Liao
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Xianbiao Xie
- Department of Orthopedic Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China,
| | - Yuanyuan Xu
- Department of Pediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Gang Huang
- Department of Orthopedic Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China,
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Sen N, Cross AM, Lorenzi PL, Khan J, Gryder BE, Kim S, Caplen NJ. EWS-FLI1 reprograms the metabolism of Ewing sarcoma cells via positive regulation of glutamine import and serine-glycine biosynthesis. Mol Carcinog 2018; 57:1342-1357. [PMID: 29873416 PMCID: PMC6175245 DOI: 10.1002/mc.22849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2017] [Revised: 05/22/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (EWS) is a soft tissue and bone tumor that occurs primarily in adolescents and young adults. In most cases of EWS, the chimeric transcription factor, EWS-FLI1 is the primary oncogenic driver. The epigenome of EWS cells reflects EWS-FLI1 binding and activation or repression of transcription. Here, we demonstrate that EWS-FLI1 positively regulates the expression of proteins required for serine-glycine biosynthesis and uptake of the alternative nutrient source glutamine. Specifically, we show that EWS-FLI1 activates expression of PHGDH, PSAT1, PSPH, and SHMT2. Using cell-based studies, we also establish that EWS cells are dependent on glutamine for cell survival and that EWS-FLI1 positively regulates expression of the glutamine transporter, SLC1A5 and two enzymes involved in the one-carbon cycle, MTHFD2 and MTHFD1L. Inhibition of serine-glycine biosynthesis in EWS cells impacts their redox state leading to an accumulation of reactive oxygen species, DNA damage, and apoptosis. Importantly, analysis of EWS primary tumor transcriptome data confirmed that the aforementioned genes we identified as regulated by EWS-FLI1 exhibit increased expression compared with normal tissues. Furthermore, retrospective analysis of an independent data set generated a significant stratification of the overall survival of EWS patients into low- and high-risk groups based on the expression of PHGDH, PSAT1, PSPH, SHMT2, SLC1A5, MTHFD2, and MTHFD1L. In summary, our study demonstrates that EWS-FLI1 reprograms the metabolism of EWS cells and that serine-glycine metabolism or glutamine uptake are potential targetable vulnerabilities in this tumor type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nirmalya Sen
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research (CCR)National Cancer Institute (NCI)BethesdaMaryland
| | - Allison M. Cross
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research (CCR)National Cancer Institute (NCI)BethesdaMaryland
| | - Philip L. Lorenzi
- Proteomic and Metabolomics Core Facility, Department of Bioinformatics and Computational BiologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterHoustonTexas
| | - Javed Khan
- Oncogenomics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research (CCR)National Cancer Institute (NCI)BethesdaMaryland
| | - Berkley E. Gryder
- Oncogenomics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research (CCR)National Cancer Institute (NCI)BethesdaMaryland
| | - Suntae Kim
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research (CCR)National Cancer Institute (NCI)BethesdaMaryland
| | - Natasha J. Caplen
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research (CCR)National Cancer Institute (NCI)BethesdaMaryland
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Yin X, Sun J, Zhang H, Wang S. Comprehensive analysis of multi Ewing sarcoma microarray datasets identifies several prognosis biomarkers. Mol Med Rep 2018; 18:4229-4238. [PMID: 30221671 PMCID: PMC6172382 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2018.9432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (ES) is a common primary malignancy in children and adolescents. Progression of treatment methods hasn't contributed a lot to the imrovement of prognosis. To identify potential prognostic biomarkers, a meta-analysis pipeline of multi-gene expression datasets for ES from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) was performed. Three datasets were screened and differential expression genes (DEGs) in ES samples compared with normal tissues were identified through limma package and subjected to network analysis. As a result, 1,470 DEGs were obtained which were mainly involved in biological processes associated with immune response and transcription regulation. Network analysis obtained 22 core genes with high network degree and fold change. Kaplan-Meier analysis based on ES datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas identified five genes, including glycogen phosphorylase, muscle-associated, myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2C, tripartite motif containing 63, budding uninhibited by benzimidazoses1 and Ras GTPase-activating protein 1, whose altered expression profiles are significantly associated with survival. Changes of their expression values were further confirmed through RT-qPCR in ES cell and normal cell lines. Those genes may be considered as potential prognostic biomarkers of ES and should be helpful for its early diagnosis and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuqing Yin
- Department of Traumatic Orthopaedics, Central Hospital of Zibo, Zibo, Shandong 255036, P.R. China
| | - Jiubo Sun
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Central Hospital of Zibo, Zibo, Shandong 255036, P.R. China
| | - Haiyang Zhang
- Department of Microinvasive Othopaedics, Central Hospital of Zibo, Zibo, Shandong 255036, P.R. China
| | - Shuai Wang
- Department of Spine Surgery, Jining No. 1 People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong 272000, P.R. China
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Hawkins AG, Basrur V, da Veiga Leprevost F, Pedersen E, Sperring C, Nesvizhskii AI, Lawlor ER. The Ewing Sarcoma Secretome and Its Response to Activation of Wnt/beta-catenin Signaling. Mol Cell Proteomics 2018; 17:901-912. [PMID: 29386236 PMCID: PMC5930412 DOI: 10.1074/mcp.ra118.000596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor: tumor microenvironment (TME) interactions are critical for tumor progression and the composition and structure of the local extracellular matrix (ECM) are key determinants of tumor metastasis. We recently reported that activation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in Ewing sarcoma cells induces widespread transcriptional changes that are associated with acquisition of a metastatic tumor phenotype. Significantly, ECM protein-encoding genes were found to be enriched among Wnt/beta-catenin induced transcripts, leading us to hypothesize that activation of canonical Wnt signaling might induce changes in the Ewing sarcoma secretome. To address this hypothesis, conditioned media from Ewing sarcoma cell lines cultured in the presence or absence of Wnt3a was collected for proteomic analysis. Label-free mass spectrometry was used to identify and quantify differentially secreted proteins. We then used in silico databases to identify only proteins annotated as secreted. Comparison of the secretomes of two Ewing sarcoma cell lines revealed numerous shared proteins, as well as a degree of heterogeneity, in both basal and Wnt-stimulated conditions. Gene set enrichment analysis of secreted proteins revealed that Wnt stimulation reproducibly resulted in increased secretion of proteins involved in ECM organization, ECM receptor interactions, and collagen formation. In particular, Wnt-stimulated Ewing sarcoma cells up-regulated secretion of structural collagens, as well as matricellular proteins, such as the metastasis-associated protein, tenascin C (TNC). Interrogation of published databases confirmed reproducible correlations between Wnt/beta-catenin activation and TNC and COL1A1 expression in patient tumors. In summary, this first study of the Ewing sarcoma secretome reveals that Wnt/beta-catenin activated tumor cells upregulate secretion of ECM proteins. Such Wnt/beta-catenin mediated changes are likely to impact on tumor: TME interactions that contribute to metastatic progression.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Alexey I Nesvizhskii
- §Pathology, and
- ¶Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Choo S, Wang P, Newbury R, Roberts W, Yang J. Reactivation of TWIST1 contributes to Ewing sarcoma metastasis. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2018; 65:10.1002/pbc.26721. [PMID: 28873262 PMCID: PMC5759052 DOI: 10.1002/pbc.26721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2016] [Revised: 06/12/2017] [Accepted: 06/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ewing sarcoma is a cancer of bone and soft tissue. Despite aggressive treatment, survival remains poor, particularly in patients with metastatic disease. Failure to treat Ewing sarcoma is due to the lack of understanding of the molecular pathways that regulate metastasis. In addition, no molecular prognostic markers have been identified for Ewing sarcoma to risk stratify patients. PROCEDURE Ewing sarcoma patients were divided into high or low Twist1 gene expression and survival curves were generated using the R2 microarray-based Genomic Analysis platform (http://r2.amc.nl). Tumors from Ewing sarcoma patients were also evaluated for TWIST1 expression by immunohistochemistry. Ewing sarcoma xenografts were established to evaluate the role of TWIST1 in metastasis. The effects of Twist1 on migration and invasion were evaluated using migration and invasion assays in A673 and RDES cells. RESULTS Twist1 expression was a negative prognostic marker for overall survival in a public Ewing sarcoma patient data set based on Twist1 mRNA levels and in patient tumor samples based on Twist1 immunohistochemistry. TWIST1 is detected in significantly higher percentage of patients with metastatic diseases than localized disease. Using Ewing sarcoma tumor xenografts in mice, we found that suppressing TWIST1 levels suppressed metastasis without affecting primary tumor development. Knockdown of Twist1 inhibited the migration and invasion capability, while overexpression of Twist1 promoted migration and invasion in Ewing sarcoma cells. CONCLUSION These results suggest that TWIST1 promotes metastasis in Ewing sarcoma and could be used as a prognostic marker for treatment stratification; however, further validation is required in a larger cohort of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sun Choo
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Peckham Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, San Diego, CA
| | - Ping Wang
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Robert Newbury
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Department of Pathology, Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, San Diego, CA
| | - William Roberts
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Peckham Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, San Diego, CA
| | - Jing Yang
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
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Tanner JM, Bensard C, Wei P, Krah NM, Schell JC, Gardiner J, Schiffman J, Lessnick SL, Rutter J. EWS/FLI is a Master Regulator of Metabolic Reprogramming in Ewing Sarcoma. Mol Cancer Res 2017; 15:1517-1530. [PMID: 28720588 PMCID: PMC5668171 DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-17-0182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Revised: 06/06/2017] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma is a bone malignancy driven by a translocation event resulting in the fusion protein EWS/FLI1 (EF). EF functions as an aberrant and oncogenic transcription factor that misregulates the expression of thousands of genes. Previous work has focused principally on determining important transcriptional targets of EF, as well as characterizing important regulatory partnerships in EF-dependent transcriptional programs. Less is known, however, about EF-dependent metabolic changes or their role in Ewing sarcoma biology. Therefore, the metabolic effects of silencing EF in Ewing sarcoma cells were determined. Metabolomic analyses revealed distinct separation of metabolic profiles in EF-knockdown versus control-knockdown cells. Mitochondrial stress tests demonstrated that knockdown of EF increased respiratory as well as glycolytic functions. Enzymes and metabolites in several metabolic pathways were altered, including de novo serine synthesis and elements of one-carbon metabolism. Furthermore, phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) was found to be highly expressed in Ewing sarcoma and correlated with worse patient survival. PHGDH knockdown or pharmacologic inhibition in vitro caused impaired proliferation and cell death. Interestingly, PHGDH modulation also led to elevated histone expression and methylation. These studies demonstrate that the translocation-derived fusion protein EF is a master regulator of metabolic reprogramming in Ewing sarcoma, diverting metabolites toward biosynthesis. As such, these data suggest that the metabolic aberrations induced by EF are important contributors to the oncogenic biology of these tumors.Implications: This previously unexplored role of EWS/FLI1-driven metabolic changes expands the understanding of Ewing sarcoma biology, and has potential to significantly inform development of therapeutic strategies. Mol Cancer Res; 15(11); 1517-30. ©2017 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason M Tanner
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Claire Bensard
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Peng Wei
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Nathan M Krah
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - John C Schell
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Jamie Gardiner
- Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Joshua Schiffman
- Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Stephen L Lessnick
- Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Diseases, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Jared Rutter
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
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Baldauf MC, Orth MF, Dallmayer M, Marchetto A, Gerke JS, Rubio RA, Kiran MM, Musa J, Knott MML, Ohmura S, Li J, Akpolat N, Akatli AN, Özen Ö, Dirksen U, Hartmann W, de Alava E, Baumhoer D, Sannino G, Kirchner T, Grünewald TGP. Robust diagnosis of Ewing sarcoma by immunohistochemical detection of super-enhancer-driven EWSR1-ETS targets. Oncotarget 2017; 9:1587-1601. [PMID: 29416716 PMCID: PMC5788584 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.20098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Accepted: 07/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma is an undifferentiated small-round-cell sarcoma. Although molecular detection of pathognomonic EWSR1-ETS fusions such as EWSR1-FLI1 enables definitive diagnosis, substantial confusion can arise if molecular diagnostics are unavailable. Diagnosis based on the conventional immunohistochemical marker CD99 is unreliable due to its abundant expression in morphological mimics. To identify novel diagnostic immunohistochemical markers for Ewing sarcoma, we performed comparative expression analyses in 768 tumors representing 21 entities including Ewing-like sarcomas, which confirmed that CIC-DUX4-, BCOR-CCNB3-, EWSR1-NFATc2-, and EWSR1-ETS-translocated sarcomas are distinct entities, and revealed that ATP1A1, BCL11B, and GLG1 constitute specific markers for Ewing sarcoma. Their high expression was validated by immunohistochemistry and proved to depend on EWSR1-FLI1-binding to highly active proximal super-enhancers. Automated cut-off-finding and combination-testing in a tissue-microarray comprising 174 samples demonstrated that detection of high BCL11B and/or GLG1 expression is sufficient to reach 96% specificity for Ewing sarcoma. While 88% of tested Ewing-like sarcomas displayed strong CD99-immunoreactivity, none displayed combined strong BCL11B- and GLG1-immunoreactivity. Collectively, we show that ATP1A1, BCL11B, and GLG1 are EWSR1-FLI1 targets, of which BCL11B and GLG1 offer a fast, simple, and cost-efficient way to diagnose Ewing sarcoma by immunohistochemistry. These markers may significantly reduce the number of misdiagnosed patients, and thus improve patient care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela C Baldauf
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Martin F Orth
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Marlene Dallmayer
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Aruna Marchetto
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Julia S Gerke
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Rebeca Alba Rubio
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Merve M Kiran
- Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Julian Musa
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Maximilian M L Knott
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Shunya Ohmura
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jing Li
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Nusret Akpolat
- Department of Pathology, Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Inonu University, Malatya, Turkey
| | - Ayse N Akatli
- Department of Pathology, Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Inonu University, Malatya, Turkey
| | - Özlem Özen
- Department of Pathology, Başkent University Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Uta Dirksen
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Hartmann
- Gerhard-Domagk-Institute for Pathology, University Hospital Münster, Westfalian Wilhelms University, Münster, Germany
| | - Enrique de Alava
- Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío/CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla, CIBERONC, Seville, Spain
| | - Daniel Baumhoer
- Bone Tumour Reference Center, Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Giuseppina Sannino
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas Kirchner
- Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas G P Grünewald
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.,Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
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Somatic mutations in clonally expanded cytotoxic T lymphocytes in patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis. Nat Commun 2017. [PMID: 28635960 PMCID: PMC5482061 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Somatic mutations contribute to tumorigenesis. Although these mutations occur in all proliferating cells, their accumulation under non-malignant conditions, such as in autoimmune disorders, has not been investigated. Here, we show that patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis have expanded CD8+ T-cell clones; in 20% (5/25) of patients CD8+ T cells, but not CD4+ T cells, harbour somatic mutations. In healthy controls (n=20), only one mutation is identified in the CD8+ T-cell pool. Mutations exist exclusively in the expanded CD8+ effector-memory subset, persist during follow-up, and are predicted to change protein functions. Some of the mutated genes (SLAMF6, IRF1) have previously been associated with autoimmunity. RNA sequencing of mutation-harbouring cells shows signatures corresponding to cell proliferation. Our data provide evidence of accumulation of somatic mutations in expanded CD8+ T cells, which may have pathogenic significance for RA and other autoimmune diseases. Accumulation of somatic mutations in lymphocytes is a feature of some cancers. Here the authors show that patients with recent onset of rheumatoid arthritis also accumulate mutations in their expanded CD8+ effector memory T cell pool independent of cancer association.
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45
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Somasekharan SP, El-Naggar A, Leprivier G, Cheng H, Hajee S, Grunewald TGP, Zhang F, Ng T, Delattre O, Evdokimova V, Wang Y, Gleave M, Sorensen PH. YB-1 regulates stress granule formation and tumor progression by translationally activating G3BP1. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 208:913-29. [PMID: 25800057 PMCID: PMC4384734 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201411047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 192] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
YB-1, which is upregulated in human sarcomas, controls the availability of the stress granule nucleator G3BP1 and thereby controls stress granule assembly. Under cell stress, global protein synthesis is inhibited to preserve energy. One mechanism is to sequester and silence mRNAs in ribonucleoprotein complexes known as stress granules (SGs), which contain translationally silent mRNAs, preinitiation factors, and RNA-binding proteins. Y-box binding protein 1 (YB-1) localizes to SGs, but its role in SG biology is unknown. We now report that YB-1 directly binds to and translationally activates the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of G3BP1 mRNAs, thereby controlling the availability of the G3BP1 SG nucleator for SG assembly. YB-1 inactivation in human sarcoma cells dramatically reduces G3BP1 and SG formation in vitro. YB-1 and G3BP1 expression are highly correlated in human sarcomas, and elevated G3BP1 expression correlates with poor survival. Finally, G3BP1 down-regulation in sarcoma xenografts prevents in vivo SG formation and tumor invasion, and completely blocks lung metastasis in mouse models. Together, these findings demonstrate a critical role for YB-1 in SG formation through translational activation of G3BP1, and highlight novel functions for SGs in tumor progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syam Prakash Somasekharan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Amal El-Naggar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Gabriel Leprivier
- Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Hongwei Cheng
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Shamil Hajee
- Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Thomas G P Grunewald
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Unit 830, Genetics and Biology of Cancers, Institute Curie Research Center, 75248 Paris, France
| | - Fan Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Tony Ng
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Olivier Delattre
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Unit 830, Genetics and Biology of Cancers, Institute Curie Research Center, 75248 Paris, France
| | - Valentina Evdokimova
- Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Yuzhuo Wang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Martin Gleave
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Poul H Sorensen
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
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Tang SW, Bilke S, Cao L, Murai J, Sousa FG, Yamade M, Rajapakse V, Varma S, Helman LJ, Khan J, Meltzer PS, Pommier Y. SLFN11 Is a Transcriptional Target of EWS-FLI1 and a Determinant of Drug Response in Ewing Sarcoma. Clin Cancer Res 2015; 21:4184-93. [PMID: 25779942 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-14-2112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2014] [Accepted: 03/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE SLFN11 was identified as a critical determinant of response to DNA-targeted therapies by analyzing gene expression and drug sensitivity of NCI-60 and CCLE datasets. However, how SLFN11 is regulated in cancer cells remained unknown. Ewing sarcoma, which is characterized by the chimeric transcription factor EWS-FLI1, has notably high SLFN11 expression, leading us to investigate whether EWS-FLI1 drives SLFN11 expression and the role of SLFN11 in the drug response of Ewing sarcoma cells. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Binding sites of EWS-FLI1 on the SLFN11 promoter were analyzed by chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing and promoter-luciferase reporter analyses. The relationship between SLFN11 and EWS-FLI1 were further examined in EWS-FLI1-knockdown or -overexpressing cells and in clinical tumor samples. RESULTS EWS-FLI1 binds near the transcription start site of SLFN11 promoter and acts as a positive regulator of SLFN11 expression in Ewing sarcoma cells. EWS-FLI1-mediated SLFN11 expression is responsible for high sensitivity of Ewing sarcoma to camptothecin and combinations of PARP inhibitors with temozolomide. Importantly, Ewing sarcoma patients with higher SLFN11 expression showed better tumor-free survival rate. The correlated expression between SLFN11 and FLI1 extends to leukemia, pediatric, colon, breast, and prostate cancers. In addition, expression of other ETS members correlates with SLFN11 in NCI-60 and CCLE datasets, and molecular experiments demonstrate that ETS1 acts as a positive regulator for SLFN11 expression in breast cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS Our results imply the emerging relevance of SLFN11 as an ETS transcription factor response gene and for therapeutic response to topoisomerase I inhibitors and temozolomide-PARP inhibitor combinations in ETS-activated cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sai-Wen Tang
- Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Developmental Therapeutics Branch, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Sven Bilke
- Genetics Branch, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Liang Cao
- Genetics Branch, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Junko Murai
- Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Developmental Therapeutics Branch, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Fabricio G Sousa
- Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Developmental Therapeutics Branch, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland. CETROGEN, PPGFARM, UFMS, Campo Grande, Brazil
| | - Mihoko Yamade
- Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Developmental Therapeutics Branch, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Vinodh Rajapakse
- Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Developmental Therapeutics Branch, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Sudhir Varma
- Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Developmental Therapeutics Branch, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Lee J Helman
- Pediatric Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Javed Khan
- Genetics Branch, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | | | - Yves Pommier
- Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Developmental Therapeutics Branch, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland.
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Przybyl J, Kozak K, Kosela H, Falkowski S, Switaj T, Lugowska I, Szumera-Cieckiewicz A, Ptaszynski K, Grygalewicz B, Chechlinska M, Pienkowska-Grela B, Debiec-Rychter M, Siedlecki JA, Rutkowski P. Gene expression profiling of peripheral blood cells: new insights into Ewing sarcoma biology and clinical applications. Med Oncol 2014; 31:109. [PMID: 25008066 PMCID: PMC4119582 DOI: 10.1007/s12032-014-0109-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2014] [Accepted: 06/30/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (ES) is a group of highly aggressive small round cell tumors of bone or soft tissue with high metastatic potential and low cure rate. ES tumors are associated with a rapid osteolysis and necrosis. The currently accepted clinical prognostic parameters do not accurately predict survival of high-risk patients. Moreover, neither the subtype of EWS-FLI1/ERG in the tumor, nor the detection of fusion transcripts in the peripheral blood (PB) samples, has prognostic value in ES patients. We evaluated the prevalence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in 34 adult ES patients. Since CTCs were confirmed in only small subset of patients, we further explored the expression profiles of PB leukocytes using a panel of genes associated with immune system status and increased tumor invasiveness. Moreover, we analyzed the alterations of the routine blood tests in the examined cohort of patients and correlated our findings with the clinical outcome. A uniform decrease in ZAP70 expression in PB cells among all ES patients, as compared to healthy individuals, was observed. Monocytosis and the abnormal expression of CDH2 and CDT2 genes in the PB cells significantly correlated with poor prognosis in ES patients. Our study supports the previously proposed hypothesis of systemic nature of ES. Based on the PB cell expression profiles, we propose a mechanism by which immune system may be involved in intensification of osteoclastogenesis and disease progression in ES patients. Moreover, we demonstrate the prognostic value of molecular PB testing at the time of routine histopathological diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Przybyl
- Department of Molecular and Translational Oncology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, 5 W.K. Roentgen Street, 02-781, Warsaw, Poland,
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Villasante A, Marturano-Kruik A, Vunjak-Novakovic G. Bioengineered human tumor within a bone niche. Biomaterials 2014; 35:5785-94. [PMID: 24746967 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.03.081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2014] [Accepted: 03/27/2014] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Monolayer cultures of tumor cells and animal studies have tremendously advanced our understanding of cancer biology. However, we often lack animal models for human tumors, and cultured lines of human cells quickly lose their cancer signatures. In recent years, simple 3D models for cancer research have emerged, including cell culture in spheroids and on biomaterial scaffolds. Here we describe a bioengineered model of human Ewing's sarcoma that mimics the native bone tumor niche with high biological fidelity. In this model, cancer cells that have lost their transcriptional profiles after monolayer culture re-express genes related to focal adhesion and cancer pathways. The bioengineered model recovers the original hypoxic and glycolytic tumor phenotype, and enables re-expression of angiogenic and vasculogenic mimicry features that favor tumor adaptation. We propose that differentially expressed genes between the monolayer cell culture and native tumor environment are potential therapeutic targets that can be explored using the bioengineered tumor model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aranzazu Villasante
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 622 West 168th Street, VC12-234, New York, NY 10032, USA.
| | - Alessandro Marturano-Kruik
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 622 West 168th Street, VC12-234, New York, NY 10032, USA.
| | - Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 622 West 168th Street, VC12-234, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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Vlaicu SI, Tegla CA, Cudrici CD, Danoff J, Madani H, Sugarman A, Niculescu F, Mircea PA, Rus V, Rus H. Role of C5b-9 complement complex and response gene to complement-32 (RGC-32) in cancer. Immunol Res 2013; 56:109-21. [PMID: 23247987 DOI: 10.1007/s12026-012-8381-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Complement system activation plays an important role in both innate and acquired immunity, with the activation of complement and the subsequent formation of C5b-9 terminal complement complex on cell membranes inducing target cell death. Recognition of this role for C5b-9 leads to the assumption that C5b-9 might play an antitumor role. However, sublytic C5b-9 induces cell cycle progression by activating signal transduction pathways and transcription factors in cancer cells, indicating a role in tumor promotion for this complement complex. The induction of the cell cycle by C5b-9 is dependent upon the activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/FOXO1 and ERK1 pathways in a Gi protein-dependent manner. C5b-9 also induces response gene to complement (RGC)-32, a gene that plays a role in cell cycle promotion through activation of Akt and the CDC2 kinase. RGC-32 is expressed by tumor cells and plays a dual role in cancers, in that it has both a tumor suppressor role and tumor-promoting activity. Thus, through the activation of tumor cells, the C5b-9-mediated induction of the cell cycle plays an important role in tumor proliferation and oncogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia I Vlaicu
- Department of Neurology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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50
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Mahlendorf DE, Staege MS. Characterization of Ewing sarcoma associated cancer/testis antigens. Cancer Biol Ther 2013; 14:254-61. [PMID: 23291981 DOI: 10.4161/cbt.23298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The prognosis of patients suffering from tumors of the Ewing family (EFT) is still poor. Immunotherapy strategies are pursued and EFT-specific antigens have to be identified as targets for cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL). Due to the lack of expression of cancer/testis antigens (CTA) in normal tissues, these antigens are partially able to induce immune responses in cancer patients. Therefore, they are promising targets for immunotherapy. EFT are characterized by chromosomal rearrangements involving members of the TET (translocated in liposarcoma, Ewing sarcoma breakpoint region 1, TATA box binding protein-associated factor 15) family of RNA binding proteins and members of the E-26 (ETS) family of transcription factors. The resulting onco-fusion proteins are highly specific for EFT and downstream targets of TET-ETS represent candidate tumor specific antigens. In order to identify new EFT-associated CTA, we analyzed microarray-data sets from EFT and normal tissues from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The impact of TET-ETS on expression of CTA was analyzed using GEO data sets from transgenic mesenchymal stem cells. One CTA with high specificity for EFT is lipase I (LIPI, membrane-associated phospholipase A1-β). CTL specific for LIPI-derived peptides LDYTDAKFV and NLLKHGASL were able to lyse HLA-A2 positive EFT cells in vitro which confirms the possible role of LIPI and other CTA for EFT-immunotherapy.
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