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Berner K, Hirschfeld M, Weiß D, Rücker G, Asberger J, Ritter A, Nöthling C, Jäger M, Juhasz-Böss I, Erbes T. Evaluation of circulating microRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer: a case–control study. Arch Gynecol Obstet 2021; 306:151-163. [PMID: 34889994 PMCID: PMC9300512 DOI: 10.1007/s00404-021-06287-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Purpose Ovarian cancer is the seventh most frequent form of malignant diseases in women worldwide and over 150,000 women die from it every year. More than 70 percent of all ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed at a late-stage disease with poor prognosis necessitating the development of sufficient screening biomarkers. MicroRNAs displayed promising potential as early diagnostics in various malignant diseases including ovarian cancer. The presented study aimed at identifying single microRNAs and microRNA combinations detecting ovarian cancer in vitro and in vivo. Methods Intracellular, extracellular and urinary microRNA expression levels of twelve microRNAs (let-7a, let-7d, miR-10a, miR-15a, miR-15b, miR-19b, miR-20a, miR-21, miR-100, miR-125b, miR-155, miR-222) were quantified performing quantitative real-time-PCR. Therefore, the three ovarian cancer cell lines SK-OV-3, OAW-42, EFO-27 as well as urine samples of ovarian cancer patients and healthy controls were analyzed. Results MiR-15a, miR-20a and miR-222 showed expression level alterations extracellularly, whereas miR-125b did intracellularly across the analyzed cell lines. MicroRNA expression alterations in single cell lines suggest subtype specificity in both compartments. Hypoxia and acidosis showed scarce effects on single miRNA expression levels only. Furthermore, we were able to demonstrate the feasibility to clearly detect the 12 miRNAs in urine samples. In urine, miR-15a was upregulated whereas let-7a was down-regulated in ovarian cancer patients. Conclusion Intracellular, extracellular and urinary microRNA expression alterations emphasize their great potential as biomarkers in liquid biopsies. Especially, miR-15a and let-7a qualify for possible circulating biomarkers in liquid biopsies of ovarian cancer patients. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00404-021-06287-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Berner
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstr. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marc Hirschfeld
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstr. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Georg-August-University Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daniela Weiß
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstr. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Gerta Rücker
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jasmin Asberger
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstr. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Andrea Ritter
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstr. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Nöthling
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstr. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Markus Jäger
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstr. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ingolf Juhasz-Böss
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstr. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thalia Erbes
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstr. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany.
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
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Asberger J, Erbes T, Jaeger M, Rücker G, Nöthling C, Ritter A, Berner K, Juhasz-Böss I, Hirschfeld M. Endoxifen and fulvestrant regulate estrogen-receptor α and related DEADbox proteins. Endocr Connect 2020; 9:1156-1167. [PMID: 33112831 PMCID: PMC7774761 DOI: 10.1530/ec-20-0281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) represents the most common type of cancer in females worldwide. Endocrine therapy evolved as one of the main concepts in treatment of hormone-receptor positive BC. Current research focuses on the elucidation of tumour resistance mechanisms against endocrine therapy. In a translational in vitro approach, potential regulatory effects of clinically implemented BC anti-oestrogens on ERα, its coactivators DDX5, DDX17 and other DEADbox proteins as well as on the proliferation markers cyclin D1 and Ki67 were investigated on both the RNA and protein level. BC in vitro models for hormone-receptor positive (MCF-7, T-47D) and hormone-receptor negative cells (BT-20) were subjected to endocrine therapy. Anti-oestrogen-dependent expression regulation of target genes on the transcriptional and translational level was quantified and statistically assessed. Endocrine therapy decreases the expression levels of Ki67, cyclin D1 and ERα in hormone-receptor positive cells. In the hormone-receptor negative cells, the three parameters remained stable after endocrine therapy. Endoxifen triggers a downregulation of DDX5 and DDX23 in MCF-7 cells. Fulvestrant treatment downregulates the expression levels of all investigated DEADbox proteins in MCF-7 cells. In T-47D cells, endoxifen and fulvestrant lead to a decrease of all target gene expression levels. Interestingly, endocrine therapy affects DEADbox RNA expression levels in BT-20 cells, too. However, this result could only be confirmed for DDX1, immunocytologically. The investigated DEADbox proteins appear to correlate with the oestrogen-dependent tumourigenesis in hormone-receptor positive BC and show expression alterations after endocrine treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmin Asberger
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Correspondence should be addressed to J Asberger:
| | - Thalia Erbes
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Markus Jaeger
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Gerta Rücker
- Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Nöthling
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Andrea Ritter
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kai Berner
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ingolf Juhasz-Böss
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marc Hirschfeld
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Georg-August-University Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
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Hirschfeld M, Ge I, Rücker G, Waldschmidt J, Mayer S, Jäger M, Voigt M, Kammerer B, Nöthling C, Berner K, Weiss D, Asberger J, Erbes T. Mutually distinguishing microRNA signatures of breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers in vitro. Mol Med Rep 2020; 22:4048-4060. [PMID: 33000259 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2020.11466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Early diagnosis and therapy in the first stages of a malignant disease is the most crucial factor for successful cancer treatment and recovery. Currently, there is a high demand for novel diagnostic tools that indicate neoplasms in the first or pre‑malignant stages. MicroRNAs (miRNA or miR) are small non‑coding RNAs that may act as oncogenes and downregulate tumor‑suppressor genes. The detection and mutual discrimination of the three common female malignant neoplasia types breast (BC), ovarian (OC) and endometrial cancer (EC) could be enabled by identification of tumor entity‑specific miRNA expression differences. In the present study, the relative expression levels of 25 BC, EC and OC‑related miRNAs were assessed by reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR and determined using the 2‑ΔΔCq method for normalization against the mean of four housekeeping genes. Expression levels of all miRNAs were analyzed by regression against cell line as a factor. An expression level‑based discrimination between BC and OC cell types was obtained for a subgroup of ten different miRNA types. miR‑30 family genes, as well as three other miRNAs, were found to be uniformly upregulated in OC cells compared with BC cells. BC and EC cells could be distinguished by the expression profiles of six specific miRNAs. In addition, four miRNAs were differentially expressed between EC and OC cells. In conclusion, miRNAs were identified as a potential novel tool to detect and mutually discriminate between BC, OC and EC. Based on a subset of 25 clinically relevant human miRNA types, the present study could significantly discriminate between these three female cancer types by means of their expression levels. For further verification and validation of miRNA‑based biomarker expression signatures that enable valuable tumor detection and characterization in routine screening or potential therapy monitoring, additional and extended in vitro analyses, followed by translational studies utilizing patients' tissue and liquid biopsy materials, are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Hirschfeld
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Isabel Ge
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Gerta Rücker
- Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D‑79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Julia Waldschmidt
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Mayer
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Markus Jäger
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Voigt
- Praxis of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery and Evangelian Deaconry Hospital, D‑79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bernd Kammerer
- Center for Biological Systems Analysis, University of Freiburg, D‑79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Nöthling
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kai Berner
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Daniela Weiss
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jasmin Asberger
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thalia Erbes
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
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Ritter A, Hirschfeld M, Berner K, Rücker G, Jäger M, Weiss D, Medl M, Nöthling C, Gassner S, Asberger J, Erbes T. Circulating non‑coding RNA‑biomarker potential in neoadjuvant chemotherapy of triple negative breast cancer? Int J Oncol 2019; 56:47-68. [PMID: 31789396 PMCID: PMC6910196 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2019.4920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to the positive association between neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and the promising early response rates of patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), including probabilities of pathological complete response, NACT is increasingly used in TNBC management. Liquid biopsy-based biomarkers with the power to diagnose the early response to NACT may support established monitoring tools, which are to a certain extent imprecise and costly. Simple serum- or urine-based analyses of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) expression may allow for fast, minimally-invasive testing and timely adjustment of the therapy regimen. The present study investigated breast cancer-related ncRNAs [microRNA (miR)-7, -9, -15a, -17, -18a, -19b, -21, -30b, -222 and -320c, PIWI-interacting RNA-36743 and GlyCCC2] in triple positive BT-474 cells and three TNBC cell lines (BT-20, HS-578T and MDA-MB-231) treated with various chemotherapeutic agents using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. Intracellular and secreted microvesicular ncRNA expression levels were analysed using a multivariable statistical regression analysis. Chemotherapy-driven effects were investigated by analysing cell cycle determinants at the mRNA and protein levels. Serum and urine specimens from 8 patients with TNBC were compared with 10 healthy females using two-sample t-tests. Samples from the patients with TNBC were compared at two time points. Chemotherapeutic treatments induced distinct changes in ncRNA expression in TNBC cell lines and the BT-474 cell line in intra- and extracellular compartments. Serum and urine-based ncRNA expression analysis was able to discriminate between patients with TNBC and controls. Time point comparisons in the urine samples of patients with TNBC revealed a general rise in the level of ncRNA. Serum data suggested a potential association between piR-36743, miR-17, -19b and -30b expression levels and an NACT-driven complete clinical response. The present study highlighted the potential of ncRNAs as liquid biopsy-based biomarkers in TNBC chemotherapy treatment. The ncRNAs tested in the present study have been previously investigated for their involvement in BC or TNBC chemotherapy responses; however, these previous studies were restricted to patient tissue or in vitro models. The data from the present study offer novel insight into ncRNA expression in liquid samples from patients with TNBC, and the study serves as an initial step in the evaluation of ncRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers in the monitoring of TNBC therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Ritter
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center‑University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marc Hirschfeld
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center‑University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kai Berner
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center‑University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Gerta Rücker
- Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center‑University of Freiburg, D‑79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Markus Jäger
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center‑University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Daniela Weiss
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center‑University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Markus Medl
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center‑University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Nöthling
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center‑University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sandra Gassner
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center‑University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jasmin Asberger
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center‑University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thalia Erbes
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center‑University of Freiburg, D‑79106 Freiburg, Germany
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Hirschfeld M, Weiß D, Jäger M, Asberger J, Mayer S, Nöthling C, Berner K, Gitsch G, Erbes T. Diagnostic potential of micro RNAs expression profiles in breast and gynecologic cancer. Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd 2016. [DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1593006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
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Hirschfeld M, Weiß D, Jäger M, Mayer S, Asberger J, Nöthling C, Trulley BN, Gitsch G, Erbes T. Acidosis-driven aberrations of microRNAs in endometrial cancer in vitro. Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd 2016. [DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1592972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
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