Assuntos
Biomarcadores Tumorais , Neoplasias Ósseas/genética , Neoplasias Ósseas/mortalidade , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Redes Reguladoras de Genes , Sarcoma de Ewing/genética , Sarcoma de Ewing/mortalidade , Animais , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Xenoenxertos , Humanos , Camundongos , Estadiamento de Neoplasias , Prognóstico , Sarcoma de Ewing/patologiaRESUMO
Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a hallmark of cancer1. Yet, many childhood cancers, such as Ewing sarcoma (EwS), feature remarkably 'silent' genomes with minimal CIN2. Here, we show in the EwS model how uncoupling of mitosis and cytokinesis via targeting protein regulator of cytokinesis 1 (PRC1) or its activating polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) can be employed to induce fatal genomic instability and tumor regression. We find that the EwS-specific oncogenic transcription factor EWSR1-FLI1 hijacks PRC1, which physiologically safeguards controlled cell division, through binding to a proximal enhancer-like GGAA-microsatellite, thereby promoting tumor growth and poor clinical outcome. Via integration of transcriptome-profiling and functional in vitro and in vivo experiments including CRISPR-mediated enhancer editing, we discover that high PRC1 expression creates a therapeutic vulnerability toward PLK1 inhibition that can repress even chemo-resistant EwS cells by triggering mitotic catastrophe.Collectively, our results exemplify how aberrant PRC1 activation by a dominant oncogene can confer malignancy but provide opportunities for targeted therapy, and identify PRC1 expression as an important determinant to predict the efficacy of PLK1 inhibitors being used in clinical trials.
Assuntos
Apoptose/genética , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/genética , Proteínas de Fusão Oncogênica/genética , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas/genética , Sarcoma de Ewing/genética , Animais , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/metabolismo , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Criança , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Estimativa de Kaplan-Meier , Camundongos Endogâmicos NOD , Camundongos Knockout , Camundongos SCID , Proteínas de Fusão Oncogênica/metabolismo , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas/metabolismo , Interferência de RNA , Terapêutica com RNAi/métodos , Sarcoma de Ewing/metabolismo , Sarcoma de Ewing/terapia , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de Xenoenxerto/métodos , Quinase 1 Polo-LikeRESUMO
Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is an aggressive cancer displaying an undifferentiated small-round-cell histomorphology that can be easily confused with a broad spectrum of differential diagnoses. Using comparative transcriptomics and immunohistochemistry (IHC), we previously identified BCL11B and GLG1 as potential specific auxiliary IHC markers for EWSR1-FLI1-positive EwS. Herein, we aimed at validating the specificity of both markers in a far larger and independent cohort of EwS (including EWSR1-ERG-positive cases) and differential diagnoses. Furthermore, we evaluated their intra-tumoral expression heterogeneity. Thus, we stained tissue microarrays from 133 molecularly confirmed EwS cases and 320 samples from morphological mimics, as well as a series of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models for BCL11B, GLG1, and CD99, and systematically assessed the immunoreactivity and optimal cut-offs for each marker. These analyses demonstrated that high BCL11B and/or GLG1 immunoreactivity in CD99-positive cases had a specificity of 97.5% and an accuracy of 87.4% for diagnosing EwS solely by IHC, and that the markers were expressed by EWSR1-ERG-positive EwS. Only little intra-tumoral heterogeneity in immunoreactivity was observed for differential diagnoses. These results indicate that BCL11B and GLG1 may help as specific auxiliary IHC markers in diagnosing EwS in conjunction with CD99, especially if confirmatory molecular diagnostics are not available.
RESUMO
Sarcomas are heterogeneous and clinically challenging soft tissue and bone cancers. Although constituting only 1% of all human malignancies, sarcomas represent the second most common type of solid tumors in children and adolescents and comprise an important group of secondary malignancies. More than 100 histological subtypes have been characterized to date, and many more are being discovered due to molecular profiling. Owing to their mostly aggressive biological behavior, relative rarity, and occurrence at virtually every anatomical site, many sarcoma subtypes are in particular difficult-to-treat categories. Current multimodal treatment concepts combine surgery, polychemotherapy (with/without local hyperthermia), irradiation, immunotherapy, and/or targeted therapeutics. Recent scientific advancements have enabled a more precise molecular characterization of sarcoma subtypes and revealed novel therapeutic targets and prognostic/predictive biomarkers. This review aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in the molecular biology of sarcomas and their effects on clinical oncology; it is meant for a broad readership ranging from novices to experts in the field of sarcoma.