Role of calcium in hormone-independent and -resistant breast cancer.

Approximately one-third of estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast tumors fail to respond to or become resistant to hormonal therapy. Although the mechanisms responsible for hormone resistance are not completely understood, resistance is associated with alterations in ERα; overexpression of proteins that interact with the receptor; and hormone-independent activation of the receptor by growth factor signal transduction pathways. Our previous studies show that in estrogen dependent breast cancer cells, activation of the epidermal growth factor signaling pathway increases intracellular calcium which binds to and activates ERα through sites in the ligand-binding domain of the receptor and that treatment with extracellular calcium increases the concentration of intracellular calcium which activates ERα and induces hormone-independent cell growth. The present study asked whether overexpression of calcium channels contributes to the hormone-independent and -resistant phenotype of breast cancer cells and whether clinically used calcium channel blockers reverse hormone independence and resistance. The results show that hormone-independent and -resistant cells overexpress calcium channels, have high concentrations of intracellular calcium, overexpress estrogen responsive genes and, as expected, grow in the absence of estradiol and that treatment with calcium channel blockers decreased the concentration of intracellular calcium, the expression of estrogen responsive genes and cell growth. More importantly, in hormone-resistant cells, treatment that combined a calcium channel blocker with an antiestrogen reversed resistance to the antiestrogen.

STAT5A/B gene locus undergoes amplification during human prostate cancer progression.

The molecular mechanisms underlying progression of prostate cancer (PCa) to castrate-resistant (CR) and metastatic disease are poorly understood. Our previous mechanistic work shows that inhibition of transcription factor Stat5 by multiple alternative methods induces extensive rapid apoptotic death of Stat5-positive PCa cells in vitro and inhibits PCa xenograft tumor growth in nude mice. Furthermore, STAT5A/B induces invasive behavior of PCa cells in vitro and in vivo, suggesting involvement of STAT5A/B in PCa progression. Nuclear STAT5A/B protein levels are increased in high-grade PCas, CR PCas, and distant metastases, and high nuclear STAT5A/B expression predicts early disease recurrence and PCa-specific death in clinical PCas. Based on these findings, STAT5A/B represents a therapeutic target protein for advanced PCa. The mechanisms underlying increased Stat5 protein levels in PCa are unclear. Herein, we demonstrate amplification at the STAT5A/B gene locus in a significant fraction of clinical PCa specimens. STAT5A/B gene amplification was more frequently found in PCas of high histologic grades and in CR distant metastases. Quantitative in situ analysis revealed that STAT5A/B gene amplification was associated with increased STAT5A/B protein expression in PCa. Functional studies showed that increased STAT5A/B copy numbers conferred growth advantage in PCa cells in vitro and as xenograft tumors in vivo. The work presented herein provides the first evidence of somatic STAT5A/B gene amplification in clinical PCas.

ROCK inhibitor and feeder cells induce the conditional reprogramming of epithelial cells.

We demonstrate that a Rho kinase inhibitor (Y-27632), in combination with fibroblast feeder cells, induces normal and tumor epithelial cells from many tissues to proliferate indefinitely in vitro, without transduction of exogenous viral or cellular genes. Primary prostate and mammary cells, for example, are reprogrammed toward a basaloid, stem-like phenotype and form well-organized prostaspheres and mammospheres in Matrigel. However, in contrast to the selection of rare stem-like cells, the described growth conditions can generate 2 × 10(6) cells in 5 to 6 days from needle biopsies, and can generate cultures from cryopreserved tissue and from fewer than four viable cells. Continued cell proliferation is dependent on both feeder cells and Y-27632, and the conditionally reprogrammed cells (CRCs) retain a normal karyotype and remain nontumorigenic. This technique also efficiently establishes cell cultures from human and rodent tumors. For example, CRCs established from human prostate adenocarcinoma displayed instability of chromosome 13, proliferated abnormally in Matrigel, and formed tumors in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency. The ability to rapidly generate many tumor cells from small biopsy specimens and frozen tissue provides significant opportunities for cell-based diagnostics and therapeutics (including chemosensitivity testing) and greatly expands the value of biobanking. In addition, the CRC method allows for the genetic manipulation of epithelial cells ex vivo and their subsequent evaluation in vivo in the same host.

Calcium Activation of the Androgen Receptor in Prostate Cells.

Background: Although prostate cancer patients initially respond to androgen deprivation therapy, most patients progress to a resistant phenotype. Castration resistance is due, in part, to intratumoral and/or adrenal synthesis of androgens, overexpression or mutation of the androgen receptor (AR), stabilization of AR by chaperones, and ligand-independent activation of AR. Increasing evidence also links disruption of calcium homeostasis to progression of prostate cancer. Our previous study shows that heavy metal cadmium activates the AR through a ligand-independent mechanism. Cadmium mimics calcium in biological systems due to their similar ionic charge and radius. This study determines whether calcium activates AR and whether first- and second-generation antiandrogens block the ability of calcium to activate the receptor. Methods: The expression of androgen-responsive genes and calcium channels was measured in prostate cells using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. Cell growth was measured. Results: To ask whether calcium activates AR, prostate cells were treated with calcium in the absence and presence of the first-generation antiandrogens hydroxyflutamide and bicalutamide and the second-generation antiandrogen enzalutamide, and the expression of androgen-responsive genes and cell growth was measured. In the normal PWR-1E cells and HEK293T cells transiently expressing AR, treatment with calcium increased the expression of androgen-responsive genes by approximately 3-fold. The increase was blocked by enzalutamide but was not consistently blocked by the first-generation antiandrogens. In LNCaP cells which contain a mutant AR, treatment with calcium also increased the expression of androgen-responsive genes by approximately 3-fold, and the increase was more effectively blocked by enzalutamide than by hydroxyflutamide or bicalutamide. Treatment with calcium also increased cell growth that was blocked by enzalutamide. To ask whether dysregulation of calcium channels is associated with castration resistance, calcium channels were measured in the normal PWR-1E prostate cells, the hormone-responsive LNCaP cells, and the castration-resistant VCaP and 22RV1 cells. Compared to normal prostate cells, the hormone-responsive and hormone-resistant cells overexpressed several calcium channels. Conclusions: The results of this study show that calcium activates AR and increases cell growth and that calcium channels are overexpressed in hormone-responsive and hormone-resistant prostate cancer cells. Taken together, the results suggest a novel role of calcium in the castration-resistant phenotype.

BRCA1 deficiency in mature CD8+ T lymphocytes impairs antitumor immunity.

Women with BRCA1 germline mutations have approximately an 80% lifetime chance of developing breast cancer. While the tumor suppressor function of BRCA1 in breast epithelium has been studied extensively, it is not clear whether BRCA1 deficiency in non-breast somatic cells also contribute to tumorigenesis. Here, we report that mouse Brca1 knockout (KO) in mature T lymphocytes compromises host antitumor immune response to transplanted syngeneic mouse mammary tumors. T cell adoptive transfer further corroborates CD8+ T cell-intrinsic impact of Brca1 KO on antitumor adaptive immunity. T cell-specific Brca1 KO mice exhibit fewer total CD8+, more exhausted, reduced cytotoxic, and reduced memory tumor-infiltrating T cell populations. Consistent with the preclinical data, cancer-free BRCA1 mutation-carrying women display lower abundance of circulating CD8+ lymphocytes than the age-matched control group. Thus, our findings support the notion that BRCA1 deficiency in adaptive immunity could contribute to BRCA1-related tumorigenesis. We also suggest that prophylactic boosting of adaptive immunity may reduce cancer incidence among at-risk women.

Metabolomic Analysis of Plasma from Breast Cancer Patients Using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Mass Spectrometry: An Untargeted Study.

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality in women worldwide, and therefore, novel biomarkers for early disease detection are critically needed. We performed herein an untargeted plasma metabolomic profiling of 55 BC patients and 55 healthy controls (HC) using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS). Pre-processed data revealed 2494 ions in total. Data matrices' paired t-tests revealed 792 ions (both positive and negative) which presented statistically significant changes (FDR < 0.05) in intensity levels between cases versus controls. Metabolites identified with putative names via MetaboQuest using MS/MS and mass-based approaches included amino acid esters (i.e., N-stearoyl tryptophan, L-arginine ethyl ester), dipeptides (ile-ser, met-his), nitrogenous bases (i.e., uracil derivatives), lipid metabolism-derived molecules (caproleic acid), and exogenous compounds from plants, drugs, or dietary supplements. LASSO regression selected 16 metabolites after several variables (TNM Stage, Grade, smoking status, menopausal status, and race) were adjusted. A predictive conditional logistic regression model on the 16 LASSO selected ions provided a high diagnostic performance with an area-under-the-curve (AUC) value of 0.9729 (95% CI 0.96−0.98) on all 55 samples. This study proves that BC possesses a specific metabolic signature that could be exploited as a novel metabolomics-based approach for BC detection and characterization. Future studies of large-scale cohorts are needed to validate these findings.

Incidence and Durability of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Patients with Cancer and Health Care Workers following the First Wave of the Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Patients with cancer and health care workers (HCW) are at higher risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection. There are limited data regarding the rate of symptomatic versus asymptomatic infection and subsequent seropositivity in both populations. METHODS: We performed a prospective study of patients and HCW across two institutions during the first wave of the pandemic to analyze the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, the extent of associated symptoms, and durability of serologic response. RESULTS: In 1,953 persons (733 patients and 1,220 HCW), overall seropositivity rates for 3.1% patients (95% CI 2.0-4.7) and 3.7% HCW (95% CI 2.7-4.9, p=0.520), were similar. Each institutions' seropositivity rates were numerically higher in HCW than patients. Non-Hispanic Whites and Asians had lower antibody rates (2.8%, 95% CI 2.0-3.8 and 3.3%, 95% CI 1.2-7.0) compared to Hispanics (6.9%, 95% CI 3.4-12.4) and non-Hispanic Blacks (5.9%, 95% CI 3.3-9.7), p < 0.001. Among persons with a positive SARS-CoV-2 antibody, 87% of patients and 56% of HCW did not recall having had a fever. Among HCW, administrative and technical personnel were most likely to be seropositive. The rate of persistent seropositivity at 3 months was similar between patients and HCW and was not influenced by the reporting of fever, cancer type, or therapy. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that patients are not at higher risk for febrile SARS-CoV-2 infections or more transient immunity than HCWs. Furthermore, racial differences and lack of association with the extent of HCW contact with COVID-19 patients suggest that community rather than hospital virus exposure was a source of many infections.

Temozolomide-induced guanine mutations create exploitable vulnerabilities of guanine-rich DNA and RNA regions in drug-resistant gliomas.

Temozolomide (TMZ) is a chemotherapeutic agent that has been the first-line standard of care for the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma (GBM) since 2005. Although initially beneficial, TMZ resistance is universal and second-line interventions are an unmet clinical need. Here, we took advantage of the known mechanism of action of TMZ to target guanines (G) and investigated G-rich G-quadruplex (G4) and splice site changes that occur upon TMZ resistance. We report that TMZ-resistant GBM has guanine mutations that disrupt the G-rich DNA G4s and splice sites that lead to deregulated alternative splicing. These alterations create vulnerabilities, which are selectively targeted by either the G4-stabilizing drug TMPyP4 or a novel splicing kinase inhibitor of cdc2-like kinase. Last, we show that the G4 and RNA binding protein EWSR1 aggregates in the cytoplasm in TMZ-resistant GBM cells and patient samples. Together, our findings provide insight into targetable vulnerabilities of TMZ-resistant GBM and present cytoplasmic EWSR1 as a putative biomarker.

Cooperation of tumor-derived HBx mutants and p53-249(ser) mutant in regulating cell proliferation, anchorage-independent growth and aneuploidy in a telomerase-immortalized normal human hepatocyte-derived cell line.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer, and hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major etiological agent. Convincing epidemiological and experimental evidence also links HCC to aflatoxin, a naturally occurring mycotoxin that produces a signature p53-249(ser) mutation. Recently, we have reported that tumor-derived HBx variants encoded by HBV exhibited attenuated transactivation and proapoptotic functions but retained their ability to block p53-mediated apoptosis. These results indicate that mutations in HBx may contribute to the development of HCC. In this study, we determined whether tumor-derived HBx mutants along, or in cooperation with p53-249(ser), could alter cell proliferation and chromosome stability of normal human hepatocytes. To test this hypothesis, we established a telomerase immortalized normal human hepatocycte line HHT4 that exhibited a near diploid karyotype and expressed many hepatocyte-specific genes. We found that overexpression one of the tumor-derived HBx mutants, CT, significantly increased colony forming efficiency (CFE) while its corresponding wild-type allele CNT significantly decreased CFE in HHT4 cells. p53-249(ser) rescued CNT-mediated inhibition of colony formation. Although HHT4 cells lacked an anchorage independent growth capability as they did not form any colonies in soft agar, the CT-expressing HHT4 cells could form colonies, which could be significantly enhanced by p53-249(ser). Induction of aneuploidy could be observed in HHT4 cells expressing CT, but additionally recurring chromosome abnormalities could only be detected in cells coexpressing CT and p53-249(ser). Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that certain mutations in HBx and p53 at codon 249 may cooperate in contributing to liver carcinogenesis.

Frequent loss of heterozygosity at the interferon regulatory factor-1 gene locus in breast cancer.

The interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF1) gene, localized on chromosome 5q31.1, is mutated or rearranged in several cancers including some hematopoietic and gastric cancers. However, whether loss of IRF1 occurs in sporadic breast cancer is unknown. Loss of 5q12-31 is reported in 11% of sporadic breast cancers, and high-resolution array-CGH studies have shown loss at 5q31.1 in 50% of breast cancers with a mutated BRCA1 gene. Functionally, overexpression of IRF1 reduces, and a dominant negative IRF1 construct increases, tumorigenesis of human breast cancer xenografts. Taken together, these observations indicate that the IRF1 gene may play a potentially important role as a breast cancer tumor suppressor gene. In this study, we investigated allelic loss of the IRF1 gene in breast tumor specimens from 52 women with invasive breast cancer using an IRF1 intragenic dinucleotide polymorphic marker. Thirty-seven cases were informative. LOH at the IRF1 locus was detected in 32% of these informative cases (12/37). There was a significant association between IRF1 loss and both older age (P = 0.0167) and earlier stage (Stages 1 and 2) (P = 0.0165). To assess the association of IRF1 mRNA expression with clinical outcomes in breast cancer, we studied data from two published gene expression microarray datasets. In breast cancer patients, low IRF1 mRNA expression is strongly correlated with both risk of recurrence (OR = 3.00; P = 0.003; n = 273 cases) and risk of death (OR = 4.18; P = 0.004; n = 191 cases). Our findings strongly imply a tumor suppressor role for the IRF1 gene in breast cancer.

Immortalization and transformation of human mammary epithelial cells by a tumor-derived Myc mutant.

The Myc transcription factor is commonly dysregulated in many human cancers, including breast carcinomas. However, the precise role of Myc in the initiation and maintenance of malignancy is unclear. In this study we compared the ability of wild-type Myc (wt Myc) or Myc phosphorylation deficient mutants (T58A, S62A or T58A/S62A) to immortalize and transform human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs). All Myc constructs promoted cellular immortalization. As previously reported in other cells, the Myc T58A mutant tempered apoptotic responses and increased Myc protein stability in HMEC cells. More importantly, we now show that HMECs overexpressing the Myc T58A mutant acquire a unique cellular phenotype characterized by cell aggregation, detachment from the substrate and growth in liquid suspension. Coincident with these changes, the cells become anchorage-independent for growth in agarose. Previous studies have shown that wt Myc can collaborate with hTERT in inducing HMEC anchorage-independent growth. We have verified this observation and further shown that Myc T58A was a stronger facilitator of such co-transformation. Thus, our findings indicate that differences in Myc protein phosphorylation modulate its biological activity in human breast epithelial cells and specifically that the T58A mutation can facilitate both cellular immortalization and transformation. Finally, we used the isogenic cell lines generated in this study to identify a subset of genes whose expression is greatly altered during the transition from the immortal to the anchorage-independent states.

Androgen-regulated and highly tumorigenic human prostate cancer cell line established from a transplantable primary CWR22 tumor.

PURPOSE: One of the major obstacles in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the transition of prostate cancer growth from androgen dependency to a hormone-refractory state is the lack of androgen-regulated and tumorigenic human prostate cancer cell lines. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We have established and characterized a new human prostate cancer cell line, CWR22Pc, derived from the primary CWR22 human prostate xenograft tumors. RESULTS: The growth of CWR22Pc cells is induced markedly by dihydrotestosterone, and CWR22Pc cells express high levels of androgen receptor (AR) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Importantly, PSA expression in CWR22Pc cells is regulated by androgens. Stat5a/b, Stat3, Akt, and mitogen-activated protein kinase were constitutively active or cytokine inducible in CWR22Pc cells. The AR in CWR22Pc cells contains the H874Y mutation, but not the exon 3 duplication or other mutations. When inoculated subcutaneously into dihydrotestosterone-supplemented castrated nude mice, large tumors formed rapidly in 20 of 20 mice, whereas no tumors developed in mice without circulating dihydrotestosterone. Moreover, the serum PSA levels correlated with the tumor volumes. When androgens were withdrawn from the CWR22Pc tumors grown in nude mice, the tumors initially shrank but regrew back as androgen-independent tumors. CONCLUSIONS: This androgen-regulated and tumorigenic human prostate cancer cell line provides a valuable tool for studies on androgen regulation of prostate cancer cells and on the molecular mechanisms taking place in growth promotion of prostate cancer when androgens are withdrawn from the growth environment. CWR22Pc cells also provide a model system for studies on the regulation of transcriptional activity of mutated H874YAR in a prostate cancer cell context.

Positive STAT5 Protein and Locus Amplification Status Predicts Recurrence after Radical Prostatectomy to Assist Clinical Precision Management of Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND: A significant fraction of prostate cancer patients experience post-radical prostatectomy (RP) biochemical recurrence (BCR). New predictive markers are needed for optimizing postoperative prostate cancer management. STAT5 is an oncogene in prostate cancer that undergoes amplification in 30% of prostate cancers during progression. METHODS: We evaluated the significance of a positive status for nuclear STAT5 protein expression versus STAT5 locus amplification versus combined positive status for both in predicting BCR after RP in 300 patients. RESULTS: Combined positive STAT5 status was associated with a 45% disadvantage in BCR in Kaplan-Meier survival analysis in all Gleason grade patients. Patients with Gleason grade group (GG) 2 and 3 prostate cancers and combined positive status for STAT5 had a more pronounced disadvantage of 55% to 60% at 7 years after RP in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, including the Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment Postsurgical nomogram (CAPRA-S) variables, combined positive STAT5 status was independently associated with a shorter BCR-free survival in all Gleason GG patients (HR, 2.34; P = 0.014) and in intermediate Gleason GG 2 or 3 patients (HR, 3.62; P = 0.021). The combined positive STAT5 status improved the predictive value of the CAPRA-S nomogram in both ROC-AUC analysis and in decision curve analysis for BCR. CONCLUSIONS: Combined positive status for STAT5 was independently associated with shorter disease-free survival in univariate analysis and was an independent predictor for BCR in multivariate analysis using the CAPRA-S variables in prostate cancer. IMPACT: Our results highlight potential for a novel precision medicine concept based on a pivotal role of STAT5 status in improving selection of prostate cancer patients who are candidates for early adjuvant interventions to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Holoprosencephaly-Polydactyly syndrome: in search of an etiology.

Holoprosencephaly-Polydactyly (HPS) or Pseudotrisomy 13 syndrome are names conferred to clinically categorize patients whose phenotype is congruent with Trisomy 13 in the context of a normal karyotype. The literature suggests that this entity may be secondary to submicroscopic deletions in holoprosencephaly (HPE) genes; however, a limited number of investigations have been undertaken to evaluate this hypothesis. To test this hypothesis we studied a patient with HPE, polydactyly, and craniofacial dysmorphologies consistent with the diagnosis of Trisomy 13 whose karyotype was normal. We performed mutational analysis in the four main HPE causing genes (SHH, SIX3, TGIF, and ZIC2) and GLI3, a gene associated with polydactyly as well as fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to search for microdeletions in these genes and two candidate HPE genes (DISP1 and FOXA2). No mutations or deletions were detected. A whole genome approach utilizing array Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH) to screen for copy number abnormalities was then taken. No loss or gain of DNA was noted. Although a single case, our results suggest that coding mutations in these HPE genes and copy number anomalies may not be causative in this disorder. Instead, HPS likely involves mutations in other genes integral in embryonic development of the forebrain, face and limbs. Our systematic analysis sets the framework to study other affected children and delineate the molecular etiology of this disorder.

Expanding primary cells from mucoepidermoid and other salivary gland neoplasms for genetic and chemosensitivity testing.

Restricted availability of cell and animal models is a rate-limiting step for investigation of salivary gland neoplasm pathophysiology and therapeutic response. Conditionally reprogrammed cell (CRC) technology enables establishment of primary epithelial cell cultures from patient material. This study tested a translational workflow for acquisition, expansion and testing of CRC-derived primary cultures of salivary gland neoplasms from patients presenting to an academic surgical practice. Results showed that cultured cells were sufficient for epithelial cell-specific transcriptome characterization to detect candidate therapeutic pathways and fusion genes, and for screening for cancer risk-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and driver gene mutations through exome sequencing. Focused study of primary cultures of a low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma demonstrated amphiregulin-mechanistic target of rapamycin-protein kinase B (AKT; AKT1) pathway activation, identified through bioinformatics and subsequently confirmed as present in primary tissue and preserved through different secondary 2D and 3D culture media and xenografts. Candidate therapeutic testing showed that the allosteric AKT inhibitor MK2206 reproducibly inhibited cell survival across different culture formats. By contrast, the cells appeared resistant to the adenosine triphosphate competitive AKT inhibitor GSK690693. Procedures employed here illustrate an approach for reproducibly obtaining material for pathophysiological studies of salivary gland neoplasms, and other less common epithelial cancer types, that can be executed without compromising pathological examination of patient specimens. The approach permits combined genetic and cell-based physiological and therapeutic investigations in addition to more traditional pathologic studies, and can be used to build sustainable bio-banks for future inquiries.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

BRCA1 inhibition of telomerase activity in cultured cells.

Telomerase, an enzyme that maintains telomere length, plays major roles in cellular immortalization and cancer progression. We found that an exogenous BRCA1 gene strongly inhibited telomerase enzymatic activity in human prostate and breast cancer cell lines and caused telomere shortening in cell lines expressing wild-type BRCA1 (wtBRCA1) but not a tumor-associated mutant BRCA1 (T300G). wtBRCA1 inhibited the expression of the catalytic subunit (telomerase reverse transcriptase [TERT]) but had no effect on the expression of a subset of other components of the telomerase holoenzyme or on the expression of c-Myc, a transcriptional activator of TERT. However, endogenous BRCA1 associated and partially colocalized with c-Myc; exogenous wtBRCA1 strongly suppressed TERT promoter activity in various cell lines. The TERT inhibition was due, in part, to suppression of c-Myc E-box-mediated transcriptional activity. Suppression of TERT promoter and c-Myc activity required the amino terminus of BRCA1 but not the carboxyl terminus. Finally, endogenous BRCA1 and c-Myc were detected on transfected mouse and human TERT promoter segments in vivo. We postulate that inhibition of telomerase may contribute to the BRCA1 tumor suppressor activity.

Expression of BRCC3, a novel cell cycle regulated molecule, is associated with increased phospho-ERK and cell proliferation.

Raf-1 protein serine/threonine kinase plays an important role in ERK signal transduction pathway of cell survival and proliferation. Raf-induced transcriptional changes are dependent on phosphorylation/activation of ERK. However, regulation of phospho-ERK (p-ERK) via Raf transcriptome is as yet unknown. We report the initial characterization of BRCC3, a novel gene discovered previously by mRNA expression profiling in MDA-MB 231 human breast cancer cells treated with Raf antisense oligonucleotide. BRCC3 is localized at human chromosome 5q12.1. BRCC3 open reading frame consists of 529 amino acids, coding for an approximate 60-kDa predominantly membrane-associated protein. Expression levels of BRCC3 mRNA and protein are high during G2/M phase of the cell cycle in breast cancer cells. Treatment of MDA-MB 231 cells with Raf-1 siRNA resulted in decreased expression of Raf-1, BRCC3 and p-ERK, but not B-Raf. Transient or stable expression of the epitope-tagged BRCC3 cDNA was associated with increased p-ERK in three different cell lines. Consistently, BRCC3 siRNA treatment of MDA-MB 231 cells caused decreased expression of BRCC3 and p-ERK. Furthermore, exogenous BRCC3 expression was associated with a delay in etoposide-induced cell death and an increase in cell proliferation. These findings demonstrate that BRCC3 is a novel effector of Raf-1, and implicate a role of BRCC3 in modulation of p-ERK, cell survival and proliferation.

Deletion, methylation, and expression of the NKX3.1 suppressor gene in primary human prostate cancer.

NKX3.1 is a prostate-specific homeoprotein and tumor suppressor that is affected by the loss of 8p21 in prostate cancer. In mice, Nkx3.1 haploinsufficiency results in prostatic dysplasia and complements cancer formation induced by loss of other suppressor genes. However, NKX3.1 expression can be immunohistochemically detected in most primary prostate cancers. We examined the relationship between suppressor gene haploinsufficiency, methylation, and quantitative NKX3.1 expression levels in primary prostate cancer. NKX3.1 gene copy number was assessed by microsatellite analysis, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and quantitative PCR. NKX3.1 gene methylation was determined in prostate cancer cell lines and we thereby identified potential CpG methylation sites for methylation-specific PCR analysis in tissues. We validated and then applied an internally controlled fluorescence immunomicroscopic assay for NKX3.1 protein expression in 48 primary prostate cancer specimens from radical prostatectomies. NKX3.1 loss of heterozygosity was found in 27 of 43 tissues tested. Classic CpG island methylation of the NKX3.1 gene was not found in either prostate cancer cell lines or tissues. However, in 33 of 40 samples tested, CpG sites at -921, -903, and -47 were methylated to a greater degree in malignant than in adjacent normal cells. In 43 of 48 samples, NKX3.1 protein expression was reduced from 0.34 to 0.90 compared with adjacent normal luminal epithelium (mean of all samples, 0.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.05). In 12 cases that also had high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, NKX3.1 expression levels were similar in preinvasive and invasive cancer cells and significantly lower than adjacent normal cells. Even in the presence of allelic loss, NKX3.1 expression is reduced over a wide range in prostate cancer at the time of prostatectomy, suggesting that diverse factors influence expression. Samples with protein expression below the median level in cancer cells had both NKX3.1 deletion and selective CpG methylation.

HPV positive neuroendocrine cervical cancer cells are dependent on Myc but not E6/E7 viral oncogenes.

Using conditional cell reprogramming, we generated a stable cell culture of an extremely rare and aggressive neuroendocrine cervical cancer. The cultured cells contained HPV-16, formed colonies in soft agar and rapidly produced tumors in immunodeficient mice. The HPV-16 genome was integrated adjacent to the Myc gene, both of which were amplified 40-fold. Analysis of RNA transcripts detected fusion of the HPV/Myc genes, arising from apparent microhomologous recombination. Spectral karyotyping (SKY) and fluorescent-in-situ hybridization (FISH) demonstrated coordinate localization and translocation of the amplified Myc and HPV genes on chromosomes 8 and 21. Similar to the primary tumor, tumor cell cultures expressed very high levels of the Myc protein and, in contrast to all other HPV-positive cervical cancer cell lines, they harbored a gain-of-function mutation in p53 (R273C). Unexpectedly, viral oncogene knockdown had no effect on the growth of the cells, but it did inhibit the proliferation of a conventional HPV-16 positive cervical cancer cell line. Knockdown of Myc, but not the mutant p53, significantly inhibited tumor cell proliferation. On the basis of these data, we propose that the primary driver of transformation in this aggressive cervical cancer is not HPV oncogene expression but rather the overexpression of Myc.

SF-1 overexpression in childhood adrenocortical tumours.

The steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) gene encodes a transcription factor playing a pivotal role in the regulation of adrenogenital development. We have recently shown that SF-1 is amplified in childhood adrenocortical tumours (ACT). This study was aimed to assess if an increase in SF-1 gene copy number was associated with increased protein levels and to study the correlation between SF-1 expression and ACT clinical parameters. An increased SF-1 copy number was detected in eight of the 10 ACT cases studied. Conversely, the SF-1 protein was found to be overexpressed in all cases, compared to normal age-matched adrenal glands. No significant correlation was found between SF-1 protein levels and its gene copy number. Furthermore, no significant correlation existed with histological grade or with the clinical manifestation or evolution of disease. This data show that SF-1 overexpression is widespread in childhood ACT and is likely to play a role in its pathogenesis.