Disc large 1 expression is altered by human papillomavirus E6/E7 proteins in organotypic cultures of human keratinocytes.

Loss of cell polarity is a fundamental process in cell transformation. Among polarity proteins, we focused on human disc large (DLG1), which is localized mainly at adherens junctions and contributes to the control of cell proliferation. We previously demonstrated that its expression is altered in HPV-associated cervical neoplastic lesions, but the mechanisms beyond this remain unknown. In this study, we analysed the contribution of HPV proteins to the changes in DLG1 expression in the squamous epithelium. We observed tissue and intracellular misdistribution of DLG1 when high-risk HPV-18 E7 or E6/E7 proteins were expressed in organotypic raft cultures. The viral oncoproteins induce the loss of DLG1 from the cell borders and an increase in the level of DLG1 protein, reflecting the pattern observed in cervical lesions. These findings were corroborated in cultures bearing the entire HPV-18 genome. Interestingly, changes in tissue distribution and abundance of DLG1 were also detected in organotypic cultures expressing the low-risk HPV-11 E7 or E6/E7 proteins, suggesting a conserved function among different HPV types. However, for low-risk HPVs, the subcellular localization of DLG1 at cell-to-cell contacts was predominantly maintained. This report offers new evidence, we believe, of the involvement of HPV proteins in DLG1 expression pattern and our data support previous observations regarding DLG1 expression in cervical lesions.

Performance of CADM1/MAL-methylation analysis for monitoring of women treated for high-grade CIN.

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies have shown that CADM1/MAL-methylation testing detects high-grade CIN lesions with a high short-term progression risk for cervical cancer. Women treated for CIN2/3 are at risk of post-treatment disease, representing either persistent (incompletely treated) or incident (early onset) lesions. Here, we evaluated CADM1/MAL-methylation analysis as potential tool for detecting recurrent high-grade CIN lesions (rCIN2/3). METHODS AND MATERIALS: A multicenter prospective clinical cohort study was conducted among 364 women treated for CIN2/3. Cervical scrapes were taken prior to treatment, and six and 12months post-treatment and tested for cytology, hrHPV (plus genotype) and CADM1/MAL-methylation. When at six months either of these tests was positive, a colposcopy-directed biopsy was obtained. At 12months, all women underwent an exit-colposcopy with biopsy. In case of rCIN2/3, re-treatment was done. RESULTS: We found 28 rCIN2 (7.7%) and 14 rCIN3 (3.8%), resulting in a total recurrence rate of 11.5%. All 14 women with rCIN3 and 15/28 (54%) with rCIN2 showed hrHPV type-persistence. Of these, 9/14 (64%) rCIN3 and 8/15 (53%) rCIN2 were CADM1/MAL-methylation positive. All incident rCIN2, characterized by hrHPV genotype-switch, were CADM1/MAL-methylation negative. All three carcinomas found after re-treatment were CADM1/MAL-methylation positive. CADM1/MAL-methylation positivity at both baseline and follow-up significantly increased the risk of ≥rCIN3 (from 0.7% to 18.4%), and ≥rCIN2 (from 8.2% to 36.8%), compared to a consistently CADM1/MAL-methylation negative result (p-value: <0.001). CONCLUSION: Post-treatment monitoring by CADM1/MAL-methylation analysis identifies women with an increased risk of rCIN2/3. Our results confirm previous data indicating that CADM1/MAL-methylation analysis provides a high reassurance against cancer.

DNA hypermethylation analysis in sputum for the diagnosis of lung cancer: training validation set approach.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer has the highest mortality of all cancers. The aim of this study was to examine DNA hypermethylation in sputum and validate its diagnostic accuracy for lung cancer. METHODS: DNA hypermethylation of RASSF1A, APC, cytoglobin, 3OST2, PRDM14, FAM19A4 and PHACTR3 was analysed in sputum samples from symptomatic lung cancer patients and controls (learning set: 73 cases, 86 controls; validation set: 159 cases, 154 controls) by quantitative methylation-specific PCR. Three statistical models were used: (i) cutoff based on Youden's J index, (ii) cutoff based on fixed specificity per marker of 96% and (iii) risk classification of post-test probabilities. RESULTS: In the learning set, approach (i) showed that RASSF1A was best able to distinguish cases from controls (sensitivity 42.5%, specificity 96.5%). RASSF1A, 3OST2 and PRDM14 combined demonstrated a sensitivity of 82.2% with a specificity of 66.3%. Approach (ii) yielded a combination rule of RASSF1A, 3OST2 and PHACTR3 (sensitivity 67.1%, specificity 89.5%). The risk model (approach iii) distributed the cases over all risk categories. All methods displayed similar and consistent results in the validation set. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings underscore the impact of DNA methylation markers in symptomatic lung cancer diagnosis. RASSF1A is validated as diagnostic marker in lung cancer.

HPV-negative carcinoma of the uterine cervix: a distinct type of cervical cancer with poor prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: Using highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques, we reanalysed all cervical carcinomas (CCs) found to be human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative by Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) to determine the prevalence of true HPV-negativity. We also evaluated the characteristics of the patients with tumours with confirmed HPV-negativity. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Barcelona, Spain. POPULATION: A cohort of 136 women with CC (32 adenocarcinomas, 104 squamous cell carcinomas) who had pre-treatment HC2 testing. METHODS: All negative cases were reanalysed and genotyped for HPV using three PCR assays (SPF10, GP5+/6+ and E7-specific assay). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Percentage of confirmed HPV-negative and HPV-positive tumours. Clinicopathological features and disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of both groups. RESULTS: Fourteen of 136 women (10.2%) were negative for HPV by HC2. After reanalysis by PCR-based techniques only 8/136 (5.8%) tumours were confirmed as HPV-negative, whereas in six cases different HPVs were identified [HPV-11, -16 (two tumours), -18, -45, and -68]. Confirmed HPV-negativity was more frequent in adenocarcinomas than in squamous cell carcinomas (5/32, 15.6% versus 3/104, 2.9%, respectively; P = 0.017). Patients with CCs with confirmed HPV-negativity had significantly worse DFS than women with HPV-positive tumours [51.9 months (95% CI 12.2-91.7 months) versus 109.9 months (95% CI 98.2-121.5 months); P = 0.010]. In the multivariate analysis HPV-negativity and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging were associated with increased risk of progression and mortality. CONCLUSIONS: An HC2-negative result is an uncommon finding in women with CC, but in almost half of these cases HPVs are identified by more sensitive techniques. CCs with confirmed HPV-negativity are more frequently adenocarcinomas, and seem to be associated with worse DFS.

Methylation marker analysis of self-sampled cervico-vaginal lavage specimens to triage high-risk HPV-positive women for colposcopy.

Methylation markers were studied for their suitability to triage human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive women by testing self-collected cervico-vaginal lavage specimens. For this purpose, we analyzed 355 hrHPV-positive self-collected specimens with three methylation markers, that is, CADM1-m18, MAL-m1 and miR-124-2 by quantitative methylation-specific PCR. The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve for end-point cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or worse (CIN3+) were 0.637 for CADM1-m18, 0.767 for MAL-m1 and 0.762 for miR-124-2. This indicates that CADM1-m18 is not suitable as single marker. By varying the thresholds of both markers in the bi-marker panels CADM1-m18/MAL-m1, CADM1-m18/miR-124-2 and MAL-m1/miR-124-2 upper and lower ROC curves were obtained, depicting the maximum and minimum CIN3+ sensitivity, respectively, at given specificity. For all these bi-marker combinations, the upper curves were similar. However, for the MAL-m1/miR-124-2 panel, the distance between upper and lower ROC curves was closest and this panel displayed the highest assay thresholds, indicating that this combination was most robust. At clinical specificities of 50 and 70%, the MAL-m1/miR-124-2 sensitivity for detection of CIN3+ ranged from 77.0 to 87.8% and from 64.9 to 71.6%, respectively. At 70% specificity thresholds no carcinomas were missed. By comparison, the CIN3+ sensitivity of HPV16/18 genotyping on the self-sampled lavage specimens was 58.1% (95%CI: 46.6-68.8) at a specificity of 87.7% (95%CI: 83.2-91.2). In conclusion, methylation analysis is a promising triage tool that in combination with HPV-DNA testing offers feasible, full molecular screening on self-collected cervico-vaginal lavage specimens.

Validation of the clinical performance and reproducibility of the NeuMoDx HPV assay self-sample workflow.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing on self-samples is a valid tool for cervical cancer screening. HPV self-sample workflows need to be clinically validated to ensure safe use in screening. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the fully automated NeuMoDx HPV Assay self-sample workflow that is compiled of the NeuMoDx HPV assay and the NeuMoDx 96/288 Molecular Systems, for clinical performance and reproducibility on Evalyn Brush-collected self-samples. METHODS: The clinical performance of the NeuMoDx HPV Assay self-sample workflow for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) and CIN3+ was evaluated on 987 self-samples obtained from women attending national organized HPV-based cervical cancer screening by a noninferiority analysis relative to reference workflows using either HPV-Risk Assay or high-risk HPV GP5+/6+-PCR. Intra- and inter-laboratory reproducibility of the NeuMoDx HPV Assay self-sample workflow using both NeuMoDx 96 and 288 Molecular Systems was assessed on 520 self-samples in three laboratories. RESULTS: The clinical sensitivity and specificity of the NeuMoDx HPV Assay self-sample workflow for the detection of CIN2+ and CIN3+ were found to be non-inferior to the reference workflows using either HPV-Risk Assay or high-risk HPV GP5+/6+-PCR, with all p-values <0.034. The NeuMoDx HPV Assay self-sample workflow exhibited an intra-laboratory reproducibility of 94.4 % (95 %CI:92.5-96.1 %) with kappa value 0.86 (95 %CI:0.81-0.91). Inter-laboratory agreement was high (all ≥93.4 % and all kappa values ≥0.83). CONCLUSIONS: The NeuMoDx HPV Assay self-sample workflow demonstrated high clinical accuracy for CIN2+/3+ and high reproducibility. The NeuMoDx HPV Assay self-sample workflow can be considered suitable for cervical cancer screening purposes.

Detection of non-metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer in urine by methylation-specific PCR analysis: A feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer has the highest cancer-related mortality worldwide and earlier detection could improve outcomes. Urine circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) represents a true non-invasive means for ambulant sample collection. In this prospective study, the potential of urine for perioperative detection of non-metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using ctDNA methylation analysis is evaluated. METHODS: Preoperative urine samples of 46 surgical NSCLC patients and 50 sex and age-matched controls were analyzed for DNA methylation of NSCLC-associated methylation markers CDO1, SOX17, and TAC1, using quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP). The accuracy for NSCLC detection was determined by univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis, followed by leave-one-out cross-validation. Fourteen additional urine samples were collected postoperatively to evaluate whether DNA methylation levels alter after surgery with curative intent. RESULTS: Methylation levels of CDO1 and SOX17 were significantly elevated in patients compared to controls (P =.016 and P <.001, respectively). This marker combination yielded an area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) value of 0.71 upon leave-one-out cross-validation for non-metastatic NSCLC detection in urine. Stage I patients tended to have higher methylation levels of SOX17 as compared to stage III patients. Similar methylation levels were found across the different histological subtypes of NSCLC. In some patients with preoperative elevated methylation levels, reduced methylation levels were found in post-operative urine samples. CONCLUSIONS: Urine CDO1 and SOX17 showed increased methylation levels in NSCLC patients as compared to sex- and age-matched controls. This demonstrates that urine ctDNA methylation analysis may provide an interesting non-invasive means to detect non-metastatic NSCLC. Further studies are needed to validate the clinical usefulness of this approach and to assess the potential of post-operative monitoring.

Promoter methylation analysis of WNT/ß-catenin signaling pathway regulators to detect adenocarcinoma or its precursor lesion of the cervix.

OBJECTIVE: Cervical adenocarcinoma (AdCA) and adenocarcinoma in situ (ACIS) are frequently missed in cytology-based screening programs. Testing for high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) improves their detection, but novel ACIS/AdCA specific biomarkers are needed to increase specificity for these lesions. Novel markers may be deduced from the WNT/ß-catenin signaling pathway, which is aberrantly activated during cervical carcinogenesis. METHODS: Promoter methylation of nine WNT-antagonists (APC, AXIN2, DKK3, SFRP2, SFRP4, SFRP5, SOX17, WIF1 and WNT5A) was evaluated by methylation-specific PCR (MSP) on a small series of cervical tissue specimens, including AdCA and SCC. To estimate the diagnostic potential of the genes most frequently methylated in AdCA an extended series of ACIS, AdCA, CIN3, SCC, and normal cervical tissue specimens (n=131) as well as 49 hrHPV-positive scrapings were analyzed by quantitative MSP (qMSP). RESULTS: The frequency of DKK3 and SFRP2 methylation was significantly higher in AdCA compared to SCC, i.e. 82% vs. 18% (p<0.01) and 84% vs. 39% (p<0.01), respectively, while SOX17 methylation frequency was significantly higher in SCC than AdCA, i.e. 89% vs. 62% (p<0.05). Methylation of WIF1 was common in both AdCA (71%) and SCC (54%). Methylation frequencies ranged from 4% to 55% in precursor lesions and from 0% to 5% in normal biopsies. When tested on HPV-positive cervical scrapings, qMSP of the best ACIS/AdCA discriminator genes, i.e. DKK3 and SFRP2, detected all women with underlying ACIS/AdCA, compared to 3% of controls. CONCLUSIONS: DKK3 and SFRP2 promoter methylation is highly indicative for the presence of ACIS/AdCA, thereby providing promising triage markers for HPV-positive women at risk of ACIS/AdCA.

FAM19A4/miR124-2 methylation analysis as a triage test for HPV-positive women: cross-sectional and longitudinal data from a Dutch screening cohort.

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to evaluate the cross-sectional and long-term triage performance of FAM19A4/miR124-2 methylation analysis in human papillomavirus (HPV)-based cervical screening. METHODS: We conducted a post hoc analysis within a Dutch population-based HPV-positive study cohort of women aged 30-60 years (n = 979). Cross-sectional cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 3+ sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value as well as cumulative CIN3+ or cervical cancer risks after 9 and 14 years were compared for three baseline triage strategies: (1) cytology, (2) FAM19A4/miR124-2 methylation analysis and (3) combined FAM19A4/miR124-2 methylation with cytology. RESULTS: CIN3+ sensitivity of FAM19A4/miR124-2 methylation analysis was similar to that of cytology (71.3% vs 76.0%, ratio 0.94, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.05), at a lower specificity (78.3% vs 87.0%, ratio 0.90, 95% CI 0.86 to 0.94). Combining FAM19A4/miR124-2 methylation analysis with cytology resulted in a CIN3+ sensitivity of 84.6% (95% CI 78.3 to 90.8) at a specificity of 69.6% (95% CI 66.5 to 72.7). Similar 9- and 14-year CIN3+ risks for baseline cytology-negative women and baseline FAM19A4/miR124-2 methylation-negative women were observed, with risk differences of -0.42% (95% CI -2.1 to 1.4) and -0.07% (95% CI -1.9 to 1.9), respectively. The 14-year cumulative cervical cancer incidence was significantly lower for methylation-negative women compared to cytology-negative women (risk difference 0.98%, 95% CI 0.26 to 2.0). DISCUSSION: FAM19A4/miR124-2 methylation analysis has a good triage performance on baseline screening samples, with a cross-sectional CIN3+ sensitivity and long-term triage-negative CIN3+ risk equalling cytology triage. Therefore, FAM19A4/miR124-2 methylation analysis appears to be a good and objective alternative to cytology in triage scenarios in HPV-based cervical screening.

Detection of colorectal cancer in urine using DNA methylation analysis.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause for cancer-related death globally. Clinically, there is an urgent need for non-invasive CRC detection. This study assessed the feasibility of CRC detection by analysis of tumor-derived methylated DNA fragments in urine. Urine samples, including both unfractioned and supernatant urine fractions, of 92 CRC patients and 63 healthy volunteers were analyzed for DNA methylation levels of 6 CRC-associated markers (SEPT9, TMEFF2, SDC2, NDRG4, VIM and ALX4). Optimal marker panels were determined by two statistical approaches. Methylation levels of SEPT9 were significantly increased in urine supernatant of CRC patients compared to controls (p < 0.0001). Methylation analysis in unfractioned urine appeared inaccurate. Following multivariate logistic regression and classification and regression tree analysis, a marker panel consisting of SEPT9 and SDC2 was able to detect up to 70% of CRC cases in urine supernatant at 86% specificity. First evidence is provided for CRC detection in urine by SEPT9 methylation analysis, which combined with SDC2 allows for an optimal differentiation between CRC patients and controls. Urine therefore provides a promising liquid biopsy for non-invasive CRC detection.

Absence of the MGMT protein as well as methylation of the MGMT promoter predict the sensitivity for temozolomide.

BACKGROUND: The DNA repair protein O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) can cause resistance to the alkylating drug temozolomide (TMZ). The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the MGMT status, determined by means of several techniques and methods, and the cytotoxic response to TMZ in 11 glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cell lines and 5 human tumour cell lines of other origins. METHODS: Cell survival was analysed by clonogenic assay. The MGMT protein levels were assessed by western blot analysis. The MGMT promoter methylation levels were determined using methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MS-MLPA) and quantitative real-time methylation-specific PCR (qMSP). On the basis of the results of these techniques, six GBM cell lines were selected and subjected to bisulphite sequencing. RESULTS: The MGMT protein was detected in all TMZ-resistant cell lines, whereas no MGMT protein could be detected in cell lines that were TMZ sensitive. The MS-MLPA results were able to predict TMZ sensitivity in 9 out of 16 cell lines (56%). The qMSP results matched well with TMZ sensitivity in 11 out of 12 (92%) glioma cell lines. In addition, methylation as detected by bisulphite sequencing seemed to be predictive of TMZ sensitivity in all six cell lines analysed (100%). CONCLUSION: The MGMT protein expression more than MGMT promoter methylation status predicts the response to TMZ in human tumour cell lines.

The major 8p22 tumor suppressor DLC1 is frequently silenced by methylation in both endemic and sporadic nasopharyngeal, esophageal, and cervical carcinomas, and inhibits tumor cell colony formation.

Identification of tumor suppressor genes (TSG) silenced by methylation uncovers mechanisms of tumorigenesis and identifies new epigenetic tumor markers for early cancer detection. Both nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and esophageal carcinoma are major tumors in Southern China and Southeast Asia. Through expression subtraction of NPC, we identified Deleted in Liver Cancer 1 (DLC1)/ARHGAP7 (NM_006094)--an 8p22 TSG as a major downregulated gene. Although expressed in all normal tissues, DLC1 was silenced or downregulated in 11/12 (91%) NPC, 6/15 (40%) esophageal, 5/8 (63%) cervical and 3/9 (33%) breast carcinoma cell lines. No genetic deletion of DLC1 was detected in NPC although a hemizygous deletion at 8p22-11 was found by 1-Mb array-CGH in some cell lines. We then located the functional DLC1 promoter by 5'-RACE and promoter activity assays. This promoter was frequently methylated in all downregulated cell lines and in a large collection of primary tumors including 89% (64/72) NPC (endemic and sporadic types), 51% (48/94) esophageal, 87% (7/8) cervical and 36% (5/14) breast carcinomas, but seldom in paired surgical marginal tissues and not in any normal epithelial tissue. The transcriptional silencing of DLC1 could be reversed by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine or genetic double knock-out of DNMT1 and DNMT3B. Furthermore, ectopic expression of DLC1 in NPC and esophageal carcinoma cells strongly inhibited their colony formation. We thus found frequent epigenetic silencing of DLC1 in NPC, esophageal and cervical carcinomas, and a high correlation of methylation with its downregulation, suggesting a predominant role of epigenetic inactivation. DLC1 appears to be a major TSG implicated in the pathogenesis of these tumors, and should be further tested as a molecular biomarker in patients with these cancers.

MAL promoter hypermethylation as a novel prognostic marker in gastric cancer.

T-lymphocyte maturation associated protein, MAL, has been described as a tumour-suppressor gene with diagnostic value in colorectal and oesophageal cancers, and can be inactivated by promoter hypermethylation. The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of MAL promoter hypermethylation and the association with mRNA expression in gastric cancers and to correlate methylation status to clinicopathological data. Bisulphite-treated DNA isolated from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded samples of 202 gastric adenocarcinomas and 22 normal gastric mucosae was subjected to real-time methylation-specific PCR (Q-MSP). Two regions within the MAL promoter (M1 and M2) were analysed. In addition, 17 frozen gastric carcinomas and two gastric cancer cell lines were analysed both by Q-MSP and real-time RT-PCR. Methylation of M1 and M2 occurred in 71 and 80% of the gastric cancers, respectively, but not in normal gastric mucosa tissue. Hypermethylation of M2, but not M1, correlated with significantly better disease-free survival in a univariate (P=0.03) and multivariate analysis (P=0.03) and with downregulation of expression (P=0.01). These results indicate that MAL has a putative tumour-suppressor gene function in gastric cancer, and detection of promoter hypermethylation may be useful as a prognostic marker.

A protocol for urine collection and storage prior to DNA methylation analysis.

BACKGROUND: Urine poses an attractive non-invasive means for obtaining liquid biopsies for oncological diagnostics. Especially molecular analysis on urinary DNA is a rapid growing field. However, optimal and practical storage conditions that result in preservation of urinary DNA, and in particular hypermethylated DNA (hmDNA), are yet to be determined. AIM: To determine the most optimal and practical conditions for urine storage that result in adequate preservation of DNA for hmDNA analysis. METHODS: DNA yield for use in methylation analysis was determined by quantitative methylation specific PCR (qMSP) targeting the ACTB and RASSF1A genes on bisulfite modified DNA. First, DNA yield (ACTB qMSP) was determined in a pilot study on urine samples of healthy volunteers using two preservatives (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and Urine Conditioning Buffer, Zymo Research) at four different temperatures (room temperature (RT), 4°C, -20°C, -80°C) for four time periods (1, 2, 7, 28 days). Next, hmDNA levels (RASSF1A qMSP) in stored urine samples of patients suffering from bladder cancer (n = 10) or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC; n = 10) were measured at day 0 and 7 upon storage with and without the addition of 40mM EDTA and/or 20 µl/ml Penicillin Streptomycin (PenStrep) at RT and 4°C. RESULTS: In the pilot study, DNA for methylation analysis was only maintained at RT upon addition of preserving agents. In urine stored at 4°C for a period of 7 days or more, the addition of either preserving agent yielded a slightly better preservation of DNA. When urine was stored at -20 °C or -80 °C for up to 28 days, DNA was retained irrespective of the addition of preserving agents. In bladder cancer and NSCLC samples stored at RT loss of DNA was significantly less if EDTA was added compared to no preserving agents (p<0.001). Addition of PenStrep did not affect DNA preservation (p>0.99). Upon storage at 4°C, no difference in DNA preservation was found after the addition of preserving agents (p = 0.18). The preservation of methylated DNA (RASSF1A) was strongly correlated to that of unmethylated DNA (ACTB) in most cases, except when PCR values became inaccurate. CONCLUSIONS: Addition of EDTA offers an inexpensive preserving agent for urine storage at RT up to seven days allowing for reliable hmDNA analysis. To avoid bacterial overgrowth PenStrep can be added without negatively affecting DNA preservation.

Altered microRNA expression associated with chromosomal changes contributes to cervical carcinogenesis.

Little is known about the alterations in microRNA (miRNA) expression patterns during the consecutive stages of cervical cancer development and their association with chromosomal instability. In this study, miRNA expression in normal cervical squamous epithelium, high-grade precancerous lesions (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2-3)), squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and adenocarcinomas (AdCAs) was integrated with previously generated chromosomal profiles of the same samples. Significantly differential expression during the consecutive stages of cervical SCC development was observed for 106 miRNAs. Of these differentially expressed miRNAs, 27 showed early transiently altered expression in CIN2-3 lesions only, 46 miRNAs showed late altered expression in SCCs only and 33 showed continuously altered expression in both CIN2-3 and SCCs. Altered expression of five significantly differentially expressed miRNAs, hsa-miR-9 (1q23.2), hsa-miR-15b (3q25.32), hsa-miR-28-5p (3q27.3), hsa-miR-100 and hsa-miR-125b (both 11q24.1), was directly linked to frequent chromosomal alterations. Functional analyses were performed for hsa-miR-9, representing a potential oncogene with increased expression linked to a chromosomal gain of 1q. Hsa-miR-9 overexpression was found to increase cell viability, anchorage-independent growth and migration in vitro. Upon organic raft culturing, hsa-miR-9 hampered differentiation and induced proliferation in all strata of the epithelial layer. These findings support a potential oncogenic function of hsa-miR-9 in cervical cancer. In summary, differential expression of 106 miRNAs, partly associated with chromosomal alterations, was observed during cervical SCC development. Altered expression of hsa-miR-9 associated with a chromosomal gain of chromosome 1q was shown to be functionally relevant, underlining the importance of deregulated miRNA expression in cervical carcinogenesis.

Preclinical safety evaluation of DNA vaccines encoding modified HPV16 E6 and E7.

Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (hrHPV) can result in the formation of anogenital cancers. As hrHPV proteins E6 and E7 are required for cancer initiation and maintenance, they are ideal targets for immunotherapeutic interventions. Previously, we have described the development of DNA vaccines for the induction of HPV16 E6 and E7 specific T cell immunity. These vaccines consist of 'gene-shuffled' (SH) versions of HPV16 E6 and E7 that were fused to Tetanus Toxin Fragment C domain 1 (TTFC) and were named TTFC-E6SH and TTFC-E7SH. Gene-shuffling was performed to avoid the risk of inducing malignant transformation at the vaccination site. Here, we describe the preclinical safety evaluation of these candidate vaccines by analysis of their transforming capacity in vitro using established murine fibroblasts (NIH 3T3 cells) and primary human foreskin keratinocytes (HFKs). We demonstrate that neither ectopic expression of TTFC-E6SH and TTFC-E7SH alone or in combination enabled NIH 3T3 cells to form colonies in soft agar. In contrast, expression of HPV16 E6WT and E7WT alone or in combination resulted in effective transformation. Similarly, retroviral transduction of HFKs from three independent donors with both TTFC-E6SH and TTFC-E7SH alone or in combination did not show any signs of immortalization. In contrast, the combined expression of E6WT and E7WT induced immortalization in HFKs from all donors. Based on these results we consider it justified to proceed to clinical evaluation of DNA vaccines encoding TTFC-E6SH and TTFC-E7SH in patients with HPV16 associated (pre)malignancies.

Association between dense CADM1 promoter methylation and reduced protein expression in high-grade CIN and cervical SCC.

We previously showed that silencing of TSLC1, recently renamed CADM1, is functionally involved in high-risk HPV-mediated cervical carcinogenesis. CADM1 silencing often results from promoter methylation. Here, we determined the extent of CADM1 promoter methylation in cervical (pre)malignant lesions and its relation to anchorage-independent growth and gene silencing to select a CADM1-based methylation marker for identification of women at risk of cervical cancer. Methylation-specific PCRs targeting three regions within the CADM1 promoter were performed on high-risk HPV-containing cell lines, PBMCs, normal cervical smears, and (pre)malignant lesions. CADM1 protein expression in cervical tissues was analysed by immunohistochemistry. All statistical tests were two-sided. Density of methylation was associated with the degree of anchorage-independent growth and CADM1 gene silencing in vitro. In cervical squamous lesions, methylation frequency and density increased with severity of disease. Dense methylation (defined as >or= 2 methylated regions) increased from 5% in normal cervical samples to 30% in CIN3 lesions and 83% in squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and was significantly associated with decreased CADM1 protein expression (p < 0.00005). The frequency of dense methylation was significantly higher in >or= CIN3 compared with or= CIN3.

Sequential gene promoter methylation during HPV-induced cervical carcinogenesis.

We aimed to link DNA methylation events occurring in cervical carcinomas to distinct stages of HPV-induced transformation. Methylation specific-multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MS-MLPA) analysis of cervical carcinomas revealed promoter methylation of 12 out of 29 tumour suppressor genes analysed, with MGMT being most frequently methylated (92%). Subsequently, consecutive stages of HPV16/18-transfected keratinocytes (n=11), ranging from pre-immortal to anchorage-independent phenotypes, were analysed by MS-MLPA. Whereas no methylation was evident in pre-immortal cells, progression to anchorage independence was associated with an accumulation of frequent methylation events involving five genes, all of which were also methylated in cervical carcinomas. TP73 and ESR1 methylation became manifest in early immortal cells followed by RARbeta and DAPK1 methylation in late immortal passages. Complementary methylation of MGMT was related to anchorage independence. Analysis of nine cervical cancer cell lines, representing the tumorigenic phenotype, revealed in addition to these five genes frequent methylation of CADM1, CDH13 and CHFR. In conclusion, eight recurrent methylation events in cervical carcinomas could be assigned to different stages of HPV-induced transformation. Hence, our in vitro model system provides a valuable tool to further functionally address the epigenetic alterations that are common in cervical carcinomas.

Increased gene copy numbers at chromosome 20q are frequent in both squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas of the cervix.

Genome-wide microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) was used to identify common chromosomal alterations involved in cervical carcinogenesis as a first step towards the discovery of novel biomarkers. The genomic profiles of nine squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and seven adenocarcinomas (AdCAs), as well as four human papillomavirus (HPV)-immortalized keratinocyte cell lines, were assessed. On a genome-wide scale, SCCs showed significantly more gains than AdCAs. More specifically, there was a striking and highly significant difference between the two histological types for gain at 3q12.1-28, which was predominantly observed in SCC. Other frequent alterations included gains of 1q21.1-31.1 and 20q11.21-13.33, and losses of 11q22.3-25 and 13q14.3-21.33. Subsequent FISH analysis for hTR, located at 3q26, confirmed the presence of 3q gain in SCCs and HPV-immortalized cell lines. Fine mapping of chromosome 20q using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) showed copy number increases for a number of genes located at 20q11-q12, including DNMT3B and TOP1. For DNMT3B, this correlated with elevated mRNA expression in 79% of cases. In conclusion, the assessment of frequent genomic alterations resulted in the identification of potential novel biomarkers, which may ultimately enable a better risk stratification of high-risk (hr)-HPV-positive women.

Clinical relevance of human papillomavirus testing in cytopathology.

Cancer of the uterine cervix is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. Currently, cervical screening is based on cytology alone. Because infection with high-risk human papillomavirus types (hrHPVs) is a necessary cause of cervical cancer, it has been postulated that screening might become more efficient when it is based on combined cytology and hrHPV testing. In this review we will discuss the advantages of added HPV tests in cervical cancer screening, as a quality control for false-negative smears, in triage of women with equivocal smears, in follow-up of women treated for CIN3 or cervical cancer and for the detection of cervical adenocarcinoma.