Vaccination with ErbB-2 peptides prevents cancer stem cell expansion and suppresses the development of spontaneous tumors in MMTV-PyMT transgenic mice.

ErbB-2 has been implicated as a target for cancer-initiating cells in breast and other cancers. ErbB-2-directed peptide vaccines have been shown to be effective in prevention of spontaneous tumorigenesis of breast in neu transgenic mouse model, and cellular immunity is proposed as a mechanism for the anti-tumor efficacy. However, there has been no explanation as to how immunity suppresses tumorigenesis from the early stage carcinogenesis, when ErbB-2 expression in breast is low. Here, we investigated a peptide-based vaccine, which consists of two MHC class II epitopes derived from murine ErbB-2, to prevent the occurrence of spontaneous tumors in breast and assess immune impact on breast cancer stem cells. Female MMTV-PyMT transgenic mice were immunized with either ErbB-2 peptide vaccine, or a peptide from tetanus toxoid, or PBS in immune adjuvant. ErbB-2 peptides vaccine completely suppressed spontaneous breast tumors, and the efficacy was correlated with antigen-specific T-cell and antibody responses. In addition, immune serum from the mice of ErbB-2 vaccine group had an inhibitory effect on mammosphere-forming capacity and signaling through ErbB-2 and downstream Akt pathway in ErbB-2 overexpressing mouse mammary cancer cells. We provide evidence that multi-epitope class II peptides vaccine suppresses tumorigenesis of breast potentially by inhibiting the growth of cancer stem cells. We also suggest that a strategy of inducing strong immune responses using multi-epitope ErbB-2-directed helper vaccine might be useful in preventing breast cancer recurrence.

The genetic polymorphisms of HER-2 and the risk of lung cancer in a Korean population.

BACKGROUND: Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER-2; also known as erbB-2 or neu), a proto-oncogene of the receptor tyrosine kinase superfamily, has been associated with carcinogenesis and prognosis of human cancers, acting as a binding partner of other epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family in the activation of EGFR signaling. Amplification of the HER-2 gene has been reported in lung cancer, where it has been associated with poor prognosis. In this study, we investigated whether the four polymorphisms (-3444C>T, -1985 G>T, I655A A>G and P1170A C>G) of the HER-2 gene are associated with the risk of lung cancer in Korean populations. METHODS: The frequencies of 4 polymorphisms of the HER-2 gene were examined by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism or the single-nucleotide polymorphism-identification technology assay in the 407 lung cancer patients and 407 healthy controls. RESULTS: The frequencies of the 4 polymorphisms were not significantly different between patient and control groups in overall subjects. However, in the subgroup analysis, the 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (-3444C>T, -1985G>T and P1170A C>G) showed statistically significant differences in the subgroups of females, non-smokers, and non-drinkers (p < 0.05). Additionally, we found the association between the risk of lung cancer and the polymorphisms of HER-2 gene in non-smoker subgroups with adenocarcinoma (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the polymorphisms of the HER-2 gene are associated with an increased susceptibility to lung cancer in females, non-smokers and non-drinkers subgroups in the Korean population.

[Corrigendum] Promoter methylation of RASSF1A modulates the effect of the microtubule-targeting agent docetaxel in breast cancer.

Following the publication of this article, an interested reader drew to our attention that there were possible anomalies in the presentation of Fig. 5B in the above article. After having examined the figure, we recognized that several errors had indeed occurred during the process of compiling the figure. A corrected version of Fig. 5 is shown below, containing new data for Fig. 5B, after our having re-performed the western blot experiment according to the identical procedure detailed in the paper. We obtained broadly similar results to those featured originally in the article; therefore, the revision of this figure does not affect the conclusions reported in the study. We thank the reader of our article who drew this matter to our attention. [the original article was published in the International Journal of Oncology 41: 611-620, 2012; DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2012.1470].

Can mutations of EGFR and KRAS in serum be predictive and prognostic markers in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)?

The status of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Kirsten ras (KRAS) mutations has been used widely in management of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, it may be difficult to get tumor tissues for analyzing the status of EGFR and KRAS mutation in large proportion of patients with advanced disease. We obtained pairs of tumor and serum samples from 57 patients with advanced NSCLC, between March 2006 and January 2009. EGFR mutation status from tumor samples and KRAS mutation status from serum samples were analyzed by genomic polymerase chain reaction and direct sequence, and EGFR mutation status from serum samples was determined by the peptide nucleic acid-locked nucleic acid PCR clamp. EGFR mutations were detected in the serum samples of 11 patients and in the tumor samples of 12 patients. Fourteen patients revealed (?) KRAS mutation in the serum sample. EGFR mutation status in the serum and tumor samples was consistent in 50 (87.7 %) of the 57 pairs (correlation index 0.62, p < 0.001). Only 5 of 57 (8.7 %) patients showed mutation of both EGFR and KRAS in serum sample. Twenty-two of 57 patients (38.5 %) received EGFR-TKIs as any line therapy. The response for EGFR-TKIs was significantly associated with EGFR mutations in both tumor samples and serum samples (p < 0.05). The status of KRAS mutation in serum was not predictive for the response of EGFR-TKI (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference in OS according to the status of EGFR mutations in both serum and tumor samples (p > 0.05) and KRAS mutations in serum samples (p > 0.05). The status of EGFR and KRAS mutation in serum was not prognostic in patients with advanced NSCLC. However, the clinical usefulness of EGFR mutation of serum as a selection marker for EGFR-TKIs sensitivity in NSCLC might be allowed, not KRAS mutation.

Can serum be used for analyzing the EGFR mutation status in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer?

BACKGROUND: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations as prognostic or predictive marker in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been used widely. However, it may be difficult to get tumor tissue for analyzing the status of EGFR mutation status in large proportion of patients with advanced disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We obtained pairs of tumor and serum samples from 57 patients with advanced NSCLC, between March 2006 and January 2009. EGFR mutation status from tumor samples was analyzed by genomic polymerase chain reaction and direct sequence and EGFR mutation status from serum samples was determined by the peptide nucleic acid locked nucleic acid polymerase chain reaction clamp. RESULTS: EGFR mutations were detected in the serum samples of 11 patients and in the tumor samples of 12 patients. EGFR mutation status in the serum and tumor samples was consistent in 50 of the 57 pairs (87.7%). There was a high correlation between the mutations detected in serum sample and the mutations detected in the matched tumor sample (correlation index 0.62; P<0.001). Twenty-two of 57 patients (38.5%) received EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors as any line therapy. The response for EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors was significantly associated with EGFR mutations in both tumor samples and serum samples (P<0.05). There was no significant differences in overall survival according to the status of EGFR mutations in both serum and tumor samples (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Serum sample might be alternatively used in the difficult time of getting tumor tissue for analyzing the status of EGFR mutation status in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Promoter methylation of RASSF1A modulates the effect of the microtubule-targeting agent docetaxel in breast cancer.

Docetaxel is one of the most commonly used chemotherapeutic agents in breast cancer. To avert from significant toxicities with no clinical benefit, identification of predictive markers for response is one of the most important unsolved clinical needs. Therefore, the potential associations of RASSF1A hypermethylation and response to docetaxel-based chemotherapy were evaluated, and the underlying mechanism was studied. The expression of RASSF1A in breast cancer cell lines and tissues of normal breast, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and breast cancer (n=45) was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the expression of RASSF1A was frequently lost in primary breast cancers and human breast cancer cell lines, while normal breast tissues or DCIS displayed moderate to strong expression. Furthermore, quantitative methylation analysis of the RASSF1A promoter region in 45 primary breast cancers revealed that RASSF1A was frequently methylated in primary breast cancers (≥20% methylation in 53% of the patients), and prospective analysis in patients with locally advanced or recurrent breast cancer showed that the mean level of methylation of RASSF1A was significantly higher in patients who did not respond to docetaxel-based chemotherapy (30.6±8.5%) than patients with partial or complete response (20.1±11.2%, p=0.042). Finally, in vitro studies showed that RASSF1A had cooperative activity in suppression of cancer cell growth and proliferation by enhancing docetaxel-induced cell cycle arrest. Our results suggest that hypermethylated RASSF1A is an important modulating factor for the efficacy of docetaxel-based chemotherapy in breast cancer.

Methylation of AKAP12{alpha} promoter in lung cancer.

AKAP12α plays an important role in tumour growth suppression by inducing apoptosis. This study investigated whether the promoter methylation of AKAP12α is associated with lung cancer. AKAP12α was down-regulated in lung cancer cells and the reduced protein expression was restored by DNA methyl-transferase inhibitor. AKAP12α promoter was more frequently methylated in tumours than in normal tissues. Furthermore, AKAP12α methylation was found more frequently in the cells of non-relapse patients after surgery than in those of early relapse patients. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that AKAP12α expression is regulated by DNA methylation and that AKAP12α promoter methylation is associated with lung cancer prognosis.

Microtubule-damaging agents enhance RASSF1A-induced cell death in lung cancer cell lines.

BACKGROUND: Tumor suppressor gene product RASSF1A has been reported to induce mitotic arrest and apoptosis through its interaction with microtubule and binding to the Ras effector NORE1. Despite this promising antitumor action of microtubule-targeted drugs, clinical studies demonstrated that paclitaxel (TXL) and vincristine (VCS) have differential antitumor effects, depending on the status of microtubule-related genes in lung cancer patients. In this study, to provide effective chemotherapeutic treatment for lung cancer patients with the microtubule-targeted drugs, the authors investigated whether RASSF1A could enhance sensitivity to TXL and VCS, as an intrinsic microtubule modulator, in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. METHODS: The growth inhibitory effects of TXL and VCS on RASSF1A-transfected cells were assessed using clonogenic and flow cytometry-based propidium iodide-labeled assay. The levels of mitosis-related proteins in RASSF1A-transfected cells after treatment with TXL or VCS were examined by Western blot analysis and in vitro kinase assay. RESULTS: RASSF1A enhanced the growth inhibitory effect of TXL and VCS on NSCLC cells and bronchial epithelial transformed cells (BEAS-2B) by inducing cell cycle arrest at the G2/M-phase. Accumulation of cyclin B1, G2/M-phase-related protein, was observed when RASSF1A-transfected H1299 cells were treated with TXL or VCS, accompanied with an increase of cyclin A. Inhibition of the activity of cyclin B1/Cdc2 complex by RASSF1A and TXL or VCS was confirmed by kinase assay and knockdown of RASSF1A expression by using small interfering RNA. CONCLUSIONS: RSAAF1A protein has a cooperative growth inhibitory effect with microtubule-targeted drugs through cyclin B1 accumulation on NSCLC cells, suggesting novel insights for the selection of chemotherapeutic agents.