RESUMEN
Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a herbal supplement for improving memory. Exposure of B6C3F1/N mice to GBE in a 2-year National Toxicology Program (NTP) bioassay resulted in a dose-dependent increase in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). To identify key microRNAs that modulate GBE-induced hepatocarcinogenesis, we compared the global miRNA expression profiles in GBE-exposed HCC (GBE-HCC) and spontaneous HCC (SPNT-HCC) with age-matched vehicle control normal livers (CNTL) from B6C3F1/N mice. The number of differentially altered miRNAs in GBE-HCC and SPNT-HCC was 74 (52 up and 22 down) and 33 (15 up and 18 down), respectively. Among the uniquely differentially altered miRNAs in GBE-HCC, miR-31 and one of its predicted targets, Cdk1 were selected for functional validation. A potential miRNA response element (MRE) in the 3'-untranslated regions (3'-UTR) of Cdk1 mRNA was revealed by in silico analysis and confirmed by luciferase assays. In mouse hepatoma cell line HEPA-1 cells, we demonstrated an inverse correlation between miR-31 and CDK1 protein levels, but no change in Cdk1 mRNA levels, suggesting a post-transcriptional effect. Additionally, a set of miRNAs (miRs-411, 300, 127, 134, 409-3p, and 433-3p) that were altered in the GBE-HCCs were also altered in non-tumor liver samples from the 90-day GBE-exposed group compared to the vehicle control group, suggesting that some of these miRNAs could serve as potential biomarkers for GBE exposure or hepatocellular carcinogenesis. These data increase our understanding of miRNA-mediated epigenetic regulation of GBE-mediated hepatocellular carcinogenesis in B6C3F1/N mice.
Asunto(s)
Biomarcadores de Tumor/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/genética , Transformación Celular Neoplásica/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , MicroARNs/genética , Extractos Vegetales/toxicidad , Transcriptoma , Regiones no Traducidas 3' , Animales , Biomarcadores de Tumor/metabolismo , Proteína Quinasa CDC2/genética , Proteína Quinasa CDC2/metabolismo , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/inducido químicamente , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/metabolismo , Línea Celular Tumoral , Transformación Celular Neoplásica/inducido químicamente , Transformación Celular Neoplásica/metabolismo , Epigénesis Genética , Femenino , Perfilación de la Expresión Génica , Regulación Neoplásica de la Expresión Génica , Ginkgo biloba , Neoplasias Hepáticas/inducido químicamente , Neoplasias Hepáticas/metabolismo , Masculino , Ratones , MicroARNs/metabolismo , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, play an important role in carcinogenesis. In a recent NTP study, chronic exposure of B6C3F1/N mice to Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) resulted in a high incidence of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). Genome-wide promoter methylation profiling on GBE-exposed HCC (2000 mg/kg group), spontaneous HCC (vehicle-control group), and age-matched vehicle control liver was performed to identify differentially methylated genes in GBE-exposed HCC and spontaneous HCC. DNA methylation alterations were correlated to the corresponding global gene expression changes. Compared to control liver, 1296 gene promoters (719 hypermethylated, 577 hypomethylated) in GBE-exposed HCC and 738 (427 hypermethylated, 311 hypomethylated) gene promoters in spontaneous HCC were significantly differentially methylated, suggesting an impact of methylation on GBE-exposed HCC. Differential methylation of promoter regions in relevant cancer genes (cMyc, Spry2, Dusp5) and their corresponding differential gene expression was validated by quantitative pyrosequencing and qRT-PCR, respectively. In conclusion, we have identified differentially methylated promoter regions of relevant cancer genes altered in GBE-exposed HCC compared to spontaneous HCC. Further study of unique sets of differentially methylated genes in chemical-exposed mouse HCC could potentially be used to differentiate treatment-related tumors from spontaneous-tumors in cancer bioassays and provide additional understanding of the underlying epigenetic mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis.
Asunto(s)
Carcinoma Hepatocelular/inducido químicamente , Metilación de ADN/efectos de los fármacos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/inducido químicamente , Extractos Vegetales/efectos adversos , Animales , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/metabolismo , Epigénesis Genética/efectos de los fármacos , Femenino , Regulación Neoplásica de la Expresión Génica/efectos de los fármacos , Estudio de Asociación del Genoma Completo , Ginkgo biloba , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/metabolismo , Masculino , Ratones Endogámicos , Extractos Vegetales/administración & dosificación , Regiones Promotoras Genéticas , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Pruebas de Toxicidad CrónicaRESUMEN
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide; however, the mutational properties of HCC-associated carcinogens remain largely uncharacterized. We hypothesized that mechanisms underlying chemical-induced HCC can be characterized by evaluating the mutational spectra of these tumors. To test this hypothesis, we performed exome sequencing of B6C3F1/N HCCs that arose either spontaneously in vehicle controls ( n = 3) or due to chronic exposure to gingko biloba extract (GBE; n = 4) or methyleugenol (MEG; n = 3). Most archived tumor samples are available as formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks, rather than fresh-frozen (FF) samples; hence, exome sequencing from paired FF and FFPE samples was compared. FF and FFPE samples showed 63% to 70% mutation concordance. Multiple known (e.g., Ctnnb1T41A, BrafV637E) and novel (e.g., Erbb4C559S, Card10A700V, and Klf11P358L) mutations in cancer-related genes were identified. The overall mutational burden was greater for MEG than for GBE or spontaneous HCC samples. To characterize the mutagenic mechanisms, we analyzed the mutational spectra in the HCCs according to their trinucleotide motifs. The MEG tumors clustered closest to Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer signatures 4 and 24, which are, respectively, associated with benzo(a)pyrene- and aflatoxin-induced HCCs in humans. These results establish a novel approach for classifying liver carcinogens and understanding the mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinogenesis.