Asparaginase-like protein 1 is an independent prognostic marker in primary endometrial cancer, and is frequently lost in metastatic lesions.

OBJECTIVE: Loss of Asparaginase-like protein 1 (ASRGL1) has been suggested as a prognostic biomarker in endometrial carcinoma. Our objective was to validate this in a prospectively collected, independent patient cohort, and evaluate ASRGL1 expression in endometrial carcinoma precursor lesion and metastases. METHODS: 782 primary endometrial carcinomas, 90 precursor lesions (complex atypical hyperplasia), and 179 metastases (from 87 patients) were evaluated for ASRGL1 expression by immunohistochemistry in relation to clinical and histopathological data. ASRGL1 mRNA level was investigated in 237 primary tumors and related to survival and ASRGL1 protein expression. RESULTS: Low expression of ASRGL1 protein and ASRGL1 mRNA predicted poor disease specific survival (P<0.001). In multivariate survival analyses ASRGL1 had independent prognostic value both in the whole patient cohort (Hazard ratio (HR): 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04-2.26, P=0.031) and within the endometrioid subgroup (HR: 2.64, CI: 1.47-4.74, P=0.001). Low ASRGL1 expression was less frequent in patients with low grade endometrioid primary tumors compared to high grade endometrioid and non-endometrioid primary tumors, and ASRGL1 was lost in the majority of metastatic lesions. CONCLUSIONS: In a prospective setting ASRGL1 validates as a strong prognostic biomarker in endometrial carcinoma. Loss of ASRGL1 is associated with aggressive disease and poor survival, and is demonstrated for the first time to have independent prognostic value in the entire endometrial carcinoma patient population.

Near-Infrared Fluorescent Imaging for Monitoring of Treatment Response in Endometrial Carcinoma Patient-Derived Xenograft Models.

Imaging of clinically relevant preclinical animal models is critical to the development of personalized therapeutic strategies for endometrial carcinoma. Although orthotopic patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) reflecting heterogeneous molecular subtypes are considered the most relevant preclinical models, their use in therapeutic development is limited by the lack of appropriate imaging modalities. Here, we describe molecular imaging of a near-infrared fluorescently labeled monoclonal antibody targeting epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) as an in vivo imaging modality for visualization of orthotopic endometrial carcinoma PDX. Application of this near-infrared probe (EpCAM-AF680) enabled both spatio-temporal visualization of development and longitudinal therapy monitoring of orthotopic PDX. Notably, EpCAM-AF680 facilitated imaging of multiple PDX models representing different subtypes of the disease. Thus, the combined implementation of EpCAM-AF680 and orthotopic PDX models creates a state-of-the-art preclinical platform for identification and validation of new targeted therapies and corresponding response predicting markers for endometrial carcinoma.

Protein expression profiling of plasma and lungs at different stages of metastatic development in a human triple negative breast cancer xenograft model.

The main objective of this study was to identify single proteins or protein networks that might be used as diagnostic biomarkers or for therapeutic purposes by evaluating the protein expression profiling of plasma and lungs at different stages of metastatic development in a human triple negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer xenograft model. MDA-MB-231 tumour cells were injected into the mammary fat pads on one side of the groin area. The mice were sacrificed day 19 (pre-metastases) and day 54 (metastases). Non-injected mice served as controls. Plasma was collected and lungs harvested for both immunohistochemistry and protein analysis. The most striking observation in plasma was the initial reduction in haptoglobin level at the pre-metastatic stage, to a following significant increase in haptoglobin level at the metastatic stage, with a more than 4000-fold increase from the pre-metastatic to the metastatic phase. A corresponding increase in haptoglobin level was also found in lung tissue after metastasis. Fibrinogen beta chain also had a similar change in expression level in plasma as haptoglobin, however not as prominent. There were also changes in plasma thrombospondin-4 and transferrin receptor protein 1 levels, from an increase at the pre-metastatic stage, to a significant fall when metastases were established. This suggests that especially changes in haptoglobin, but also fibrinogen beta chain, thrombospondin-4 and transferrin receptor protein 1 is indicative of metastasis, at least in this breast cancer model, and should be further evaluated as general breast cancer biomarkers.

The Effect of Stromal Integrin ß3-Deficiency on Two Different Tumors in Mice.

There is an increasing focus on the tumor microenvironment in carcinogenesis. Integrins are important receptors and adhesion molecules in this environment and have been shown to be involved in cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation and migration. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of stromal integrin ß3-deficiency on tumor growth, angiogenesis, interstitial fluid pressure (PIF), fibrosis and metastasis in a murine breast cancer (4T1) and a prostate tumor (RM11) model. We showed that stromal integrin ß3-deficiency led to an elevation in PIF that correlated to a shift towards thicker collagen fibrils in the 4T1 mammary tumor. In the RM11 prostate carcinoma model there was no effect of integrin ß3-deficiency on PIF and collagen fibril thickness. These findings support the notion that changes in the collagen scaffold influence PIF, and also indicate that there must be important crosstalk between the stroma and tumor cells, in a tumor cell line specific manner. Furthermore, stromal integrin ß3-deficiency had no effect on tumor growth or angiogenesis in both tumor models and no effect on lung metastasis in the 4T1 mammary tumor model. In conclusion, the stromal ß3 integrin influence PIF, possibly via its effect on the structure of the collagen network, in a tumor cell line dependent manner.

Stromal Integrin α11ß1 Affects RM11 Prostate and 4T1 Breast Xenograft Tumors Differently.

PURPOSE: It has been implied that the collagen binding integrin α11ß1 plays a role in carcinogenesis. As still relatively little is known about how the stromal integrin α11ß1 affects different aspects of tumor development, we wanted to examine the direct effects on primary tumor growth, fibrosis, tumor interstitial fluid pressure (PIF) and metastasis in murine 4T1 mammary and RM11 prostate tumors, using an in vivo SCID integrin α11-deficient mouse model. METHODS: Tumor growth was measured using a caliper, PIF by the wick-in-needle technique, activated fibroblasts by α-SMA immunofluorescence staining and fibrosis by transmission electron microscopy and picrosirius-red staining. Metastases were evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin stained sections. RESULTS: RM11 tumor growth was significantly reduced in the SCID integrin α11-deficient (α11-KO) compared to in SCID integrin α11 wild type (WT) mice, whereas there was no similar effect in the 4T1 tumor model. The 4T1 model demonstrated an alteration in collagen fibril diameter in the integrin α11-KO mice compared to WT, which was not found in the RM11 model. There were no significant differences in the amount of activated fibroblasts, total collagen content, collagen organization or PIF in the tumors in integrin α11-deficient mice compared to WT mice. There was also no difference in lung metastases between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Deficiency of stromal integrin α11ß1 showed different effects on tumor growth and collagen fibril diameter depending on tumor type, but no effect on tumor PIF or development of lung metastasis.