Moderate alcohol intake promotes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma development in mice expressing oncogenic Kras.

Kras mutations are associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Although tobacco smoking, pancreatitis, and obesity are known environmental risk factors for PDAC, the contribution of moderate alcohol intake to PDAC remains elusive. In the present study, we tested whether a combination of risk factors or moderate alcohol intake induces PDAC development in mice. Control Pdx1Cre and Pdx1Cre;LSL-KrasG12D mutant mice were fed a Western alcohol diet containing high levels of cholesterol and saturated fat, 3.5% alcohol, and lipopolysaccharide for 5 mo. In addition, mice were treated with cerulein, for induction of pancreatitis, and nicotine every month. Treatment with all of these risk factors promoted development of advanced pancreatic neoplasia and PDAC in the Pdx1Cre;LSL-KrasG12D mice but not in the control Pdx1Cre mice. Moderate alcohol intake or Western diet feeding also significantly promoted advanced neoplasia and PDAC development in Pdx1Cre;LSL-KrasG12D mice compared with mice fed a regular chow. Alcohol, but not Western diet, increased tumor development in the liver in the Pdx1Cre;LSL-KrasG12D mice, but its origin remained elusive due to leakiness of Pdx1Cre in hepatocytes. RNA-seq analysis revealed that alcohol feeding increases expression of markers for tumors (Epcam, Krt19, Prom1, Wt1, and Wwtr1), stroma (Dcn, Fn1, and Tnc), and cytokines (Tgfb1 and Tnf) and decreases expression of Fgf21 and Il6 in the pancreatic tumor tissues. Immunostaining showed heterogeneous expression of nephronectin, S100 calcium-binding protein A6, and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 in pancreatic tumors surrounded by podoplanin-positive stromal cells. Our data indicate that moderate alcohol drinking is a risk factor for development of PDAC.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Heavy alcohol intake has been suspected to be a risk factor of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in humans. However, the contribution of moderate alcohol intake to PDAC development remains elusive. In the present study, we experimentally show that moderate alcohol feeding significantly induces advanced stages of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia development and invasive PDAC in Pdx1Cre;LSL-KrasG12D mutant mice. Our data indicate that moderate alcohol drinking is a risk factor for PDAC.

Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase Promotes Liver Fibrosis and Tumor Development in Mice via a Wnt Positive-Signaling Loop by Stabilization of Low-Density Lipoprotein-Receptor-Related Proteins 5 and 6.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) synthesizes monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and has been associated with the development of metabolic syndrome, tumorigenesis, and stem cell characteristics. We investigated whether and how SCD promotes liver fibrosis and tumor development in mice. METHODS: Rodent primary hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), mouse liver tumor-initiating stem cell-like cells (TICs), and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines were exposed to Wnt signaling inhibitors and changes in gene expression patterns were analyzed. We assessed the functions of SCD by pharmacologic and conditional genetic manipulation in mice with hepatotoxic or cholestatic induction of liver fibrosis, orthotopic transplants of TICs, or liver tumors induced by administration of diethyl nitrosamine. We performed bioinformatic analyses of SCD expression in HCC vs nontumor liver samples collected from patients, and correlated levels with HCC stage and patient mortality. We performed nano-bead pull-down assays, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, computational modeling, and ribonucleoprotein immunoprecipitation analyses to identify MUFA-interacting proteins. We examined the effects of SCD inhibition on Wnt signaling, including the expression and stability of low-density lipoprotein-receptor-related proteins 5 and 6 (LRP5 and LRP6), by immunoblot and quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses. RESULTS: SCD was overexpressed in activated HSC and HCC cells from patients; levels of SCD messenger RNA (mRNA) correlated with HCC stage and patient survival time. In rodent HSCs and TICs, the Wnt effector ß-catenin increased sterol regulatory element binding protein 1-dependent transcription of Scd, and ß-catenin in return was stabilized by MUFAs generated by SCD. This loop required MUFA inhibition of binding of Ras-related nuclear protein 1 (Ran1) to transportin 1 and reduced nuclear import of elav-like protein 1 (HuR), increasing cytosolic levels of HuR and HuR-mediated stabilization of mRNAs encoding LRP5 and LRP6. Genetic disruption of Scd and pharmacologic inhibitors of SCD reduced HSC activation and TIC self-renewal and attenuated liver fibrosis and tumorigenesis in mice. Conditional disruption of Scd2 in activated HSCs prevented growth of tumors from TICs and reduced the formation of diethyl nitrosamine-induced liver tumors in mice. CONCLUSIONS: In rodent HSCs and TICs, we found SCD expression to be regulated by Wnt-ß-catenin signaling, and MUFAs produced by SCD provided a forward loop to amplify Wnt signaling via stabilization of Lrp5 and Lrp6 mRNAs, contributing to liver fibrosis and tumor growth. SCD expressed by HSCs promoted liver tumor development in mice. Components of the identified loop linking HSCs and TICs might be therapeutic targets for liver fibrosis and tumors.

Metapipeline-DNA: A Comprehensive Germline & Somatic Genomics Nextflow Pipeline.

Summary: DNA sequencing is becoming more affordable and faster through advances in high-throughput technologies. This rise in data availability has contributed to the development of novel algorithms to elucidate previously obscure features and led to an increased reliance on complex workflows to integrate such tools into analyses pipelines. To facilitate the analysis of DNA sequencing data, we created metapipeline-DNA, a highly configurable and extensible pipeline. It encompasses a broad range of processing including raw sequencing read alignment and recalibration, variant calling, quality control and subclonal reconstruction. Metapipeline-DNA also contains configuration options to select and tune analyses while being robust to failures. This standardizes and simplifies the ability to analyze large DNA sequencing in both clinical and research settings. Availability: Metapipeline-DNA is an open-source Nextflow pipeline under the GPLv2 license and is freely available at https://github.com/uclahs-cds/metapipeline-DNA.

Association of magnetic resonance imaging identification of mesial temporal sclerosis with pathological diagnosis and surgical outcomes in children following epilepsy surgery.

OBJECT: Mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) is widely recognized as a significant underlying cause of temporal lobe epilepsy. Magnetic resonance imaging is routinely used in the preoperative evaluation of children with epilepsy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, reliability, and prognostic value of MRI identification of MTS and MRI findings indicative of MTS in a series of patients who underwent resection of the medial temporal lobe for medically refractory epilepsy. METHODS: The authors reviewed the medical records and preoperative MRI reports of 25 patients who had undergone medial temporal resections (anterior temporal lobectomy or functional hemispherotomy) for medically intractable epilepsy. The preoperative MRI studies were presented for blinded review by 2 neuroradiologists who independently evaluated the radiographs for selected MTS features and provided a final interpretation. To quantify interrater agreement and accuracy, the findings of the 2 blinded neuroradiologists, the nonblinded clinical preoperative radiology report, and the final pathology interpretation were compared. RESULTS: The preoperative MRI studies revealed MTS in 6 patients (24%), and histopathological analysis verified MTS in 8 (32%) of 25 specimens. Six MRI features of MTS were specifically evaluated: 1) increased hippocampal signal intensity, 2) reduced hippocampal size, 3) atrophy of the ipsilateral hippocampal collateral white matter, 4) enlarged ipsilateral temporal horn, 5) reduced gray-white matter demarcation in the temporal lobe, and 6) decreased temporal lobe size. The most prevalent feature of MTS identified on MRI was a reduced hippocampal size, found in 11 of the MRI studies (44%). Analysis revealed moderate interrater agreement for MRI identification of MTS between the 2 blinded neuroradiologists and the nonblinded preoperative report (Cohen κ 0.40-0.59). Interrater agreement was highly variable for different MTS features indicative of MTS, ranging from poor to near perfect. Agreement was highest for increased hippocampal signal and decreased temporal lobe size and was consistently poor for reduced gray-white matter demarcation. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and proportion perfect agreement were highest for increased hippocampal signal and reduced hippocampal size. An MRI finding of MTS was not predictive of seizure outcome in this small series. CONCLUSIONS: Mesial temporal sclerosis identification on brain MRI in children evaluated for medial temporal resections has a PPV of 55%-67% and an NPV of 79%-87%. Increased hippocampal signal and reduced hippocampal size were associated with high predictive values, while gray-white differentiation and an enlarged temporal horn were not predictive of MTS. Seizure outcome following medial temporal resections was not associated with MRI findings of MTS or MRI abnormalities indicative of MTS in this small sample size.