RILP inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion of PC3 prostate cancer cells.

RILP (Rab-interacting lysosomal protein) is a key regulator of lysosomal transport and a potential tumor suppressor. However, the role of RILP in prostate cancer and the underlying mechanism of RILP in regulating the proliferation, migration, and invasion of prostate cancer cells remain to be studied. In this study, we confirmed RalGDS (Ral guanine nucleotide dissociation stimulator) as the interaction partner of RILP in PC3 prostate cancer cells. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that RILP recruits RalGDS to the lysosomal compartment. We found that RILP inhibits the activation of RalA and downstream effector RalBP1, and negatively regulates the downstream molecular phosphorylation of Ras. We showed that RILP inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of PC3 prostate cancer cells, which may give rise to novel ideas for cancer treatment.

Low expression of RGL4 is associated with a poor prognosis and immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma patients.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a frequently diagnosed histologic subtype with increasing morbidity and mortality. RalGDS-Like 4 (RGL4) has not been reported to be associated with cancer risk, prognosis, immunotherapy or any other treatments. We perform a bioinformatics analysis on data downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-LUAD, and we find that low expression of RGL4 is accompanied by worse outcomes and prognosis in LUAD patients. As a promising predictor, the potential influence and mechanisms of RGL4 on overall survival are worth exploring. Moreover, RGL4 expression is significantly associated with a variety of tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs), particularly memory B cells, CD8+T cells and neutrophils. Subsequently, we evaluated the most notable KEGG pathways, including glycolysis gluconeogenesis, the P53 signaling pathway, RNA degradation, and the B cell receptor signaling pathway, among others. Our findings provide evidence that the decreased expression of RGL4 is significantly associated with poor prognosis and immune cell infiltration in patients with LUAD and highlight the use of RGL4 as a novel predictive biomarker for the prognosis of LUAD and other cancers. RGL4 may also be used in combination with immune checkpoints to identify the benefits of immunotherapy. Subjects: Bioinformatics, Genomics, Oncology, Thoracic surgery.

MAZ promotes prostate cancer bone metastasis through transcriptionally activating the KRas-dependent RalGEFs pathway.

BACKGROUND: Clinically, prostate cancer (PCa) exhibits a high avidity to metastasize to bone. Myc-associated zinc-finger protein (MAZ) is a well-documented oncogene involved in the progression and metastasis of multiple cancer types, even in PCa. However, the clinical significance and biological roles of MAZ in bone metastasis of PCa remain unclear. METHODS: MAZ expression was examined in PCa tissues with bone metastasis, PCa tissues without bone metastasis and metastatic bone tissues by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the clinical correlation between MAZ expression and clinicopathological features and bone metastasis-free survival in PCa patients. Biological roles of MAZ in bone metastasis of PCa were investigated both in vitro by transwell assay, and in vivo by a mouse model of left cardiac ventricle inoculation. The bioinformatics analysis, western blot, pull-down assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and luciferase reporter assays were applied to demonstrate and examine the relationship between MAZ and its potential downstream signalling pathway. TaqMan copy number assay was performed to identify the underlying mechanism responsible for MAZ overexpression in PCa tissues. RESULTS: MAZ expression is elevated in PCa tissues with bone metastasis compared with that in PCa tissues without bone metastasis, and is further increased in metastatic bone tissues. High expression of MAZ positively correlates with poor overall and bone metastasis-free survival in PCa patients. Upregulating MAZ elevates, while silencing MAZ represses the invasion and migration abilities of PCa cells in vitro and bone metastasis ability in vivo. Our results further reveal that MAZ promotes bone metastasis of PCa dependent on KRas signalling, although MAZ transcriptionally upregulates KRas and HRas expression, where the Ral guanine nucleotide exchange factor (RalGEF) signaling is responsible for the different roles of KRas and HRas in mediating the pro-bone metastasis of MAZ in PCa. Finally, our results indicate that recurrent gains contribute to MAZ overexpression in a small portion of PCa tissues. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the MAZ/Kras/ RalGEF signalling axis plays a crucial role in promoting PCa cell bone metastasis, suggesting a potential therapeutic utility of MAZ in bone metastasis of PCa.

A novel electro-chemotactic approach to impact the directional migration of transplantable retinal progenitor cells.

Photoreceptor degeneration is a significant cause of visual impairment in the United States and globally. Cell replacement therapy shows great promise in restoring vision by transplanting stem-like cells into the sub-retinal space as substitutes for damaged photoreceptors. However, vision repair via transplantation has been limited, in large part, by low numbers of replacement cells able to migrate into damaged retinal tissue and integrate with native photoreceptors. Projects have used external chemical fields and applied electric fields to induce the chemotaxis and electrotaxis of replacement cells, respectively, with limited success. However, the application of combined electro-chemotactic fields in directing cells within biomaterials and host tissue has been surprisingly understudied. The current work examined the ability of combined electro-chemotactic fields to direct the migration of transplantable retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) in controlled microenvironments. Experiments used our established galvano-microfluidic system (Gal-MµS) to generate tunable chemotactic concentration fields with and without superimposed electric fields. Result illustrate that combination fields increased the distance migrated by RPCs by over three times that seen in either field, individually, and with greater directionality towards increasing gradients. Interestingly, immunofluorescence assays showed no significant differences in the distribution of the total and/or activated cognate receptor of interest, indicating that changes in ligand binding alone were not responsible for the measured increases in migration. Bioinformatics analysis was then performed to identity potential, synergistic mechanistic pathways involved in the electro-chemotaxis measured. Results indicate that increased RPC migration in electro-chemotactic fields may arise from down-regulation of cell adhesion proteins in tandem with up-regulation of cytoskeletal regulation proteins. These comprehensive results point towards a novel migration-targeted treatment that may dramatically improve transplantation outcomes as well as elucidate unreported synergy across biological mechanisms in response to electro-chemotactic fields.

Methods to Investigate the Roles of ß-Arrestin-Dependent RalGDS Activation in GPCR-Stimulated Membrane Blebbing.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise the largest family of integral membrane proteins, which in addition to signaling via heterotrimeric G proteins can activate small G proteins both directly and indirectly. The activation of a variety of GPCRs leads to the translocation of Ral GDP dissociation stimulator (RalGDS) to the plasma membrane, where it functions as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor of RalA to promote membrane blebbing. The translocation of RalGDS is ß-arrestin-dependent and can be inhibited by either the expression of the ß-arrestin1 amino-terminal domain or the expression of RalGDS clone 284 (amino acid residues 616-768 of RalGDS). We describe here a methodology for assessing GPCR-dependent stimulation of RalGDS plasma membrane translocation.

The RAS-Effector Interface: Isoform-Specific Differences in the Effector Binding Regions.

RAS effectors specifically interact with the GTP-bound form of RAS in response to extracellular signals and link them to downstream signaling pathways. The molecular nature of effector interaction by RAS is well-studied but yet still incompletely understood in a comprehensive and systematic way. Here, structure-function relationships in the interaction between different RAS proteins and various effectors were investigated in detail by combining our in vitro data with in silico data. Equilibrium dissociation constants were determined for the binding of HRAS, KRAS, NRAS, RRAS1 and RRAS2 to both the RAS binding (RB) domain of CRAF and PI3Kα, and the RAS association (RA) domain of RASSF5, RALGDS and PLCε, respectively, using fluorescence polarization. An interaction matrix, constructed on the basis of available crystal structures, allowed identification of hotspots as critical determinants for RAS-effector interaction. New insights provided by this study are the dissection of the identified hotspots in five distinct regions (R1 to R5) in spite of high sequence variability not only between, but also within, RB/RA domain-containing effectors proteins. Finally, we propose that intermolecular ß-sheet interaction in R1 is a central recognition region while R3 may determine specific contacts of RAS versus RRAS isoforms with effectors.

Ubiquitination of Innate Immune Regulator TRAF3 Orchestrates Expulsion of Intracellular Bacteria by Exocyst Complex.

Although the intracellular trafficking system is integral to most physiologic activities, its role in mediating immune responses to infection has remained elusive. Here, we report that infected bladder epithelial cells (BECs) mobilized the exocyst complex, a powerful exporter of subcellular vesicles, to rapidly expel intracellular bacteria back for clearance. Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 signals emanating from bacteria-containing vesicles (BCVs) were found to trigger K33-linked polyubiquitination of TRAF3 at Lys168, which was then detected by RalGDS, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) that precipitated the assembly of the exocyst complex. Although this distinct modification of TRAF3 served to connect innate immune signaling to the cellular trafficking apparatus, it crucially ensured temporal and spatial accuracy in determining which among the many subcellular vesicles was recognized and selected for expulsion in response to innate immune signaling.

EphA2 Expression Is a Key Driver of Migration and Invasion and a Poor Prognostic Marker in Colorectal Cancer.

PURPOSE: EphA2, a member of the Eph receptor tyrosine kinases family, is an important regulator of tumor initiation, neovascularization, and metastasis in a wide range of epithelial and mesenchymal cancers; however, its role in colorectal cancer recurrence and progression is unclear. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: EphA2 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in stage II/III colorectal tumors (N = 338), and findings correlated with clinical outcome. The correlation between EphA2 expression and stem cell markers CD44 and Lgr5 was examined. The role of EphA2 in migration/invasion was assessed using a panel of KRAS wild-type (WT) and mutant (MT) parental and invasive colorectal cancer cell line models. RESULTS: Colorectal tumors displayed significantly higher expression levels of EphA2 compared with matched normal tissue, which positively correlated with high CD44 and Lgr5 expression levels. Moreover, high EphA2 mRNA and protein expression were found to be associated with poor overall survival in stage II/III colorectal cancer tissues, in both univariate and multivariate analyses. Preclinically, we found that EphA2 was highly expressed in KRASMT colorectal cancer cells and that EphA2 levels are regulated by the KRAS-driven MAPK and RalGDS-RalA pathways. Moreover, EphA2 levels were elevated in several invasive daughter cell lines, and downregulation of EphA2 using RNAi or recombinant EFNA1 suppressed migration and invasion of KRASMT colorectal cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that EpHA2 is a poor prognostic marker in stage II/III colorectal cancer, which may be due to its ability to promote cell migration and invasion, providing support for the further investigation of EphA2 as a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.

Principles of K-Ras effector organization and the role of oncogenic K-Ras in cancer initiation through G1 cell cycle deregulation.

Illustrated here is the critical role of oncogenic KRAS in the initiation of cancer through deregulation of the G1 cell cycle, and elements and scenarios taking place under physiological conditions and in KRAS-driven cancer. Raf, PI3K and RalGDS are major K-Ras effectors. They bind at the same Ras site. What decides the cell selection among them? This temporal and spatial decision is critical since in some cellular context the outcome of their signaling pathways may oppose each other. Key among them is the concentration of calcium/calmodulin, negative feedback loops, where a downstream member of the pathway inhibits its upstream activator and cross-inhibition, where inhibition entails blocking another pathway. These three elements, in addition to spatial restrictions by K-Ras-membrane interactions, are not independent; they integrate to provide blueprints for cell decisions. Importantly, elucidation of signaling requires not only K-Ras binary interactions; but the structures and dynamics of its multiprotein complexes.

RILP suppresses invasion of breast cancer cells by modulating the activity of RalA through interaction with RalGDS.

RILP (Rab7-interacting lysosomal protein) is a key regulator for late endosomal/lysosomal trafficking, and probably a tumor suppressor in prostate cancer. However, the role of RILP in other cancers and the underlying mechanism for RILP in regulating the invasion of cancer cells remain to be investigated. In this study, we showed that overexpression of RILP in breast cancer cells inhibits the migration and invasion, whereas the depletion of RILP by RNAi-mediated knockdown promotes the migration and invasion. We identified RalGDS (Ral guanine nucleotide dissociation stimulator) as a novel interacting partner for RILP, and truncation analysis revealed the N-terminal region of RILP is responsible for interacting with the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) domain of RalGDS. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that RalGDS can be recruited to the late endosomal compartments by RILP. Further investigations indicated that the overexpression of RILP inhibits the activity of RalA, a downstream target of RalGDS. Our data suggest that RILP suppresses the invasion of breast cancer cells by interacting with RalGDS to inhibit its GEF activity for RalA.

The Exocyst at a Glance.

The exocyst is an octameric protein complex that is implicated in the tethering of secretory vesicles to the plasma membrane prior to SNARE-mediated fusion. Spatial and temporal control of exocytosis through the exocyst has a crucial role in a number of physiological processes, such as morphogenesis, cell cycle progression, primary ciliogenesis, cell migration and tumor invasion. In this Cell Science at a Glance poster article, we summarize recent works on the molecular organization, function and regulation of the exocyst complex, as they provide rationales to the involvement of this complex in such a diverse array of cellular processes.

Oncogenic and RASopathy-associated K-RAS mutations relieve membrane-dependent occlusion of the effector-binding site.

K-RAS4B (Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog 4B) is a prenylated, membrane-associated GTPase protein that is a critical switch for the propagation of growth factor signaling pathways to diverse effector proteins, including rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma (RAF) kinases and RAS-related protein guanine nucleotide dissociation stimulator (RALGDS) proteins. Gain-of-function KRAS mutations occur frequently in human cancers and predict poor clinical outcome, whereas germ-line mutations are associated with developmental syndromes. However, it is not known how these mutations affect K-RAS association with biological membranes or whether this impacts signal transduction. Here, we used solution NMR studies of K-RAS4B tethered to nanodiscs to investigate lipid bilayer-anchored K-RAS4B and its interactions with effector protein RAS-binding domains (RBDs). Unexpectedly, we found that the effector-binding region of activated K-RAS4B is occluded by interaction with the membrane in one of the NMR-observable, and thus highly populated, conformational states. Binding of the RAF isoform ARAF and RALGDS RBDs induced marked reorientation of K-RAS4B from the occluded state to RBD-specific effector-bound states. Importantly, we found that two Noonan syndrome-associated mutations, K5N and D153V, which do not affect the GTPase cycle, relieve the occluded orientation by directly altering the electrostatics of two membrane interaction surfaces. Similarly, the most frequent KRAS oncogenic mutation G12D also drives K-RAS4B toward an exposed configuration. Further, the D153V and G12D mutations increase the rate of association of ARAF-RBD with lipid bilayer-tethered K-RAS4B. We revealed a mechanism of K-RAS4B autoinhibition by membrane sequestration of its effector-binding site, which can be disrupted by disease-associated mutations. Stabilizing the autoinhibitory interactions between K-RAS4B and the membrane could be an attractive target for anticancer drug discovery.

The role of miR-200a in mammalian epithelial cell transformation.

Cancer is a multistep disease that begins with malignant cell transformation and frequently culminates in metastasis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory 21-25 nt RNA molecules and are frequently deregulated in cancer. miR-200a is a member of the miR-200 family, which are known inhibitors of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. As such, the tumor-suppressive role of miR-200a in oncogenesis has been well documented; however, recent studies have found a proliferative role for this miRNA as well as a prometastatic role in the later steps of cancer progression. Little is known about the role of this miRNA in the early stages of cancer, namely, malignant cell transformation. Here, we show that miR-200a alone transforms an immortalized rat epithelial cell line, and miR-200a cooperates with Ras to enhance malignant transformation of an immortalized human epithelial cell line. Furthermore, miR-200a induces cell transformation and tumorigenesis in immunocompromised mice by cooperating with a Ras mutant that activates only the RalGEF effector pathway, but not Ras mutants activating PI3K or Raf effector pathways. This transformative ability is in accordance with miR-200a targeting Fog2 and p53 to activate Akt and directly repress p53 protein levels, respectively. These results demonstrate an oncogenic role for miR-200a and provide a specific cellular context where miR-200a acts as an oncomiR rather than a tumor suppressor by cooperating with an oncogene in malignant cell transformation.

Conserved electrostatic fields at the Ras-effector interface measured through vibrational Stark effect spectroscopy explain the difference in tilt angle in the Ras binding domains of Raf and RalGDS.

Vibrational Stark effect (VSE) spectroscopy was used to measure the electrostatic fields present at the interface of the human guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Ras docked with the Ras binding domain (RBD) of the protein kinase Raf. Nine amino acids located on the surface of Raf were selected for labeling with a nitrile vibrational probe. Eight of the probe locations were situated along the interface of Ras and Raf, and one probe was 2 nm away on the opposite side of Raf. Vibrational frequencies of the nine Raf nitrile probes were compared both in the monomeric, solvated protein and when docked with wild-type (WT) Ras to construct a comprehensive VSE map of the Ras-Raf interface. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations employing an umbrella sampling strategy were used to generate a Boltzmann-weighted ensemble of nitrile positions in both the monomeric and docked complexes to determine the effect that docking has on probe location and orientation and to aid in the interpretation of VSE results. These results were compared to an identical study that was previously conducted on nine nitrile probes on the RBD of Ral guanidine dissociation stimulator (RalGDS) to make comparisons between the docked complexes formed when either of the two effectors bind to WT Ras. This comparison finds that there are three regions of conserved electrostatic fields that are formed upon docking of WT Ras with both downstream effectors. Conservation of this pattern in the docked complex then results in different binding orientations observed in otherwise structurally similar proteins. This work supports an electrostatic cause of the known binding tilt angle between the Ras-Raf and Ras-RalGDS complexes.

The role of RAS effectors in BCR/ABL induced chronic myelogenous leukemia.

BCR/ABL is the causative agent of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Through structure/function analysis, several protein motifs have been determined to be important for the development of leukemogenesis. Tyrosine177 of BCR is a Grb2 binding site required for BCR/ABL-induced CML in mice. In the current study, we use a mouse bone marrow transduction/transplantation system to demonstrate that addition of oncogenic NRAS (NRASG12D) to a vector containing a BCR/ABL(Y177F) mutant "rescues" the CML phenotype rapidly and efficiently. To further narrow down the pathways downstream of RAS that are responsible for this rescue effect, we utilize well-characterized RAS effector loop mutants and determine that the RAL pathway is important for rapid induction of CML. Inhibition of this pathway by a dominant negative RAL is capable of delaying disease progression. Results from the present study support the notion of RAL inhibition as a potential therapy for BCR/ABL-induced CML.

Optimizing electrostatic field calculations with the adaptive Poisson-Boltzmann Solver to predict electric fields at protein-protein interfaces. I. Sampling and focusing.

Continuum electrostatics methods are commonly used to calculate electrostatic potentials in proteins and at protein-protein interfaces to aid many types of biophysical studies. Despite their ubiquity throughout the biophysical literature, these calculations are difficult to test against experimental data to determine their accuracy and validity. To address this, we have calculated the Boltzmann-weighted electrostatic field at the midpoint of a nitrile bond placed at a variety of locations on the surface of the protein RalGDS, both in its monomeric form as well as when docked to four different constructs of the protein Rap, and compared the computation results to vibrational absorption energy measurements of the nitrile oscillator. This was done by generating a statistical ensemble of protein structures using enhanced molecular dynamics sampling with the Amber03 force field, followed by solving the linear Poisson-Boltzmann equation for each structure using the Applied Poisson-Boltzmann Solver (APBS) software package. Using a two-stage focusing strategy, we examined numerous second stage box dimensions, grid point densities, box locations, and compared the numerical result to the result obtained from the sum of the numeric reaction field and the analytic Coulomb field. It was found that the reaction field method yielded higher correlation with experiment for the absolute calculation of fields, while the numeric solutions yielded higher correlation with experiment for the relative field calculations. Finer grid spacing typically improved the calculation, although this effect was less pronounced in the reaction field method. These sorts of calculations were also very sensitive to the box location, particularly for the numeric calculations of absolute fields using a 10(3) Å(3) box.

Oncogenesis and the clinical significance of K-ras in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

The RAS family genes encode small GTP-binding cytoplasmic proteins. Activated KRAS engages multiple effector pathways, notably the RAF-mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) and RalGDS pathways. In the clinical field, K-ras oncogene activation is frequently found in human cancers and thus may serve as a potential diagnostic marker for cancer cells in circulation. This mini-review aims to summarise information on Ras-induced oncogenesis and the clinical significance of K-ras.

RalGDS-dependent cardiomyocyte autophagy is required for load-induced ventricular hypertrophy.

Recent work has demonstrated that autophagy, a phylogenetically conserved, lysosome-mediated pathway of protein degradation, is a key participant in pathological cardiac remodeling. One common feature of cell growth and autophagy is membrane biogenesis and processing. The exocyst, an octomeric protein complex involved in vesicle trafficking, is implicated in numerous cellular processes, yet its role in cardiomyocyte plasticity is unknown. Here, we set out to explore the role of small G protein-dependent control of exocyst function and membrane trafficking in stress-induced cardiomyocyte remodeling and autophagy. First, we tested in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) two isoforms of Ral (RalA, RalB) whose actions are mediated by the exocyst. In these experiments, mTOR inhibition in response to starvation or Torin1 was preserved despite RalA or RalB knockdown; however, activation of autophagy was suppressed only in NRCMs depleted of RalB, implicating RalB as being required for mTOR-dependent cardiomyocyte autophagy. To define further the role of RalB in cardiomyocyte autophagy, we analyzed hearts from mice lacking RalGDS (Ralgds(-/-)), a guanine exchange factor (GEF) for the Ral family of small GTPases. RalGDS-null hearts were similar to wild-type (WT) littermates in terms of ventricular structure, contractile performance, and gene expression. However, Ralgds(-/-) hearts manifested a blunted growth response (p<0.05) to TAC-mediated pressure-overload stress. Ventricular chamber size and contractile performance were preserved in response to TAC in Ralgds(-/-) mice, and load-induced cardiomyocyte autophagy was suppressed. Interestingly, TAC-induced activation of the fetal gene program was similar in both genotypes despite the relative lack of hypertrophic growth in mutant hearts. Together, these data implicate RalGDS-mediated induction of autophagy and exocyst function as a critical feature of load-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

Depletion of K-Ras promotes proteasome degradation of survivin.

Mutant K-Ras and survivin both contribute to oncogenesis, but little is known about K-Ras requirement for the maintenance of the high levels of survivin in human tumors. Here we demonstrate that K-Ras depletion significantly decreases survivin levels in human cancer cells that harbor mutant but not wild type K-Ras. K-Ras depletion attenuates both basal and drug-induced survivin levels. The mechanism by which K-Ras depletion decreases survivin levels is through ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of survivin and is independent of survivin-Thr-34 phosphorylation. Depletion of RalA and RalB, but not Raf-1, Akt1 and Akt2, decreases survivin levels, suggesting that K-Ras may regulate survivin stability through its RalGDS/Ral but not PI3K/Akt and Raf-1/Mek effector pathways. Furthermore, the ability of mutant K-Ras to induce anchorage-independent growth, invasion and survival is compromised by depletion of survivin. These studies suggest that mutant K-Ras contributes to the maintenance of the aberrantly high levels of survivin in tumors by regulating its stability, and that the ability of mutant K-Ras to induce malignant transformation is, at least in part, dependent on these high levels of survivin.

Messenger RNA and protein expression of thymidylate synthase and DNA repair genes in thymic tumors.

BACKGROUND: Thymic epithelial tumors include several entities with different biologic behavior. Chemotherapy is indicated in advanced disease, but limited data exist on gene expression correlation with the response to chemotherapeutic agents. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A series of 69 thymic neoplasms (7 A-, 6 AB-, 6 B1-, 10 B2-, 14 B3-thymomas, 22 carcinomas and 4 combined tumors) was collected to assess gene expression of thymidylate synthase (TS), excision repair cross complementing-1 (ERCC1), ribonucleotide reductase subunit 1 (RRM1), topoisomerase 2α (TOP2A) and mTOR. RESULTS: A strong linear correlation between TS gene and protein expression was observed (P<0.0001, R=0.40). TS expression was significantly lower in pure A-thymomas and thymic carcinomas (P<0.0001) and progressively decreasing from B1-type to thymic carcinomas (B1>B2>B3>C; P<0.0001). RRM1 and TOP2A mRNA expression levels were significantly correlated with TS levels (both P=0.03) with a similar trend of expression among histotypes. RRM1 and TOP2A high levels were significantly correlated with high TS (P=0.03) and low tumor stages (I-II) (P<0.0001 and P<0.01, respectively). No relevant changes of ERCC1 and mTOR were detected. CONCLUSIONS: Low TS and, to a minor extent, RRM1 and TOP2A expression were detected in aggressive thymic tumors. These findings should be prospectively considered in selecting the most appropriate chemotherapy.