RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Engineered tissues and cell therapies based on human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) represent a promising approach for novel medicines. However, iPSC-derived cells and tissues may contain residual undifferentiated iPSCs that could lead to teratoma formation after implantation into patients. As a consequence, highly sensitive and specific methods for detecting residual undifferentiated iPSCs are indispensable for safety evaluations of iPSC-based therapies. The present study provides an approach for identifying potential marker genes for iPSC impurities in iPSC-derived cells using RNA sequencing data from iPSCs and various differentiated cell types. METHODS: Identifying iPSC marker genes for each cell type individually provided a larger and more specific set of potential marker genes than considering all cell types in the analysis. Thus, the authors focused on identifying markers for iPSC impurities in iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (iCMs) and validated the selected genes by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The sensitivity of the candidate genes was determined by spiking different amounts of iPSCs into iCMs and their performance was compared with the previously suggested marker lin-28 homolog A (LIN28A). RESULTS: Embryonic stem cell-related gene (ESRG), long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 678 (LINC00678), CaM kinase-like vesicle-associated (CAMKV), indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), chondromodulin (CNMD), LINE1-type transposase domain containing 1 (L1DT1), LIN28A, lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase (LCK), vertebrae development-associated (VRTN) and zinc finger and SCAN domain containing 10 (ZSCAN10) detected contaminant iPSCs among iCMs with a limit of detection that ranged from 0.001% to 0.1% depending on the gene and iCM batch used. CONCLUSIONS: Using the example of iCMs, the authors provide a strategy for identifying a set of highly specific and sensitive markers that can be used for quality assessment of iPSC-derived products.
Assuntos
Células-Tronco Pluripotentes Induzidas , Humanos , Células-Tronco Pluripotentes Induzidas/metabolismo , Diferenciação Celular/genética , Células-Tronco EmbrionáriasRESUMO
Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) develops in an inflammatory microenvironment with reduced microbial diversity, but mechanisms for these influences remain poorly characterized. We hypothesized that mutations targeting the Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathway could disrupt innate immune signaling and promote a microenvironment that favors tumorigenesis. Through interrogating whole genome sequencing data from 171 EAC patients, we showed that non-synonymous mutations collectively affect the TLR pathway in 25/171 (14.6%, PathScan p = 8.7x10-5) tumors. TLR mutant cases were associated with more proximal tumors and metastatic disease, indicating possible clinical significance of these mutations. Only rare mutations were identified in adjacent Barrett's esophagus samples. We validated our findings in an external EAC dataset with non-synonymous TLR pathway mutations in 33/149 (22.1%, PathScan p = 0.05) tumors, and in other solid tumor types exposed to microbiomes in the COSMIC database (10,318 samples), including uterine endometrioid carcinoma (188/320, 58.8%), cutaneous melanoma (377/988, 38.2%), colorectal adenocarcinoma (402/1519, 26.5%), and stomach adenocarcinoma (151/579, 26.1%). TLR4 was the most frequently mutated gene with eleven mutations in 10/171 (5.8%) of EAC tumors. The TLR4 mutants E439G, S570I, F703C and R787H were confirmed to have impaired reactivity to bacterial lipopolysaccharide with marked reductions in signaling by luciferase reporter assays. Overall, our findings show that TLR pathway genes are recurrently mutated in EAC, and TLR4 mutations have decreased responsiveness to bacterial lipopolysaccharide and may play a role in disease pathogenesis in a subset of patients.
Assuntos
Adenocarcinoma/genética , Neoplasias Esofágicas/genética , Mutação , Receptor 4 Toll-Like/genética , Adenocarcinoma/metabolismo , Adenocarcinoma/patologia , Idoso , Carcinogênese/genética , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Neoplasias Esofágicas/metabolismo , Neoplasias Esofágicas/patologia , Feminino , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Lipopolissacarídeos/metabolismo , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Ligação Proteica , Receptor 4 Toll-Like/metabolismoRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Current strategies to guide selection of neoadjuvant therapy in oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) are inadequate. We assessed the ability of a DNA damage immune response (DDIR) assay to predict response following neoadjuvant chemotherapy in OAC. DESIGN: Transcriptional profiling of 273 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded prechemotherapy endoscopic OAC biopsies was performed. All patients were treated with platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy and resection between 2003 and 2014 at four centres in the Oesophageal Cancer Clinical and Molecular Stratification consortium. CD8 and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemical staining was assessed in matched resection specimens from 126 cases. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis were applied according to DDIR status for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: A total of 66 OAC samples (24%) were DDIR positive with the remaining 207 samples (76%) being DDIR negative. DDIR assay positivity was associated with improved RFS (HR: 0.61; 95% CI 0.38 to 0.98; p=0.042) and OS (HR: 0.52; 95% CI 0.31 to 0.88; p=0.015) following multivariate analysis. DDIR-positive patients had a higher pathological response rate (p=0.033), lower nodal burden (p=0.026) and reduced circumferential margin involvement (p=0.007). No difference in OS was observed according to DDIR status in an independent surgery-alone dataset.DDIR-positive OAC tumours were also associated with the presence of CD8+ lymphocytes (intratumoural: p<0.001; stromal: p=0.026) as well as PD-L1 expression (intratumoural: p=0.047; stromal: p=0.025). CONCLUSION: The DDIR assay is strongly predictive of benefit from DNA-damaging neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgical resection and is associated with a proinflammatory microenvironment in OAC.
Assuntos
Adenocarcinoma/imunologia , Adenocarcinoma/terapia , Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Dano ao DNA/imunologia , Neoplasias Esofágicas/imunologia , Neoplasias Esofágicas/terapia , Esofagectomia , Terapia Neoadjuvante , Adenocarcinoma/mortalidade , Idoso , Antígeno B7-H1 , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos , Quimioterapia Adjuvante , Intervalo Livre de Doença , Neoplasias Esofágicas/mortalidade , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Valor Preditivo dos Testes , Taxa de Sobrevida , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
Expression of the epidermal growth factor ligands amphiregulin (AREG) and epiregulin (EREG) is positively correlated with a response to EGFR-targeted therapies in colorectal cancer. Gene-body methylation sites, which show a strong inverse correlation with AREG and EREG gene expression, were identified in cell lines using targeted 454 FLX-bisulfite sequencing and SIRPH analyses for AREG/EREG promoters and intragenic CpGs. Upon treatment of colorectal cancer cells with 5-aza-2'-desoxycytidine, methylation decreases at specific intragenic CpGs accompanied by upregulation of AREG and EREG gene expression. The same AREG gene-body methylation was also found in human colorectal cancer samples and is independent of KRAS and NRAS mutations. Methylation is specifically decreased in the tumor epithelial compartment as compared to stromal tissue and normal epithelium. Investigation of a promoter/enhancer function of the AREG exon 2 region revealed a potential promoter function in reverse orientation. Retrospective comparison of the predictive power of AREG gene-body methylation versus AREG gene expression using samples from colorectal cancer patients treated with anti-EGFR inhibitors with complete clinical follow-up revealed that AREG expression is superior to AREG gene methylation. AREG and EREG genes undergo a complex regulation involving both intragenic methylation and promoter-dependent control.
Assuntos
Anfirregulina/genética , Neoplasias Colorretais/genética , Epirregulina/genética , Anfirregulina/biossíntese , Células CACO-2 , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Neoplasias Colorretais/metabolismo , Neoplasias Colorretais/patologia , Metilação de DNA , Epigênese Genética , Células Epiteliais/metabolismo , Células Epiteliais/patologia , Receptores ErbB/genética , Receptores ErbB/metabolismo , Expressão Gênica , Células HCT116 , Humanos , Regiões Promotoras Genéticas , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/metabolismo , RNA Mensageiro/biossíntese , RNA Mensageiro/genética , Estudos Retrospectivos , Células Estromais/metabolismo , Células Estromais/patologiaRESUMO
Cancers occurring at the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) are classified as predominantly esophageal or gastric, which is often difficult to decipher. We hypothesized that the transcriptomic profile might reveal molecular subgroups which could help to define the tumor origin and behavior beyond anatomical location. The gene expression profiles of 107 treatment-naïve, intestinal type, gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas were assessed by the Illumina-HTv4.0 beadchip. Differential gene expression (limma), unsupervised subgroup assignment (mclust) and pathway analysis (gage) were undertaken in R statistical computing and results were related to demographic and clinical parameters. Unsupervised assignment of the gene expression profiles revealed three distinct molecular subgroups, which were not associated with anatomical location, tumor stage or grade (p > 0.05). Group 1 was enriched for pathways involved in cell turnover, Group 2 was enriched for metabolic processes and Group 3 for immune-response pathways. Patients in group 1 showed the worst overall survival (p = 0.019). Key genes for the three subtypes were confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The newly defined intrinsic subtypes were analyzed in four independent datasets of gastric and esophageal adenocarcinomas with transcriptomic data available (RNAseq data: OCCAMS cohort, n = 158; gene expression arrays: Belfast, n = 63; Singapore, n = 191; Asian Cancer Research Group, n = 300). The subgroups were represented in the independent cohorts and pooled analysis confirmed the prognostic effect of the new subtypes. In conclusion, adenocarcinomas at the GEJ comprise three distinct molecular phenotypes which do not reflect anatomical location but rather inform our understanding of the key pathways expressed.
Assuntos
Adenocarcinoma/genética , Adenocarcinoma/patologia , Neoplasias Esofágicas/genética , Neoplasias Esofágicas/patologia , Junção Esofagogástrica/patologia , Neoplasias Gástricas/genética , Neoplasias Gástricas/patologia , Transcriptoma/genética , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica/métodos , Humanos , Imuno-Histoquímica/métodos , Fenótipo , Prognóstico , Estudos ProspectivosRESUMO
BACKGROUND & AIMS: MicroRNA (miRNA) is highly stable in biospecimens and provides tissue-specific profiles, making it a useful biomarker of carcinogenesis. We aimed to discover a set of miRNAs that could accurately discriminate Barrett's esophagus (BE) from normal esophageal tissue and to test its diagnostic accuracy when applied to samples collected by a noninvasive esophageal cell sampling device. METHODS: We analyzed miRNA expression profiles of 2 independent sets of esophageal biopsy tissues collected during endoscopy from 38 patients with BE and 26 patients with normal esophagus (controls) using Agilent microarray and Nanostring nCounter assays. Consistently up-regulated miRNAs were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction in esophageal tissues collected by Cytosponge from patients with BE vs without BE. miRNAs were expressed from plasmids and antisense oligonucleotides were expressed in normal esophageal squamous cells; effects on proliferation and gene expression patterns were analyzed. RESULTS: We identified 15 miRNAs that were significantly up-regulated in BE vs control tissues. Of these, 11 (MIR215, MIR194, MIR 192, MIR196a, MIR199b, MIR10a, MIR145, MIR181a, MIR30a, MIR7, and MIR199a) were validated in Cytosponge samples. The miRNAs with the greatest increases in BE tissues (7.9-fold increase in expression or more, P < .0001: MIR196a, MIR192, MIR194, and MIR215) each identified BE vs control tissues with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.82 or more. We developed an optimized multivariable logistic regression model, based on expression levels of 6 miRNAs (MIR7, MIR30a, MIR181a, MIR192, MIR196a, and MIR199a), that identified patients with BE with an AUC value of 0.89, 86.2% sensitivity, and 91.6% specificity. Expression level of MIR192, MIR196a, MIR199a, combined that of trefoil factor 3, identified patients with BE with an AUC of 0.93, 93.1% sensitivity, and 93.7% specificity. Hypomethylation was observed in the promoter region of the highly up-regulated cluster MIR192-MIR194. Overexpression of these miRNAs in normal esophageal squamous cells increased their proliferation, via GRHL3 and PTEN signaling. CONCLUSIONS: In analyses of miRNA expression patterns of BE vs non-BE tissues, we identified a profile that can identify Cytosponge samples from patients with BE with an AUC of 0.93. Expression of MIR194 is increased in BE samples via epigenetic mechanisms that might be involved in BE pathogenesis.
Assuntos
Esôfago de Barrett/diagnóstico , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , Adulto , Idoso , Área Sob a Curva , Esôfago de Barrett/genética , Biópsia , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Epigênese Genética/genética , Esôfago/metabolismo , Esôfago/patologia , Feminino , Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Modelos Logísticos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Análise Multivariada , Sensibilidade e EspecificidadeRESUMO
Chromatin modifiers and histone modifications are components of a chromatin-signaling network involved in transcription and its regulation. The interactions between chromatin modifiers and histone modifications are often unknown, are based on the analysis of few genes or are studied in vitro. Here, we apply computational methods to recover interactions between chromatin modifiers and histone modifications from genome-wide ChIP-Seq data. These interactions provide a high-confidence backbone of the chromatin-signaling network. Many recovered interactions have literature support; others provide hypotheses about yet unknown interactions. We experimentally verified two of these predicted interactions, leading to a link between H4K20me1 and members of the Polycomb Repressive Complexes 1 and 2. Our results suggest that our computationally derived interactions are likely to lead to novel biological insights required to establish the connectivity of the chromatin-signaling network involved in transcription and its regulation.
Assuntos
Cromatina/metabolismo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Histonas/metabolismo , Imunoprecipitação da Cromatina , Humanos , Células K562 , Proteínas do Grupo Polycomb/metabolismo , Mapeamento de Interação de Proteínas/métodos , Análise de Sequência de DNA , Transdução de SinaisRESUMO
The possibility that ancestral environmental exposure could result in adaptive inherited effects in mammals has been long debated. Numerous rodent models of transgenerational responses to various environmental factors have been published but due to technical, operational and resource burden, most still await independent confirmation. A previous study reported multigenerational epigenetic adaptation of the hepatic wound healing response upon exposure to the hepatotoxicant carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in male rats. Here, we comprehensively investigate the transgenerational effects by repeating the original CCl4 multigenerational study with increased power, pedigree tracing, F2 dose-response and suitable randomization schemes. Detailed pathology evaluations do not support adaptive phenotypic suppression of the hepatic wound healing response or a greater fitness of F2 animals with ancestral liver injury exposure. However, transcriptomic analyses identified genes whose expression correlates with ancestral liver injury, although the biological relevance of this apparent transgenerational transmission at the molecular level remains to be determined. This work overall highlights the need for independent evaluation of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance paradigms in mammals.
Assuntos
Metilação de DNA , Epigênese Genética , Fígado , Cicatrização , Animais , Masculino , Ratos , Tetracloreto de Carbono/toxicidade , Fígado/lesões , Cicatrização/genéticaRESUMO
Mutational processes acting on cancer genomes can be traced by investigating mutational signatures. Because high sequencing costs limit current studies to small numbers of good-quality samples, we propose a robust, cost- and time-effective method, called mutREAD, to detect mutational signatures from small quantities of DNA, including degraded samples. We show that mutREAD recapitulates mutational signatures identified by whole genome sequencing, and will ultimately allow the study of mutational signatures in larger cohorts and, by compatibility with formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples, in clinical settings.
Assuntos
Análise Mutacional de DNA/métodos , DNA de Neoplasias/isolamento & purificação , Testes Genéticos/métodos , Mutação , Neoplasias/genética , Biologia Computacional , Primers do DNA , Genes Neoplásicos/genética , Genoma Humano , Humanos , Análise de Sequência de DNA/métodos , Sequenciamento Completo do GenomaRESUMO
The identification of cancer-promoting genetic alterations is challenging particularly in highly unstable and heterogeneous cancers, such as esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Here we describe a machine learning algorithm to identify cancer genes in individual patients considering all types of damaging alterations simultaneously. Analysing 261 EACs from the OCCAMS Consortium, we discover helper genes that, alongside well-known drivers, promote cancer. We confirm the robustness of our approach in 107 additional EACs. Unlike recurrent alterations of known drivers, these cancer helper genes are rare or patient-specific. However, they converge towards perturbations of well-known cancer processes. Recurrence of the same process perturbations, rather than individual genes, divides EACs into six clusters differing in their molecular and clinical features. Experimentally mimicking the alterations of predicted helper genes in cancer and pre-cancer cells validates their contribution to disease progression, while reverting their alterations reveals EAC acquired dependencies that can be exploited in therapy.
Assuntos
Adenocarcinoma/genética , Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Neoplasias Esofágicas/genética , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica/métodos , Medicina de Precisão/métodos , Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Biomarcadores Tumorais/antagonistas & inibidores , Biologia Computacional/métodos , Conjuntos de Dados como Assunto , Progressão da Doença , Dosagem de Genes , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Instabilidade Genômica , Humanos , Aprendizado de Máquina , Modelos Genéticos , Família Multigênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Taxa de Mutação , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo ÚnicoRESUMO
Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is a poor-prognosis cancer type with rapidly rising incidence. Understanding of the genetic events driving EAC development is limited, and there are few molecular biomarkers for prognostication or therapeutics. Using a cohort of 551 genomically characterized EACs with matched RNA sequencing data, we discovered 77 EAC driver genes and 21 noncoding driver elements. We identified a mean of 4.4 driver events per tumor, which were derived more commonly from mutations than copy number alterations, and compared the prevelence of these mutations to the exome-wide mutational excess calculated using non-synonymous to synonymous mutation ratios (dN/dS). We observed mutual exclusivity or co-occurrence of events within and between several dysregulated EAC pathways, a result suggestive of strong functional relationships. Indicators of poor prognosis (SMAD4 and GATA4) were verified in independent cohorts with significant predictive value. Over 50% of EACs contained sensitizing events for CDK4 and CDK6 inhibitors, which were highly correlated with clinically relevant sensitivity in a panel of EAC cell lines and organoids.
Assuntos
Adenocarcinoma/genética , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Neoplasias Esofágicas/genética , Estudos de Coortes , Variações do Número de Cópias de DNA/genética , Exoma/genética , Feminino , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica/métodos , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/genética , Genômica/métodos , Humanos , Masculino , Mutação/genéticaRESUMO
Liver cancer susceptibility varies amongst humans and between experimental animal models because of multiple genetic and epigenetic factors. The molecular characterization of such susceptibilities has the potential to enhance cancer risk assessment of xenobiotic exposures and disease prevention strategies. Here, using DNase I hypersensitivity mapping coupled with transcriptomic profiling, we investigate perturbations in cis-acting gene regulatory elements associated with the early stages of phenobarbital (PB)-mediated liver tumor promotion in susceptible versus resistant mouse strains (B6C3F1 versus C57BL/6J). Integrated computational analyses of strain-selective changes in liver chromatin accessibility underlying PB response reveal differential epigenetic regulation of molecular pathways associated with PB-mediated tumor promotion, including Wnt/ß-catenin signaling. Complementary transcription factor motif analyses reveal mouse strain-selective gene regulatory networks and a novel role for Stat, Smad, and Fox transcription factors in the early stages of PB-mediated tumor promotion. Mapping perturbations in cis-acting gene regulatory elements provides novel insights into the molecular basis for susceptibility to xenobiotic-induced rodent liver tumor promotion and has the potential to enhance mechanism-based cancer risk assessments of xenobiotic exposures.
Assuntos
Cromatina/genética , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica/métodos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/patologia , Fenobarbital/efeitos adversos , Animais , Cromatina/efeitos dos fármacos , Montagem e Desmontagem da Cromatina/efeitos dos fármacos , Biologia Computacional , Epigênese Genética/efeitos dos fármacos , Redes Reguladoras de Genes , Humanos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/induzido quimicamente , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , Masculino , Camundongos , Via de Sinalização Wnt/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) incidence is increasing while 5-year survival rates remain less than 15%. A lack of experimental models has hampered progress. We have generated clinically annotated EAC organoid cultures that recapitulate the morphology, genomic, and transcriptomic landscape of the primary tumor including point mutations, copy number alterations, and mutational signatures. Karyotyping of organoid cultures has confirmed polyclonality reflecting the clonal architecture of the primary tumor. Furthermore, subclones underwent clonal selection associated with driver gene status. Medium throughput drug sensitivity testing demonstrates the potential of targeting receptor tyrosine kinases and downstream mediators. EAC organoid cultures provide a pre-clinical tool for studies of clonal evolution and precision therapeutics.
Assuntos
Adenocarcinoma/tratamento farmacológico , Evolução Clonal , Neoplasias Esofágicas/tratamento farmacológico , Organoides/química , Receptores Proteína Tirosina Quinases/genética , Adenocarcinoma/metabolismo , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Variações do Número de Cópias de DNA , Análise Mutacional de DNA , Ensaios de Seleção de Medicamentos Antitumorais , Neoplasias Esofágicas/metabolismo , Feminino , Humanos , Concentração Inibidora 50 , Cariotipagem , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Mutação , Medicina de Precisão , Análise de Sequência de RNA , TranscriptomaRESUMO
Neutrophils are short-lived blood cells that play a critical role in host defense against infections. To better comprehend neutrophil functions and their regulation, we provide a complete epigenetic overview, assessing important functional features of their differentiation stages from bone marrow-residing progenitors to mature circulating cells. Integration of chromatin modifications, methylation, and transcriptome dynamics reveals an enforced regulation of differentiation, for cellular functions such as release of proteases, respiratory burst, cell cycle regulation, and apoptosis. We observe an early establishment of the cytotoxic capability, while the signaling components that activate these antimicrobial mechanisms are transcribed at later stages, outside the bone marrow, thus preventing toxic effects in the bone marrow niche. Altogether, these data reveal how the developmental dynamics of the chromatin landscape orchestrate the daily production of a large number of neutrophils required for innate host defense and provide a comprehensive overview of differentiating human neutrophils.
Assuntos
Células da Medula Óssea/citologia , Células da Medula Óssea/metabolismo , Neutrófilos/citologia , Neutrófilos/metabolismo , Diferenciação Celular/genética , Diferenciação Celular/fisiologia , Cromatina/genética , Cromatina/metabolismo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica/genética , Regulação da Expressão Gênica/fisiologia , HumanosRESUMO
Epigenetic communication through histone and cytosine modifications is essential for gene regulation and cell identity. Here, we propose a framework that is based on a chromatin communication model to get insight on the function of epigenetic modifications in ESCs. The epigenetic communication network was inferred from genome-wide location data plus extensive manual annotation. Notably, we found that 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is the most-influential hub of this network, connecting DNA demethylation to nucleosome remodeling complexes and to key transcription factors of pluripotency. Moreover, an evolutionary analysis revealed a central role of 5hmC in the co-evolution of chromatin-related proteins. Further analysis of regions where 5hmC co-localizes with specific interactors shows that each interaction points to chromatin remodeling, stemness, differentiation, or metabolism. Our results highlight the importance of cytosine modifications in the epigenetic communication of ESCs.