Purpose: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) have considerable malignant potential. Frequent somatic mutations and loss of DAXX protein expression have been frequently found in PanNETs. DAXX is known as a transcriptional repressor, however, molecular functions underlying loss of DAXX remain unclear in PanNETs.
Tumor suppressor functions of DAXX through histone H3.3/H3K9me3 pathway in pancreatic NETs.
Treatment
View SamplesAnti-angiogenic therapy is initially effective for several solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, they finally relapse and progress, resulting in poor prognosis. We here established in vivo drug-tolerant subclones of human HCC cells by long-term treatment with vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitor and serial transplantation in immunocompromised mice (total 12 months), and then compared them with the parental cells in molecular and biological features. Gene expression profiles elucidated a G-actin monomer binding protein thymosin 4 (T4) as one of the genes enriched in the resistant cancer cells relative to the initially sensitive ones. Highlighting epigenetic alterations involved in drug resistance, we revealed that T4 could be aberrantly expressed following demethylation of DNA and active modification of histone H3 at the promoter region. Ectopic overexpression of T4 in HCC cells could significantly enhance sphere-forming capacities and infiltrating phenotypes in vitro, and promote growth of tumors refractory to the VEGFR mutltikinase inhibitor sorafenib in vivo. Clinically, sorafenib failed to improve the progression-free survival in patients with T4-high HCC, indicating that T4 expression could be available as a surrogate marker of susceptibility to this drug. This study suggests that T4 expression triggered by epigenetic alterations could contribute to the development of resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy by the acquisition of stemness, and that epigenetic control might be one of the key targets to regulate the resistance in HCC.
Acquired Resistance with Epigenetic Alterations Under Long-Term Antiangiogenic Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Comprehensive molecular and immunological characterization of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous disease with a variety of etiological factors, and ranks as the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide due to multifocal recurrence. Comprehensive molecular evaluation of HCC by multiplatform analysis defined three major subtypes: (1) mitogenic and stem cell-like tumors with chromosomal instability; (2) CTNNB1-mutated tumors displaying DNA hypermethylation; and (3) metabolic syndrome-associated tumors, which included an immunogenic subgroup characterized by macrophage infiltration and favorable prognosis. Although genomic and epigenomic analysis explicitly discriminated HCC with intrahepatic metastasis (IM) from multicentric HCC (MC), the phenotypic similarity between the primary and recurrent tumors was not linked to the IM/MC diagnosis, but rather the integrated classification. Thus, identification of these HCC subtypes provides insights into patient stratification and opportunities for therapeutic development.
Comprehensive molecular and immunological characterization of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Specimen part
View SamplesHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous disease with a variety of etiological factors, and ranks as the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide due to multifocal recurrence. Comprehensive molecular evaluation of HCC by multiplatform analysis defined three major subtypes: (1) mitogenic and stem cell-like tumors with chromosomal instability; (2) CTNNB1-mutated tumors displaying DNA hypermethylation; and (3) metabolic syndrome-associated tumors, which included an immunogenic subgroup characterized by macrophage infiltration and favorable prognosis. Although genomic and epigenomic analysis explicitly discriminated HCC with intrahepatic metastasis (IM) from multicentric HCC (MC), the phenotypic similarity between the primary and recurrent tumors was not linked to the IM/MC diagnosis, but rather the integrated classification. Thus, identification of these HCC subtypes provides insights into patient stratification and opportunities for therapeutic development.
Comprehensive molecular and immunological characterization of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesBackground: Identification and purification of cancer stem cells (CSCs) lead to new therapeutic targets; however, there has been no study to identify and isolated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET) CSC. Therefore the clinical significance and its target remain unknown. This study aimed to identify pNET CSCs and characterize therapeutic candidate for pNET CSCs. Methods: We isolated CSCs sorting by ALDH activity in pNET surgical section and cell lines. We verified whether these cells have the property of stemness in vivo and in vitro. Additionally in order to acquire CSC gene profile, genome-wide gene expression profiles were investigated using a microarray technique. Results: ALDHhigh cells, but not control bulk cells, formed spheres, proliferated in hypoxia as well as normoxia and promoted cell motility, which are features of CSCs. Injection of as few as 10 ALDHhigh cells led to subcutaneous tumor formation, and 105 ALDHhigh cells established metastases but not control bulk cells in mice. Comprehensive gene expression analysis revealed that genes associated with mesenchymal stem cell, including CD73, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were overexpressed in ALDHhigh cells. APCP, which is CD73 inhibitor, inhibited sphere formation and cell motility in ALDHhigh cells in vitro, and tumor growth inhibition were observed in ALDHhigh cells in vivo. Conclusions: We identified ALDHhigh cells of pNET and elucidated that they have stemness property. Furthermore we identified CD73 as a target of ALDHhigh cells. CD73 is a promising novel target of pNET CSCs.
CD73 as a therapeutic target for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor stem cells.
Cell line
View SamplesConventional anti-cancer drug screening is typically performed in the absence of accessory cells (e.g. stromal cells) of the tumor microenvironment, which can profoundly alter anti-tumor drug activity. To address this major limitation, we have developed assays (e.g. the tumor cell-specific in vitro bioluminescence imaging (CS-BLI) assay) to selectively quantify tumor cell viability, in presence vs. absence of non-malignant stromal cells or drug treatment. These assays have allowed us to identify that neoplastic cells from diverse malignancies exhibit stroma-induced resistance to different anti-tumor agents. In this analysis, we evaluated the molecular changes triggered in myeloma cells by their in vitro interaction with stromal cells. The transcriptional profile of 3 human multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines (MM.1S, MM.1R, INA-6) co-cultured with stromal cells vs. when cultured alone was characterized by oligonucleotide microarray analysis, using the human U133 plus 2.0 Affymetrix GeneChip.
Tumor cell-specific bioluminescence platform to identify stroma-induced changes to anticancer drug activity.
Cell line
View SamplesBACKGROUND & AIMS: Metabolic syndrome is a newly identified risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however the molecular mechanisms still remain unclear. To elucidate this issue, cross-species analysis was performed to compare gene expression patterns of HCC from human patients and melanocortin 4 receptor-knockout (MC4R-KO) mice, developing HCC with obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. METHODS: Unsupervised hierarchical clustering and principle component analysis of 746 differentially expressed orthologous genes classified HCC of 152 human patients and MC4R-KO mice into two distinct subgroups, one of which included all the mouse HCC was etiologically associated with metabolic risk factors, such as obesity and diabetes. A specific biomarker was identified by the integrative analysis, and validated with in vitro studies and other cohort patients. RESULTS: As commonly overexpressed in human and mouse metabolic disease-associated HCC, FABP4 was remarkably enriched in intratumoral activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Then, we established subclones constitutively expressing FABP4 from a human HSC cell line, in which the expression levels of inflammatory chemokines including IL1A and IL6 was upregulated through NF-B nuclear translocation. An immunohistochemical validation study of other 106 human HCC samples indicated that FABP4-positive HSCs were distributed in tumors of 38 cases, and that the FABP4-high group was composed of patients with non-viral and non-alcoholic HCC (P=0.027) and with multiple metabolic risk factors (P<0.001) compared with the FABP4-low. CONCLUSIONS: FABP4 overexpression in HSCs could contribute to hepatocellular carcinogenesis in patients with metabolic risk factors via modulation of inflammatory pathway, and is a promising novel biomarker as well as a potential therapeutic target for this subtype of HCC.
Fatty Acid Binding Protein 4 (FABP4) Overexpression in Intratumoral Hepatic Stellate Cells within Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Metabolic Risk Factors.
Specimen part
View SamplesBACKGROUND & AIMS: Metabolic syndrome is a newly identified risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however the molecular mechanisms still remain unclear. To elucidate this issue, cross-species analysis was performed to compare gene expression patterns of HCC from human patients and melanocortin 4 receptor-knockout (MC4R-KO) mice, developing HCC with obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. METHODS: Unsupervised hierarchical clustering and principle component analysis of 746 differentially expressed orthologous genes classified HCC of 152 human patients and MC4R-KO mice into two distinct subgroups, one of which included all the mouse HCC was etiologically associated with metabolic risk factors, such as obesity and diabetes. A specific biomarker was identified by the integrative analysis, and validated with in vitro studies and other cohort patients. RESULTS: As commonly overexpressed in human and mouse metabolic disease-associated HCC, FABP4 was remarkably enriched in intratumoral activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Then, we established subclones constitutively expressing FABP4 from a human HSC cell line, in which the expression levels of inflammatory chemokines including IL1A and IL6 was upregulated through NF-B nuclear translocation. An immunohistochemical validation study of other 106 human HCC samples indicated that FABP4-positive HSCs were distributed in tumors of 38 cases, and that the FABP4-high group was composed of patients with non-viral and non-alcoholic HCC (P=0.027) and with multiple metabolic risk factors (P<0.001) compared with the FABP4-low. CONCLUSIONS: FABP4 overexpression in HSCs could contribute to hepatocellular carcinogenesis in patients with metabolic risk factors via modulation of inflammatory pathway, and is a promising novel biomarker as well as a potential therapeutic target for this subtype of HCC.
Fatty Acid Binding Protein 4 (FABP4) Overexpression in Intratumoral Hepatic Stellate Cells within Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Metabolic Risk Factors.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesEstrogen signaling pathway is critical for breast cancer development and has remained the major adjuvant therapeutic target for this disease. Tamoxifen has been used in clinic for many years to treat ER-positive breast cancer. However a great many (30%) suffer relapse due to drug resistance. In this study, the bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 was found to down-regulate ERalpha gene expression and have anti-tumor effect in cultured tamoxifen-resisant breast cancer cells.
An epigenomic approach to therapy for tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer.
Cell line, Treatment
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