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Wang Y, Douville C, Chien YW, Wang BG, Chen CL, Pinto A, Smith SA, Drapkin R, Chui MH, Numan T, Vang R, Papadopoulos N, Wang TL, Shih IM. Aneuploidy Landscape in Precursors of Ovarian Cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2024; 30:600-615. [PMID: 38048050 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-23-0932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (STIC) is now recognized as the main precursor of ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC). Other potential tubal lesions include p53 signatures and tubal intraepithelial lesions. We aimed to investigate the extent and pattern of aneuploidy in these epithelial lesions and HGSC to define the features that characterize stages of tumor initiation and progression. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We applied RealSeqS to compare genome-wide aneuploidy patterns among the precursors, HGSC (cases, n = 85), and histologically unremarkable fallopian tube epithelium (HU-FTE; control, n = 65). On the basis of a discovery set (n = 67), we developed an aneuploidy-based algorithm, REAL-FAST (Repetitive Element AneupLoidy Sequencing Fallopian Tube Aneuploidy in STIC), to correlate the molecular data with pathology diagnoses. We validated the result in an independent validation set (n = 83) to determine its performance. We correlated the molecularly defined precursor subgroups with proliferative activity and histology. RESULTS We found that nearly all p53 signatures lost the entire Chr17, offering a "two-hit" mechanism involving both TP53 and BRCA1 in BRCA1 germline mutation carriers. Proliferatively active STICs harbor gains of 19q12 (CCNE1), 19q13.2, 8q24 (MYC), or 8q arm, whereas proliferatively dormant STICs show 22q loss. REAL-FAST classified HU-FTE and STICs into 5 clusters and identified a STIC subgroup harboring unique aneuploidy that is associated with increased proliferation and discohesive growth. On the basis of a validation set, REAL-FAST showed 95.8% sensitivity and 97.1% specificity in detecting STIC/HGSC. CONCLUSIONS Morphologically similar STICs are molecularly distinct. The REAL-FAST assay identifies a potentially "aggressive" STIC subgroup harboring unique DNA aneuploidy that is associated with increased cellular proliferation and discohesive growth. REAL-FAST offers a highly reproducible adjunct technique to assist the diagnosis of STIC lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeh Wang
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Christopher Douville
- Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- The Ludwig Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Yen-Wei Chien
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Brant G Wang
- Department of Pathology, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia
- School of Medicine Inova Campus, University of Virginia, Falls Church, Virginia
- Department of Pathology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC
| | - Chi-Long Chen
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Andre Pinto
- University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miami, Florida
| | - Saron Ann Smith
- Cascade Pathology Services, Legacy Health System, Portland, Oregon
| | - Ronny Drapkin
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Basser Center for BRCA, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - M Herman Chui
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Tricia Numan
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Pathology, Sibley Memorial Hospital, Washington, DC
| | - Russell Vang
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Nickolas Papadopoulos
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- The Ludwig Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Tian-Li Wang
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Ie-Ming Shih
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
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Li S, Liu Z, Zhang J, Li L. Links between telomere dysfunction and hallmarks of aging. MUTATION RESEARCH/GENETIC TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MUTAGENESIS 2023; 888:503617. [PMID: 37188431 DOI: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2023.503617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
Abstract
Aging is characterized by the gradual loss of physiological integrity, leading to impaired function and increased risk of death. This deterioration is the main risk factor for the great majority of chronic diseases, which account for most of the morbidity, death and medical expenses. The hallmarks of aging comprise diverse molecular mechanisms and cell systems, which are interrelated and coordinated to drive the aging process. This review focuses on telomere to analyze the interrelationships between telomere dysfunction and other aging hallmarks and their relative contributions to the initiation and progression of age-related diseases (such as neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, and cancer), which will contribute to determine drug targets, improve human health in the aging process with minimal side effects and provide information for the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases.
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Prime SS, Cirillo N, Parkinson EK. Escape from Cellular Senescence Is Associated with Chromosomal Instability in Oral Pre-Malignancy. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12010103. [PMID: 36671795 PMCID: PMC9855962 DOI: 10.3390/biology12010103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
An escape from cellular senescence through the development of unlimited growth potential is one of the hallmarks of cancer, which is thought to be an early event in carcinogenesis. In this review, we propose that the molecular effectors of senescence, particularly the inactivation of TP53 and CDKN2A, together with telomere attrition and telomerase activation, all lead to aneuploidy in the keratinocytes from oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD). Premalignant keratinocytes, therefore, not only become immortal but also develop genotypic and phenotypic cellular diversity. As a result of these changes, certain clonal cell populations likely gain the capacity to invade the underlying connective tissue. We review the clinical implications of these changes and highlight a new PCR-based assay to identify aneuploid cell in fluids such as saliva, a technique that is extremely sensitive and could facilitate the regular monitoring of OPMD without the need for surgical biopsies and may avoid potential biopsy sampling errors. We also draw attention to recent studies designed to eliminate aneuploid tumour cell populations that, potentially, is a new therapeutic approach to prevent malignant transformations in OPMD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen S. Prime
- Centre for Immunology and Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Dentistry, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Correspondence: (S.S.P.); (E.K.P.)
| | - Nicola Cirillo
- Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, 720 Swanson Street, Melbourne, VIC 3053, Australia
| | - E. Kenneth Parkinson
- Centre for Immunology and Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Dentistry, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Correspondence: (S.S.P.); (E.K.P.)
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González-Moles MÁ, Keim-del Pino C, Ramos-García P. Hallmarks of Cancer Expression in Oral Lichen Planus: A Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:13099. [PMID: 36361889 PMCID: PMC9658487 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a common chronic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology and likely autoimmune nature that is currently considered an oral potentially malignant disorder, implying that patients suffering from this process are at risk of developing oral cancer in their lifetime. The molecular alterations that develop in OLP and that make the affected oral epithelium predisposed to malignancy are unknown, although, as in other autoimmune diseases (ulcerative colitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, etc.), they may be linked to oncogenesis-promoting effects mediated by the inflammatory infiltrate. So far there is no in-depth knowledge on how these hallmarks of cancer are established in the cells of the oral epithelium affected by OLP. In this scoping review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses the state of evidence based knowledge in this field is presented, to point out gaps of evidence and to indicate future lines of research. MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library and Dare were searched for secondary-level studies published before October 2022. The results identified 20 systematic reviews and meta-analyses critically appraising the hallmarks tumor-promoting inflammation (n = 17, 85%), sustaining proliferative signaling (n = 2, 10%), and evading growth suppressors (n = 1, 5%). No evidence was found for the other hallmarks of cancer in OLP. In conclusion, OLP malignization hypothetically derives from the aggressions of the inflammatory infiltrate and a particular type of epithelial response based on increased epithelial proliferation, evasion of growth-suppressive signals and lack of apoptosis. Future evidence-based research is required to support this hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Ángel González-Moles
- School of Dentistry, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, 18012 Granada, Spain
| | - Carmen Keim-del Pino
- School of Dentistry, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, 18012 Granada, Spain
| | - Pablo Ramos-García
- School of Dentistry, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, 18012 Granada, Spain
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Liddiard K, Aston-Evans AN, Cleal K, Hendrickson E, Baird D. POLQ suppresses genome instability and alterations in DNA repeat tract lengths. NAR Cancer 2022; 4:zcac020. [PMID: 35774233 PMCID: PMC9241439 DOI: 10.1093/narcan/zcac020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA polymerase theta (POLQ) is a principal component of the alternative non-homologous end-joining (ANHEJ) DNA repair pathway that ligates DNA double-strand breaks. Utilizing independent models of POLQ insufficiency during telomere-driven crisis, we found that POLQ - /- cells are resistant to crisis-induced growth deceleration despite sustaining inter-chromosomal telomere fusion frequencies equivalent to wild-type (WT) cells. We recorded longer telomeres in POLQ - / - than WT cells pre- and post-crisis, notwithstanding elevated total telomere erosion and fusion rates. POLQ - /- cells emerging from crisis exhibited reduced incidence of clonal gross chromosomal abnormalities in accordance with increased genetic heterogeneity. High-throughput sequencing of telomere fusion amplicons from POLQ-deficient cells revealed significantly raised frequencies of inter-chromosomal fusions with correspondingly depreciated intra-chromosomal recombinations. Long-range interactions culminating in telomere fusions with centromere alpha-satellite repeats, as well as expansions in HSAT2 and HSAT3 satellite and contractions in ribosomal DNA repeats, were detected in POLQ - / - cells. In conjunction with the expanded telomere lengths of POLQ - /- cells, these results indicate a hitherto unrealized capacity of POLQ for regulation of repeat arrays within the genome. Our findings uncover novel considerations for the efficacy of POLQ inhibitors in clinical cancer interventions, where potential genome destabilizing consequences could drive clonal evolution and resistant disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Liddiard
- Division of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK
| | - Alys N Aston-Evans
- Dementia Research Institute, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Kez Cleal
- Division of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK
| | - Eric A Hendrickson
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Duncan M Baird
- Division of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK
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González-Moles MÁ, Warnakulasuriya S, López-Ansio M, Ramos-García P. Hallmarks of Cancer Applied to Oral and Oropharyngeal Carcinogenesis: A Scoping Review of the Evidence Gaps Found in Published Systematic Reviews. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14153834. [PMID: 35954497 PMCID: PMC9367256 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14153834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary This scoping review of systematic reviews aims to accurately assess the degree of existing scientific evidence on the cancer hallmarks proposed in 2011 by Hanahan and Weinberg, in the form of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, applied to oral potentially malignant disorders, oral cavity and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas, in order to point out gaps in evidence and lines of research that should be implemented in the future to improve the malignant transformation prediction, diagnosis and/or prognosis of these diseases. Abstract In 2000 and 2011, Hanahan and Weinberg published two papers in which they defined the characteristics that cells must fulfil in order to be considered neoplastic cells in all types of tumours that affect humans, which the authors called “hallmarks of cancer”. These papers have represented a milestone in our understanding of the biology of many types of cancers and have made it possible to reach high levels of scientific evidence in relation to the prognostic impact that these hallmarks have on different tumour types. However, to date, there is no study that globally analyses evidence-based knowledge on the importance of these hallmarks in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas. For this reason, we set out to conduct this scoping review of systematic reviews with the aim of detecting evidence gaps in relation to the relevance of the cancer hallmarks proposed by Hanahan and Weinberg in oral and oropharyngeal cancer, and oral potentially malignant disorders, and to point out future lines of research in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Ángel González-Moles
- School of Dentistry, University of Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, 18012 Granada, Spain
| | - Saman Warnakulasuriya
- Faculty of Dentistry, Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
- WHO Collaborating for Oral Cancer, King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
| | - María López-Ansio
- School of Dentistry, University of Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, 18012 Granada, Spain
| | - Pablo Ramos-García
- School of Dentistry, University of Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, 18012 Granada, Spain
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Association of Relative Telomere Length and Risk of High Human Papillomavirus Load in Cervical Epithelial Cells. Balkan J Med Genet 2022; 24:65-70. [PMID: 36249518 PMCID: PMC9524175 DOI: 10.2478/bjmg-2021-0026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Importunate high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) infection is the most common trigger for the cervical carcinogenesis process. In this respect, the presence of cancer can be imputed to telomere lengthening or shortening. This paper explores the possible correlation between relative telomere length and viral load in two groups of women, namely: those with high-risk HPV infection and those who do not have this infection. Thus, samples comprising of 50 women in each group were evaluated for this research. The Amplisens HPV HCR screen-titre-FRT PCR kite was employed for quantitative analysis. Relative telomere length was quantified by real-time PCR. In each of the two HPV load groups, there was no correlation between age and telomere length. Telomere shortening was found in the cervical cell samples of women with high HPV loads, compared with women in the control group. Telomere shortening is associated with elevated HPV loads.
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8
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Zhu J, Huang Q, Peng X, Luo C, Liu S, Liu Z, Wu X, Luo H. Identification of LncRNA Prognostic Signature Associated With Genomic Instability in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Front Oncol 2022; 12:799475. [PMID: 35433487 PMCID: PMC9012103 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.799475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Genomic instability (GI) is a critical feature of cancer which plays a key role in the occurrence and development of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD). Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) is an emerging prognostic biomarker because it is involved in regulating GI. Recently, researchers used such GI-related LncRNAs (GILncRNAs) to establish a prognostic signature for patients with cancer and helped in predicting the overall prognosis of the patients. However, it is evident that patients with PAAD still lack such prognostic signature constructed with GILncRNA. Methods The present study screened GILncRNAs from 83 patients with PAAD. Prognosis-related GILncRNAs were identified by univariate Cox regression analysis. The correlation coefficients of these GILncRNAs were obtained by multivariate Cox regression analysis and used to construct a signature. The signature in the present study was then assessed through survival analysis, mutation correlation analysis, independent prognostic analysis, and clinical stratification analysis in the training set and validated in the testing as well as all TCGA set. The current study performed external clinical relevance validation of the signature and validated the effect of AC108134.2 in GILncSig on PAAD using in vitro experiments. Finally, the function of GILncRNA signature (GILncSig) dependent on Gene Ontology enrichment analysis was explored and chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity analysis was also performed. Results Results of the present study found that a total of 409 GILncRNAs were identified, 5 of which constituted the prognostic risk signature in this study, namely, AC095057.3, AC108134.2, AC124798.1, AL606834.1, and AC104695.4. It was found that the signature of the present study was better than others in predicting the overall survival and applied to patients with PAAD of all ages, genders, and tumor grades. Further, it was noted that the signature of the current study in the GSE102238, was correlated with tumor length, and tumor stage of patients with PAAD. In vitro, functional experiments were used in the present study to validate that AC108134.2 is associated with PAAD genomic instability and progression. Notably, results of the pRRophetic analysis in the current study showed that the high-risk group possessed reverse characteristics and was sensitive to chemotherapy. Conclusions In conclusion, it was evident that the GILncSig used in the present study has good prognostic performance. Therefore, the signature may become a potential sensitive biological indicator of PAAD chemotherapy, which may help in clinical decision-making and management of patients with cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinfeng Zhu
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Nanchang, China
| | - Qian Huang
- Department of General Practice, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Xingyu Peng
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Nanchang, China
| | - Chen Luo
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Sicheng Liu
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Zitao Liu
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Xun Wu
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Hongliang Luo
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
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Telomerase in Cancer: Function, Regulation, and Clinical Translation. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14030808. [PMID: 35159075 PMCID: PMC8834434 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14030808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Cells undergoing malignant transformation must circumvent replicative senescence and eventual cell death associated with progressive telomere shortening that occurs through successive cell division. To do so, malignant cells reactivate telomerase to extend their telomeres and achieve cellular immortality, which is a “Hallmark of Cancer”. Here we review the telomere-dependent and -independent functions of telomerase in cancer, as well as its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target to diagnose and treat cancer patients. Abstract During the process of malignant transformation, cells undergo a series of genetic, epigenetic, and phenotypic alterations, including the acquisition and propagation of genomic aberrations that impart survival and proliferative advantages. These changes are mediated in part by the induction of replicative immortality that is accompanied by active telomere elongation. Indeed, telomeres undergo dynamic changes to their lengths and higher-order structures throughout tumor formation and progression, processes overseen in most cancers by telomerase. Telomerase is a multimeric enzyme whose function is exquisitely regulated through diverse transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational mechanisms to facilitate telomere extension. In turn, telomerase function depends not only on its core components, but also on a suite of binding partners, transcription factors, and intra- and extracellular signaling effectors. Additionally, telomerase exhibits telomere-independent regulation of cancer cell growth by participating directly in cellular metabolism, signal transduction, and the regulation of gene expression in ways that are critical for tumorigenesis. In this review, we summarize the complex mechanisms underlying telomere maintenance, with a particular focus on both the telomeric and extratelomeric functions of telomerase. We also explore the clinical utility of telomeres and telomerase in the diagnosis, prognosis, and development of targeted therapies for primary, metastatic, and recurrent cancers.
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Pandey S, Hajikazemi M, Zacheja T, Schalbetter S, Baxter J, Guryev V, Hofmann A, Heermann DW, Juranek SA, Paeschke K. Telomerase subunit Est2 marks internal sites that are prone to accumulate DNA damage. BMC Biol 2021; 19:247. [PMID: 34801008 PMCID: PMC8605574 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01167-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The main function of telomerase is at the telomeres but under adverse conditions telomerase can bind to internal regions causing deleterious effects as observed in cancer cells. Results By mapping the global occupancy of the catalytic subunit of telomerase (Est2) in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we reveal that it binds to multiple guanine-rich genomic loci, which we termed “non-telomeric binding sites” (NTBS). We characterize Est2 binding to NTBS. Contrary to telomeres, Est2 binds to NTBS in G1 and G2 phase independently of Est1 and Est3. The absence of Est1 and Est3 renders telomerase inactive at NTBS. However, upon global DNA damage, Est1 and Est3 join Est2 at NTBS and telomere addition can be observed indicating that Est2 occupancy marks NTBS regions as particular risks for genome stability. Conclusions Our results provide a novel model of telomerase regulation in the cell cycle using internal regions as “parking spots” of Est2 but marking them as hotspots for telomere addition. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-021-01167-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satyaprakash Pandey
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, 9713 AV, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Mona Hajikazemi
- Clinic of Internal Medicine III, Oncology, Hematology, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Theresa Zacheja
- Clinic of Internal Medicine III, Oncology, Hematology, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Jonathan Baxter
- Department of Life Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Victor Guryev
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, 9713 AV, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Andreas Hofmann
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 12, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dieter W Heermann
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 12, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan A Juranek
- Clinic of Internal Medicine III, Oncology, Hematology, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
| | - Katrin Paeschke
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, 9713 AV, Groningen, Netherlands. .,Clinic of Internal Medicine III, Oncology, Hematology, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
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Sankarasubramanian S, Pfohl U, Regenbrecht CRA, Reinhard C, Wedeken L. Context Matters-Why We Need to Change From a One Size Fits all Approach to Made-to-Measure Therapies for Individual Patients With Pancreatic Cancer. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:760705. [PMID: 34805167 PMCID: PMC8599957 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.760705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers and remains a major unsolved health problem. While pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is associated with driver mutations in only four major genes (KRAS, TP53, SMAD4, and CDKN2A), every tumor differs in its molecular landscape, histology, and prognosis. It is crucial to understand and consider these differences to be able to tailor treatment regimens specific to the vulnerabilities of the individual tumor to enhance patient outcome. This review focuses on the heterogeneity of pancreatic tumor cells and how in addition to genetic alterations, the subsequent dysregulation of multiple signaling cascades at various levels, epigenetic and metabolic factors contribute to the oncogenesis of PDAC and compensate for each other in driving cancer progression if one is tackled by a therapeutic approach. This implicates that besides the need for new combinatorial therapies for PDAC, a personalized approach for treating this highly complex cancer is required. A strategy that combines both a target-based and phenotypic approach to identify an effective treatment, like Reverse Clinical Engineering® using patient-derived organoids, is discussed as a promising way forward in the field of personalized medicine to tackle this deadly disease.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ulrike Pfohl
- CELLphenomics GmbH, Berlin, Germany
- ASC Oncology GmbH, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Bio Science, Goethe University Frankfurt Am Main, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Christian R. A. Regenbrecht
- CELLphenomics GmbH, Berlin, Germany
- ASC Oncology GmbH, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Pathology, Universitätsklinikum Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Lena Wedeken
- CELLphenomics GmbH, Berlin, Germany
- ASC Oncology GmbH, Berlin, Germany
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Wang Z, Wu X. Abnormal function of telomere protein TRF2 induces cell mutation and the effects of environmental tumor‑promoting factors (Review). Oncol Rep 2021; 46:184. [PMID: 34278498 PMCID: PMC8273685 DOI: 10.3892/or.2021.8135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have found that somatic gene mutations and environmental tumor-promoting factors are both indispensable for tumor formation. Telomeric repeat-binding factor (TRF)2 is the core component of the telomere shelterin complex, which plays an important role in chromosome stability and the maintenance of normal cell physiological states. In recent years, TRF2 and its role in tumor formation have gradually become a research hot topic, which has promoted in-depth discussions into tumorigenesis and treatment strategies, and has achieved promising results. Some cells bypass elimination, due to either aging, apoptosis via mutations or abnormal prolongation of the mitotic cycle, and enter the telomere crisis period, where large-scale DNA reorganization occurs repeatedly, which manifests as the precancerous cell cycle. Finally, at the end of the crisis cycle, the mutation activates either the expression level of telomerase or activates the alternative lengthening of telomere mechanism to extend the local telomeres. Under the protection of TRF2, chromosomes are gradually stabilized, immortal cells are formed and the stagewise mutation-driven transformation of normal cells to cancer cells is completed. In addition, TRF2 also shares the characteristics of environmental tumor-promoting factors. It acts on multiple signal transduction pathway-related proteins associated with cell proliferation, and affects peripheral angiogenesis, inhibits the immune recognition and killing ability of the microenvironment, and maintains the stemness characteristics of tumor cells. TRF2 levels are abnormally elevated by a variety of tumor control proteins, which are more conducive to the protection of telomeres and the survival of tumor cells. In brief, the various regulatory mechanisms which tumor cells rely on to survive are organically integrated around TRF2, forming a regulatory network, which is conducive to the optimization of the survival direction of heterogeneous tumor cells, and promotes their survival and adaptability. In terms of clinical application, TRF2 is expected to become a new type of cancer prognostic marker and a new tumor treatment target. Inhibition of TRF2 overexpression could effectively cut off the core network regulating tumor cell survival, reduce drug resistance, or bypass the mutation under the pressure of tumor treatment selection, which may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for the complete eradication of tumors in the clinical setting. Based on recent research, the aim of the present review was to systematically elaborate on the basic structure and functional characteristics of TRF2 and its role in tumor formation, and to analyze the findings indicating that TRF2 deficiency or overexpression could cause severe damage to telomere function and telomere shortening, and induce DNA damage response and chromosomal instability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengyi Wang
- Good Clinical Practice Center, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan 610071, P.R. China
| | - Xiaoying Wu
- Ministry of Education and Training, Chengdu Second People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan 610000, P.R. China
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13
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Prime SS, Cirillo N, Cheong SC, Prime MS, Parkinson EK. Targeting the genetic landscape of oral potentially malignant disorders has the potential as a preventative strategy in oral cancer. Cancer Lett 2021; 518:102-114. [PMID: 34139286 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.05.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
This study reviews the molecular landscape of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD). We examine the impact of tumour heterogeneity, the spectrum of driver mutations (TP53, CDKN2A, TERT, NOTCH1, AJUBA, PIK3CA, CASP8) and gene transcription on tumour progression. We comment on how some of these mutations impact cellular senescence, field cancerization and cancer stem cells. We propose that OPMD can be monitored more closely and more dynamically through the use of liquid biopsies using an appropriate biomarker of transformation. We describe new gene interactions through the use of a systems biology approach and we highlight some of the first studies to identify functional genes using CRISPR-Cas9 technology. We believe that this information has translational implications for the use of re-purposed existing drugs and/or new drug development. Further, we argue that the use of digital technology encompassing clinical and laboratory-based data will create relevant datasets for machine learning/artificial intelligence. We believe that therapeutic intervention at an early molecular premalignant stage should be an important preventative strategy to inhibit the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma and that this approach is applicable to other aerodigestive tract cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- S S Prime
- Centre for Immunology and Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Dentistry, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK.
| | - N Cirillo
- Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, 720 Swanson Street, Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, 3053, Australia.
| | - S C Cheong
- Head and Neck Cancer Research Team, Cancer Research Malaysia, 1 Jalan SS12/1A, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - M S Prime
- Roche Diagnostics Information Solutions, Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070, Basel, Switzerland.
| | - E K Parkinson
- Centre for Immunology and Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Dentistry, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK.
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14
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Dewhurst SM, Yao X, Rosiene J, Tian H, Behr J, Bosco N, Takai KK, de Lange T, Imieliński M. Structural variant evolution after telomere crisis. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2093. [PMID: 33828097 PMCID: PMC8027843 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21933-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomere crisis contributes to cancer genome evolution, yet only a subset of cancers display breakage-fusion-bridge (BFB) cycles and chromothripsis, hallmarks of experimental telomere crisis identified in previous studies. We examine the spectrum of structural variants (SVs) instigated by natural telomere crisis. Eight spontaneous post-crisis clones did not show prominent patterns of BFB cycles or chromothripsis. Their crisis-induced genome rearrangements varied from infrequent simple SVs to more frequent and complex SVs. In contrast, BFB cycles and chromothripsis occurred in MRC5 fibroblast clones that escaped telomere crisis after CRISPR-controlled telomerase activation. This system revealed convergent evolutionary lineages altering one allele of chromosome 12p, where a short telomere likely predisposed to fusion. Remarkably, the 12p chromothripsis and BFB events were stabilized by independent fusions to chromosome 21. The data establish that telomere crisis can generate a wide spectrum of SVs implying that a lack of BFB patterns and chromothripsis in cancer genomes does not indicate absence of past telomere crisis. Telomere crisis has been shown to induce chromothripsis and breakage fusion bridge (BFB) cycles in vitro. Here, the authors show that telomere crisis generates a much broader spectrum of structural variations, implying that cancers without chromothripsis and BFB cycles could have emerged from telomere crisis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sally M Dewhurst
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Xiaotong Yao
- Tri-Institutional Ph.D. Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, and Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.,New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Joel Rosiene
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, and Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.,New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Huasong Tian
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, and Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.,New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Julie Behr
- Tri-Institutional Ph.D. Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, and Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.,New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nazario Bosco
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Institute for Systems Genetics, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kaori K Takai
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Titia de Lange
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Marcin Imieliński
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, and Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA. .,New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA.
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15
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Chakravarti D, LaBella KA, DePinho RA. Telomeres: history, health, and hallmarks of aging. Cell 2021; 184:306-322. [PMID: 33450206 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.12.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 228] [Impact Index Per Article: 76.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The escalating social and economic burden of an aging world population has placed aging research at center stage. The hallmarks of aging comprise diverse molecular mechanisms and cellular systems that are interrelated and act in concert to drive the aging process. Here, through the lens of telomere biology, we examine how telomere dysfunction may amplify or drive molecular biological processes underlying each hallmark of aging and contribute to development of age-related diseases such as neurodegeneration and cancer. The intimate link of telomeres to aging hallmarks informs preventive and therapeutic interventions designed to attenuate aging itself and reduce the incidence of age-associated diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepavali Chakravarti
- Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Kyle A LaBella
- Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Ronald A DePinho
- Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
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16
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Tanaka H, Watanabe T. Mechanisms Underlying Recurrent Genomic Amplification in Human Cancers. Trends Cancer 2020; 6:462-477. [PMID: 32383436 DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2020.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2019] [Revised: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Focal copy-number increases (genomic amplification) pinpoint oncogenic driver genes and therapeutic targets in cancer genomes. With the advent of genomic technologies, recurrent genomic amplification has been mapped throughout the genome. Recurrent amplification could be solely due to positive selection for the tumor-promoting effects of amplified gene products. Alternatively, recurrence could result from the susceptibility of the loci to amplification. Distinguishing between these possibilities requires a full understanding of the amplification mechanisms. Two mechanisms, the formation of double minute (DM) chromosomes and breakage-fusion-bridge (BFB) cycles, have been repeatedly linked to genomic amplification, and the impact of both mechanisms has been confirmed in cancer genomics data. We review the details of these mechanisms and discuss the mechanisms underlying recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hisashi Tanaka
- Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, West Hollywood, CA 90046, USA; Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, West Hollywood, CA 90046, USA; Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, West Hollywood, CA 90046, USA.
| | - Takaaki Watanabe
- Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, West Hollywood, CA 90046, USA; Molecular Life Science, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan
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17
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Rodriguez-Martin B, Alvarez EG, Baez-Ortega A, Zamora J, Supek F, Demeulemeester J, Santamarina M, Ju YS, Temes J, Garcia-Souto D, Detering H, Li Y, Rodriguez-Castro J, Dueso-Barroso A, Bruzos AL, Dentro SC, Blanco MG, Contino G, Ardeljan D, Tojo M, Roberts ND, Zumalave S, Edwards PA, Weischenfeldt J, Puiggròs M, Chong Z, Chen K, Lee EA, Wala JA, Raine KM, Butler A, Waszak SM, Navarro FCP, Schumacher SE, Monlong J, Maura F, Bolli N, Bourque G, Gerstein M, Park PJ, Wedge DC, Beroukhim R, Torrents D, Korbel JO, Martincorena I, Fitzgerald RC, Van Loo P, Kazazian HH, Burns KH, Campbell PJ, Tubio JMC. Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes identifies driver rearrangements promoted by LINE-1 retrotransposition. Nat Genet 2020; 52:306-319. [PMID: 32024998 PMCID: PMC7058536 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-019-0562-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 210] [Impact Index Per Article: 52.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2017] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
About half of all cancers have somatic integrations of retrotransposons. Here, to characterize their role in oncogenesis, we analyzed the patterns and mechanisms of somatic retrotransposition in 2,954 cancer genomes from 38 histological cancer subtypes within the framework of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) project. We identified 19,166 somatically acquired retrotransposition events, which affected 35% of samples and spanned a range of event types. Long interspersed nuclear element (LINE-1; L1 hereafter) insertions emerged as the first most frequent type of somatic structural variation in esophageal adenocarcinoma, and the second most frequent in head-and-neck and colorectal cancers. Aberrant L1 integrations can delete megabase-scale regions of a chromosome, which sometimes leads to the removal of tumor-suppressor genes, and can induce complex translocations and large-scale duplications. Somatic retrotranspositions can also initiate breakage-fusion-bridge cycles, leading to high-level amplification of oncogenes. These observations illuminate a relevant role of L1 retrotransposition in remodeling the cancer genome, with potential implications for the development of human tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernardo Rodriguez-Martin
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Biomedical Research Centre (CINBIO), University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
- Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Eva G Alvarez
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Biomedical Research Centre (CINBIO), University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
- Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Adrian Baez-Ortega
- Transmissible Cancer Group, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jorge Zamora
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- The Biomedical Research Centre (CINBIO), Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - Fran Supek
- Genome Data Science, Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain
- Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jonas Demeulemeester
- The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Martin Santamarina
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Biomedical Research Centre (CINBIO), University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
- Genomes and Disease, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Young Seok Ju
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, South Korea
- Cancer Ageing and Somatic Mutation Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Javier Temes
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Daniel Garcia-Souto
- Genomes and Disease, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Harald Detering
- Biomedical Research Centre (CINBIO), University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Immunology, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
- Galicia Sur Health Research Institute, Vigo, Spain
| | - Yilong Li
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jorge Rodriguez-Castro
- Genomes and Disease, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Ana Dueso-Barroso
- Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), Vic, Spain
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alicia L Bruzos
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Biomedical Research Centre (CINBIO), University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
- Genomes and Disease, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Stefan C Dentro
- The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Experimental Cancer Genetics, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
- Oxford Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Miguel G Blanco
- DNA Repair and Genome Integrity, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Gianmarco Contino
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Daniel Ardeljan
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Marta Tojo
- The Biomedical Research Centre (CINBIO), Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Immunology, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
| | - Nicola D Roberts
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sonia Zumalave
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Genomes and Disease, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Paul A Edwards
- University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Li Ka Shing Centre, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Joachim Weischenfeldt
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Genome Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany
- Finsen Laboratory and Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Urology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Zechen Chong
- Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Genetics and Informatics Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Ken Chen
- University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Eunjung Alice Lee
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeremiah A Wala
- The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Keiran M Raine
- Cancer Ageing and Somatic Mutation Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Adam Butler
- Cancer Ageing and Somatic Mutation Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sebastian M Waszak
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Genome Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Fabio C P Navarro
- Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Steven E Schumacher
- The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jean Monlong
- Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Francesco Maura
- Cancer Ageing and Somatic Mutation Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Oncology and Onco-Hematology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- Department of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Niccolo Bolli
- Department of Oncology and Onco-Hematology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- Department of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Guillaume Bourque
- Canadian Center for Computational Genomics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Mark Gerstein
- Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Peter J Park
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Ludwig Center at Harvard, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David C Wedge
- Cancer Ageing and Somatic Mutation Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
- Experimental Cancer Genetics, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
- Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, UK
| | - Rameen Beroukhim
- The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David Torrents
- Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jan O Korbel
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Genome Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Rebecca C Fitzgerald
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Peter Van Loo
- The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Haig H Kazazian
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Kathleen H Burns
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA
- McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Peter J Campbell
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK.
- Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Jose M C Tubio
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
- Biomedical Research Centre (CINBIO), University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain.
- Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
- Cancer Ageing and Somatic Mutation Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK.
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18
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Günes C, Wezel F, Southgate J, Bolenz C. Implications of TERT promoter mutations and telomerase activity in urothelial carcinogenesis. Nat Rev Urol 2019; 15:386-393. [PMID: 29599449 DOI: 10.1038/s41585-018-0001-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Telomerase activity imparts eukaryotic cells with unlimited proliferation capacity, one of the cancer hallmarks. Over 90% of human urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) tumours are positive for telomerase activity. Telomerase activation can occur through several mechanisms. Mutations in the core promoter region of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (TERT) cause telomerase reactivation in 60-80% of UCBs, whereas the prevalence of these mutations is lower in urothelial cancers of other origins. TERT promoter mutations are the most frequent genetic alteration across all stages of UCB, indicating a strong selection pressure during neoplastic transformation. TERT promoter mutations could arise during regeneration of normal urothelium and, owing to consequential telomerase reactivation, might be the basis of UCB initiation, which represents a new model of urothelial cancer origination. In the future, TERT promoter mutations and telomerase activity might have diagnostic and therapeutic applications in UCB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cagatay Günes
- Department of Urology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Felix Wezel
- Department of Urology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Jennifer Southgate
- Department of Biology, Jack Birch Unit of Molecular Carcinogenesis, University of York, York, UK
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19
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Kwong LN, Zou L, Chagani S, Pedamallu CS, Liu M, Jiang S, Protopopov A, Zhang J, Getz G, Chin L. Modeling Genomic Instability and Selection Pressure in a Mouse Model of Melanoma. Cell Rep 2018; 19:1304-1312. [PMID: 28514651 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.04.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2016] [Revised: 03/24/2017] [Accepted: 04/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor evolution is an iterative process of selection for pro-oncogenic aberrations. This process can be accelerated by genomic instability, but how it interacts with different selection bottlenecks to shape the evolving genomic landscape remains understudied. Here, we assessed tumor initiation and therapy resistance bottlenecks in mouse models of melanoma, with or without genomic instability. At the initiation bottleneck, whole-exome sequencing revealed that drug-naive tumors were genomically silent, and this was surprisingly unaffected when genomic instability was introduced via telomerase inactivation. We hypothesize that the strong engineered alleles created low selection pressure. At the therapy resistance bottleneck, strong selective pressure was applied using a BRAF inhibitor. In the absence of genomic instability, tumors acquired a non-genomic drug resistance mechanism. By contrast, telomerase-deficient, drug-resistant melanomas acquired highly recurrent copy number gains. These proof-of-principle experiments demonstrate how different selection pressures can interact with genomic instability to impact tumor evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lawrence N Kwong
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
| | - Lihua Zou
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Sharmeen Chagani
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Chandra Sekhar Pedamallu
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02142, USA
| | - Mingguang Liu
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Shan Jiang
- Department of Genomic Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Alexei Protopopov
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Genomic Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jianhua Zhang
- Institute for Applied Cancer Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Gad Getz
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Lynda Chin
- Department of Genomic Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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Carneiro MC, de Castro IP, Ferreira MG. Telomeres in aging and disease: lessons from zebrafish. Dis Model Mech 2017; 9:737-48. [PMID: 27482813 PMCID: PMC4958310 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.025130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Age is the highest risk factor for some of the most prevalent human diseases, including cancer. Telomere shortening is thought to play a central role in the aging process in humans. The link between telomeres and aging is highlighted by the fact that genetic diseases causing telomerase deficiency are associated with premature aging and increased risk of cancer. For the last two decades, this link has been mostly investigated using mice that have long telomeres. However, zebrafish has recently emerged as a powerful and complementary model system to study telomere biology. Zebrafish possess human-like short telomeres that progressively decline with age, reaching lengths in old age that are observed when telomerase is mutated. The extensive characterization of its well-conserved molecular and cellular physiology makes this vertebrate an excellent model to unravel the underlying relationship between telomere shortening, tissue regeneration, aging and disease. In this Review, we explore the advantages of using zebrafish in telomere research and discuss the primary discoveries made in this model that have contributed to expanding our knowledge of how telomere attrition contributes to cellular senescence, organ dysfunction and disease. Summary: In this Review, the authors explore the advantages of using zebrafish in telomere research and discuss the primary discoveries made in this model that have contributed to expanding our knowledge of how telomere attrition contributes to cellular senescence, organ dysfunction and disease.
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Azarhoosh R, Ebneghasem R, Besharat S. HER-2/neu gene amplification in gastric adenocarcinoma and its relationship with clinical and pathological findings. J Gastrointest Oncol 2017; 8:1046-1050. [PMID: 29299365 DOI: 10.21037/jgo.2017.10.11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Amplification of the HER-2/neu oncogene influences the progression of gastric cancer, its prognosis, and therapy. A precise examination of HER-2/neu-amplified tumor tissue is essential for managing disease and prescribing the appropriate treatment. This study aimed to investigate the status of HER-2/neu gene in the gastric cancer samples and its relationship with clinical and pathological information. Methods In this study on 80 paraffin-embedded tissue samples from patients with gastric adenocarcinoma [2006-2011], DNA was extracted to quantify the gene expression levels of HER-2 using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Data were statistically analyzed by chi-square test using SPSS16.0 software. Results PCR results indicated that HER-2/neu gene amplifications occurred in 58 of the 80 samples (72.5%). HER-2/neu gene expression was not significantly related to age and sex, but the larger tumor size and the more advanced stage were significantly associated with HER-2/neu overexpression. Conclusions The data show the HER-2/neu gene is more amplified in stage 4 of gastric cancer with a larger size of mass. Older age and male sex also appear to be more associated with HER-2/neu gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramin Azarhoosh
- Clinical Research Development Unit (CRDU), 5 azar Hospital, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
| | - Rokhsare Ebneghasem
- Infectious Diseases Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
| | - Sima Besharat
- Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
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Rausch V, Krieg A, Camps J, Behrens B, Beier M, Wangsa D, Heselmeyer-Haddad K, Baldus SE, Knoefel WT, Ried T, Stoecklein NH. Array comparative genomic hybridization of 18 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas and their autologous metastases. BMC Res Notes 2017; 10:560. [PMID: 29110683 PMCID: PMC5674747 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-017-2886-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2016] [Accepted: 10/31/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mortality rates of pancreatic cancer remain high, which is mainly due to advanced disease and metastasis. We hypothesized that genomic copy number alterations are enriched in metastatic cells compared to autologous primary tumors, which may inform on cancer-related pathways possibly serving as potential targets for specific therapies. We investigated 18 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, including 39 lymph node and 5 distant metastases after surgical resection. Analysis was performed with array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH). RESULTS Metastases acquire a higher frequency of copy number alterations with the highest in distant metastasis (median = 42, lymph node metastases: median = 23, primary tumors: median = 17). In lymph node metastases, gains were prevalent on chromosome bands 8q11.23-q24.3, 12q14.1, 17p12.1, 21q22.12, and losses on 3p21.31, 4p14, 8p23.3-p11.21,17p12-11.2. Genes on amplified regions are involved in cancer-related pathways such as WNT-signaling, also involved in metastasis. CONCLUSIONS Pancreatic cancers show a high degree of intratumor heterogeneity, which could lead to resistance of chemotherapy and worse outcome. ACGH analysis reveals regions preferentially gained or lost in synchronous metastases encoding for genes involved in cancer-related pathways, which could lead to novel therapeutic opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Rausch
- Department of General, Visceral, and Pediatric Surgery, Heinrich-Heine-University and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Andreas Krieg
- Department of General, Visceral, and Pediatric Surgery, Heinrich-Heine-University and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Jordi Camps
- Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD USA
- Present Address: Gastrointestinal and Pancreatic Oncology Group, Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Bianca Behrens
- Department of General, Visceral, and Pediatric Surgery, Heinrich-Heine-University and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Manfred Beier
- Institute of Human Genetics and Anthropology, Heinrich-Heine-University and University Hospital, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Darawalee Wangsa
- Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Kerstin Heselmeyer-Haddad
- Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Stephan E. Baldus
- Department of Pathology, Heinrich-Heine-University and University Hospital, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Wolfram T. Knoefel
- Department of General, Visceral, and Pediatric Surgery, Heinrich-Heine-University and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Thomas Ried
- Section of Cancer Genomics, Genetics Branch, Department of Health and Human Services, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Center for Cancer Research, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Nikolas H. Stoecklein
- Department of General, Visceral, and Pediatric Surgery, Heinrich-Heine-University and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
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Control of Cellular Aging, Tissue Function, and Cancer by p53 Downstream of Telomeres. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2017; 7:cshperspect.a026088. [PMID: 28289249 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a026088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres, the nucleoprotein complex at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, perform an essential cellular role in part by preventing the chromosomal end from initiating a DNA-damage response. This function of telomeres can be compromised as telomeres erode either as a consequence of cell division in culture or as a normal part of cellular ageing in proliferative tissues. Telomere dysfunction in this context leads to DNA-damage signaling and activation of the tumor-suppressor protein p53, which then can prompt either cellular senescence or apoptosis. By culling cells with dysfunctional telomeres, p53 plays a critical role in protecting tissues against the effects of critically short telomeres. However, as telomere dysfunction worsens, p53 likely exacerbates short telomere-driven tissue failure diseases, including pulmonary fibrosis, aplastic anemia, and liver cirrhosis. In cells lacking p53, unchecked telomere shortening drives chromosomal end-to-end fusions and cycles of chromosome fusion-bridge-breakage. Incipient cancer cells confronting these telomere barriers must disable p53 signaling to avoid senescence and eventually up-regulate telomerase to achieve cellular immortality. The recent findings of highly recurrent activating mutations in the promoter for the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene in diverse human cancers, together with the widespread mutations in p53 in cancer, provide support for the idea that circumvention of a telomere-p53 checkpoint is essential for malignant progression in human cancer.
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24
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Abstract
The shortening of human telomeres has two opposing effects during cancer development. On the one hand, telomere shortening can exert a tumour-suppressive effect through the proliferation arrest induced by activating the kinases ATM and ATR at unprotected chromosome ends. On the other hand, loss of telomere protection can lead to telomere crisis, which is a state of extensive genome instability that can promote cancer progression. Recent data, reviewed here, provide new evidence for the telomere tumour suppressor pathway and has revealed that telomere crisis can induce numerous cancer-relevant changes, including chromothripsis, kataegis and tetraploidization.
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Robinson NJ, Schiemann WP. Means to the ends: The role of telomeres and telomere processing machinery in metastasis. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA 2016; 1866:320-329. [PMID: 27768860 PMCID: PMC5138103 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2016.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Revised: 10/12/2016] [Accepted: 10/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Despite significant clinical advancements, cancer remains a leading cause of mortality throughout the world due largely to the process of metastasis and the dissemination of cancer cells from their primary tumor of origin to distant secondary sites. The clinical burden imposed by metastasis is further compounded by a paucity of information regarding the factors that mediate metastatic progression. Linear chromosomes are capped by structures known as telomeres, which dictate cellular lifespan in humans by shortening progressively during successive cell divisions. Although telomere shortening occurs in nearly all somatic cells, telomeres may be elongated via two seemingly disjoint pathways: (i) telomerase-mediated extension, and (ii) homologous recombination-based alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). Both telomerase and ALT are activated in various human cancers, with more recent evidence implicating both pathways as potential mediators of metastasis. Here we review the known roles of telomere homeostasis in metastasis and posit a mechanism whereby metastatic activity is determined by a dynamic fluctuation between ALT and telomerase, as opposed to the mere activation of a generic telomere elongation program. Additionally, the pleiotropic nature of the telomere processing machinery makes it an attractive therapeutic target for metastasis, and as such, we also explore the therapeutic implications of our proposed mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel J Robinson
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - William P Schiemann
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
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Grant TJ, Hua K, Singh A. Molecular Pathogenesis of Pancreatic Cancer. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2016; 144:241-275. [PMID: 27865459 PMCID: PMC6260831 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2016.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancers arise predominantly from ductal epithelial cells of the exocrine pancreas and are of the ductal adenocarcinoma histological subtype (PDAC). PDAC is an aggressive disease associated with a poor clinical prognosis, weakly effective therapeutic options, and a lack of early detection methods. Furthermore, the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of PDAC complicates efforts to identify universally efficacious therapies. PDACs commonly harbor activating mutations in the KRAS oncogene, which is a potent driver of tumor initiation and maintenance. Inactivating mutations in tumor suppressor genes such as CDKN2A/p16, TP53, and SMAD4 cooperate with KRAS mutations to cause aggressive PDAC tumor growth. PDAC can be classified into 3-4 molecular subtypes by global gene expression profiling. These subtypes can be distinguished by distinct molecular and phenotypic characteristics. This chapter will provide an overview of the current knowledge of PDAC pathogenesis at the genetic and molecular level as well as novel therapeutic opportunities to treat this highly aggressive disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- T J Grant
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - K Hua
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - A Singh
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States.
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Telomere Dysfunction Triggers Palindrome Formation Independently of Double-Strand Break Repair Mechanisms. Genetics 2016; 203:1659-68. [PMID: 27334270 PMCID: PMC4981268 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.115.183020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2015] [Accepted: 06/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Inverted chromosome duplications or palindromes are linked with genetic disorders and malignant transformation. They are considered by-products of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair: the homologous recombination (HR) and the nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ). Palindromes near chromosome ends are often triggered by telomere losses. An important question is to what extent their formation depends upon DSB repair mechanisms. Here we addressed this question using yeast genetics and comparative genomic hybridization. We induced palindrome formation by passaging cells lacking any form of telomere maintenance (telomerase and telomere recombination). Surprisingly, we found that DNA ligase 4, essential for NHEJ, did not make a significant contribution to palindrome formation induced by telomere losses. Moreover RAD51, important for certain HR-derived mechanisms, had little effect. Furthermore RAD52, which is essential for HR in yeast, appeared to decrease the number of palindromes in cells proliferating without telomeres. This study also uncovered an important role for Rev3 and Rev7 (but not for Pol32) subunits of polymerase ζ in the survival of cells undergoing telomere losses and forming palindromes. We propose a model called short-inverted repeat-induced synthesis in which DNA synthesis, rather than DSB repair, drives the inverted duplication triggered by telomere dysfunction.
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28
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Lee JK, Choi YL, Kwon M, Park PJ. Mechanisms and Consequences of Cancer Genome Instability: Lessons from Genome Sequencing Studies. ANNUAL REVIEW OF PATHOLOGY-MECHANISMS OF DISEASE 2016; 11:283-312. [PMID: 26907526 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-pathol-012615-044446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
During tumor evolution, cancer cells can accumulate numerous genetic alterations, ranging from single nucleotide mutations to whole-chromosomal changes. Although a great deal of progress has been made in the past decades in characterizing genomic alterations, recent cancer genome sequencing studies have provided a wealth of information on the detailed molecular profiles of such alterations in various types of cancers. Here, we review our current understanding of the mechanisms and consequences of cancer genome instability, focusing on the findings uncovered through analysis of exome and whole-genome sequencing data. These analyses have shown that most cancers have evidence of genome instability, and the degree of instability is variable within and between cancer types. Importantly, we describe some recent evidence supporting the idea that chromosomal instability could be a major driving force in tumorigenesis and cancer evolution, actively shaping the genomes of cancer cells to maximize their survival advantage.
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Affiliation(s)
- June-Koo Lee
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, South Korea;
| | - Yoon-La Choi
- Department of Pathology and Translational Genomics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, South Korea.,Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Samsung Advanced Institute of Health Sciences and Technology (SAIHST), Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, South Korea;
| | - Mijung Kwon
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.,Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02115;
| | - Peter J Park
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115;
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29
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Ferguson LR, Chen H, Collins AR, Connell M, Damia G, Dasgupta S, Malhotra M, Meeker AK, Amedei A, Amin A, Ashraf SS, Aquilano K, Azmi AS, Bhakta D, Bilsland A, Boosani CS, Chen S, Ciriolo MR, Fujii H, Guha G, Halicka D, Helferich WG, Keith WN, Mohammed SI, Niccolai E, Yang X, Honoki K, Parslow VR, Prakash S, Rezazadeh S, Shackelford RE, Sidransky D, Tran PT, Yang ES, Maxwell CA. Genomic instability in human cancer: Molecular insights and opportunities for therapeutic attack and prevention through diet and nutrition. Semin Cancer Biol 2015; 35 Suppl:S5-S24. [PMID: 25869442 PMCID: PMC4600419 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2015.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 188] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2014] [Revised: 03/08/2015] [Accepted: 03/13/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Genomic instability can initiate cancer, augment progression, and influence the overall prognosis of the affected patient. Genomic instability arises from many different pathways, such as telomere damage, centrosome amplification, epigenetic modifications, and DNA damage from endogenous and exogenous sources, and can be perpetuating, or limiting, through the induction of mutations or aneuploidy, both enabling and catastrophic. Many cancer treatments induce DNA damage to impair cell division on a global scale but it is accepted that personalized treatments, those that are tailored to the particular patient and type of cancer, must also be developed. In this review, we detail the mechanisms from which genomic instability arises and can lead to cancer, as well as treatments and measures that prevent genomic instability or take advantage of the cellular defects caused by genomic instability. In particular, we identify and discuss five priority targets against genomic instability: (1) prevention of DNA damage; (2) enhancement of DNA repair; (3) targeting deficient DNA repair; (4) impairing centrosome clustering; and, (5) inhibition of telomerase activity. Moreover, we highlight vitamin D and B, selenium, carotenoids, PARP inhibitors, resveratrol, and isothiocyanates as priority approaches against genomic instability. The prioritized target sites and approaches were cross validated to identify potential synergistic effects on a number of important areas of cancer biology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Helen Chen
- Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Michael Cuccione Childhood Cancer Research Program, Child and Family Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Andrew R Collins
- Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marisa Connell
- Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Michael Cuccione Childhood Cancer Research Program, Child and Family Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Giovanna Damia
- Department of Oncology, Instituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico-Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan, Italy
| | - Santanu Dasgupta
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, United States
| | | | - Alan K Meeker
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States
| | - Amedeo Amedei
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Amr Amin
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates; Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - S Salman Ashraf
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Katia Aquilano
- Department of Biology, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Asfar S Azmi
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States
| | - Dipita Bhakta
- School of Chemical and BioTechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Alan Bilsland
- Institute of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Chandra S Boosani
- Department of BioMedical Sciences, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Sophie Chen
- Department of Research & Development, Ovarian and Prostate Cancer Research Trust Laboratory, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | | | - Hiromasa Fujii
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nara Medical University, Kashihara, Nara, Japan
| | - Gunjan Guha
- School of Chemical and BioTechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India
| | | | - William G Helferich
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - W Nicol Keith
- Institute of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Sulma I Mohammed
- Department of Comparative Pathobiology and Purdue University Center for Cancer Research, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Elena Niccolai
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Xujuan Yang
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Kanya Honoki
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nara Medical University, Kashihara, Nara, Japan
| | | | - Satya Prakash
- School of Pharmacy, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Sarallah Rezazadeh
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States
| | - Rodney E Shackelford
- Department of Pathology, Louisiana State University Health Shreveport, Shreveport, LA, United States
| | - David Sidransky
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Phuoc T Tran
- Departments of Radiation Oncology & Molecular Radiation Sciences, Oncology and Urology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Eddy S Yang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Christopher A Maxwell
- Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Michael Cuccione Childhood Cancer Research Program, Child and Family Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada.
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Huang J, Xie Y, Sun X, Zeh HJ, Kang R, Lotze MT, Tang D. DAMPs, ageing, and cancer: The 'DAMP Hypothesis'. Ageing Res Rev 2015; 24:3-16. [PMID: 25446804 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2014.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2014] [Revised: 09/24/2014] [Accepted: 10/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Ageing is a complex and multifactorial process characterized by the accumulation of many forms of damage at the molecular, cellular, and tissue level with advancing age. Ageing increases the risk of the onset of chronic inflammation-associated diseases such as cancer, diabetes, stroke, and neurodegenerative disease. In particular, ageing and cancer share some common origins and hallmarks such as genomic instability, epigenetic alteration, aberrant telomeres, inflammation and immune injury, reprogrammed metabolism, and degradation system impairment (including within the ubiquitin-proteasome system and the autophagic machinery). Recent advances indicate that damage-associated molecular pattern molecules (DAMPs) such as high mobility group box 1, histones, S100, and heat shock proteins play location-dependent roles inside and outside the cell. These provide interaction platforms at molecular levels linked to common hallmarks of ageing and cancer. They can act as inducers, sensors, and mediators of stress through individual plasma membrane receptors, intracellular recognition receptors (e.g., advanced glycosylation end product-specific receptors, AIM2-like receptors, RIG-I-like receptors, and NOD1-like receptors, and toll-like receptors), or following endocytic uptake. Thus, the DAMP Hypothesis is novel and complements other theories that explain the features of ageing. DAMPs represent ideal biomarkers of ageing and provide an attractive target for interventions in ageing and age-associated diseases.
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31
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Garbe JC, Vrba L, Sputova K, Fuchs L, Novak P, Brothman AR, Jackson M, Chin K, LaBarge MA, Watts G, Futscher BW, Stampfer MR. Immortalization of normal human mammary epithelial cells in two steps by direct targeting of senescence barriers does not require gross genomic alterations. Cell Cycle 2015; 13:3423-35. [PMID: 25485586 PMCID: PMC4613853 DOI: 10.4161/15384101.2014.954456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase reactivation and immortalization are critical for human carcinoma progression. However, little is known about the mechanisms controlling this crucial step, due in part to the paucity of experimentally tractable model systems that can examine human epithelial cell immortalization as it might occur in vivo. We achieved efficient non-clonal immortalization of normal human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) by directly targeting the 2 main senescence barriers encountered by cultured HMEC. The stress-associated stasis barrier was bypassed using shRNA to p16INK4; replicative senescence due to critically shortened telomeres was bypassed in post-stasis HMEC by c-MYC transduction. Thus, 2 pathologically relevant oncogenic agents are sufficient to immortally transform normal HMEC. The resultant non-clonal immortalized lines exhibited normal karyotypes. Most human carcinomas contain genomically unstable cells, with widespread instability first observed in vivo in pre-malignant stages; in vitro, instability is seen as finite cells with critically shortened telomeres approach replicative senescence. Our results support our hypotheses that: (1) telomere-dysfunction induced genomic instability in pre-malignant finite cells may generate the errors required for telomerase reactivation and immortalization, as well as many additional “passenger” errors carried forward into resulting carcinomas; (2) genomic instability during cancer progression is needed to generate errors that overcome tumor suppressive barriers, but not required per se; bypassing the senescence barriers by direct targeting eliminated a need for genomic errors to generate immortalization. Achieving efficient HMEC immortalization, in the absence of “passenger” genomic errors, should facilitate examination of telomerase regulation during human carcinoma progression, and exploration of agents that could prevent immortalization.
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Key Words
- BaP, benzo(a)pyrene
- CT, cholera toxin
- DDR, DNA damage response
- DMR, differentially methylated regions
- HMEC, human mammary epithelial cells
- OIS, oncogene-induced senescence
- PD, population doublings
- RB, retinoblastoma protein
- TTS, transcription start site
- X, oxytocin
- c-Myc
- carcinogenesis
- genomic instability
- human mammary epithelial cells
- immortalization
- p, passage
- p16INK4a
- p16sh, shRNA to p16INK4A
- senescence
- telomerase
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Affiliation(s)
- James C Garbe
- a Life Sciences Division ; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ; Berkeley , CA USA
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32
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Macheret M, Halazonetis TD. DNA replication stress as a hallmark of cancer. ANNUAL REVIEW OF PATHOLOGY-MECHANISMS OF DISEASE 2015; 10:425-48. [PMID: 25621662 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-pathol-012414-040424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 501] [Impact Index Per Article: 55.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Human cancers share properties referred to as hallmarks, among which sustained proliferation, escape from apoptosis, and genomic instability are the most pervasive. The sustained proliferation hallmark can be explained by mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressors that regulate cell growth, whereas the escape from apoptosis hallmark can be explained by mutations in the TP53, ATM, or MDM2 genes. A model to explain the presence of the three hallmarks listed above, as well as the patterns of genomic instability observed in human cancers, proposes that the genes driving cell proliferation induce DNA replication stress, which, in turn, generates genomic instability and selects for escape from apoptosis. Here, we review the data that support this model, as well as the mechanisms by which oncogenes induce replication stress. Further, we argue that DNA replication stress should be considered as a hallmark of cancer because it likely drives cancer development and is very prevalent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgane Macheret
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland;
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33
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The role of telomeres in predicting individual radiosensitivity of patients with cancer in the era of personalized radiotherapy. Cancer Treat Rev 2015; 41:354-60. [PMID: 25704912 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2015.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2014] [Revised: 02/02/2015] [Accepted: 02/04/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Radiotherapy plays a key role in cancer treatments, but tumor cell death differs from one tumor to another. The response of patients to radiotherapy varies considerably and adverse side effects are difficult to prevent. The mechanisms involved in the heterogeneity of this response are not well understood. In order to enhance the efficacy and safety of radiotherapy, it is important to identify subpopulations most at risk of developing a late adverse response to radiotherapy. Telomeres are composed of multiple repeats of a unique sequence of nucleotides forming a TTAGGG pattern. They protect chromosomes from end-to-end fusion and maintain genomic stability. Telomeres have been shown to be extremely sensitive to radiotherapy especially because of their atypical DNA damage repair response, which includes partial inhibition of the non-homologous end joining repair pathway. Ionizing Radiation (IR)-induced damage to telomere DNA could lead to chromosome instability and the initiation or progression of tumor processes. Telomeres could thus be a reliable marker of IR exposure and as such become a new parameter for predicting radiosensitivity. Furthermore, short telomeres are more sensitive to radiotherapy, which could partially explain differences in tumor cell death and in inter-individual sensitivity to radiotherapy. Telomere length could be used to identify subpopulations of patients who could benefit from higher or lower doses per fraction. Finally, pharmacological interference with tumor-cell telomere biology to reduce telomere length and/or telomere stability could also enhance the effectiveness and safety of radiotherapy. Telomeres could play a key role in radiotherapy in the era of personalized medicine.
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Tanaka H, Beam MJ, Caruana K. The presence of telomere fusion in sporadic colon cancer independently of disease stage, TP53/KRAS mutation status, mean telomere length, and telomerase activity. Neoplasia 2014; 16:814-23. [PMID: 25379018 PMCID: PMC4212252 DOI: 10.1016/j.neo.2014.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2014] [Revised: 08/19/2014] [Accepted: 08/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Defects in telomere maintenance can result in telomere fusions that likely play a causative role in carcinogenesis by promoting genomic instability. However, this proposition remains to be fully understood in human colon carcinogenesis. In the present study, the temporal sequence of telomere dysfunction dynamics was delineated by analyzing telomere fusion, telomere length, telomerase activity, hotspot mutations in KRAS or BRAF, and TP53 of tissue samples obtained from 18 colon cancer patients. Our results revealed that both the deficiency of p53 and the shortening of mean telomere length were not necessary for producing telomere fusions in colon tissue. In five cases, telomere fusion was observed even in tissue adjacent to cancerous lesions, suggesting that genomic instability is initiated in pathologically non-cancerous lesions. The extent of mean telomere attrition increased with lymph node invasiveness of tumors, implying that mean telomere shortening correlates with colon cancer progression. Telomerase activity was relatively higher in most cancer tissues containing mutation(s) in KRAS or BRAF and/or TP53 compared to those without these hotspot mutations, suggesting that telomerase could become fully active at the late stage of colon cancer development. Interestingly, the majority of telomere fusion junctions in colon cancer appeared to be a chromatid-type containing chromosome 7q or 12q. In sum, this meticulous correlative study not only highlights the concept that telomere fusion is present in the early stages of cancer regardless of TP53/KRAS mutation status, mean telomere length, and telomerase activity, but also provides additional insights targeting key telomere fusion junctions which may have significant implications for colon cancer diagnoses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiromi Tanaka
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, IN, USA
| | - Matthew J Beam
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, IN, USA
| | - Kevin Caruana
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, IN, USA
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Paini M, Crippa S, Partelli S, Scopelliti F, Tamburrino D, Baldoni A, Falconi M. Molecular pathology of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas. World J Gastroenterol 2014; 20:10008-10023. [PMID: 25110429 PMCID: PMC4123331 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i29.10008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2013] [Accepted: 04/09/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the first description of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) of the pancreas in the eighties, their identification has dramatically increased in the last decades, hand to hand with the improvements in diagnostic imaging and sampling techniques for the study of pancreatic diseases. However, the heterogeneity of IPMNs and their malignant potential make difficult the management of these lesions. The objective of this review is to identify the molecular characteristics of IPMNs in order to recognize potential markers for the discrimination of more aggressive IPMNs requiring surgical resection from benign IPMNs that could be observed. We briefly summarize recent research findings on the genetics and epigenetics of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms, identifying some genes, molecular mechanisms and cellular signaling pathways correlated to the pathogenesis of IPMNs and their progression to malignancy. The knowledge of molecular biology of IPMNs has impressively developed over the last few years. A great amount of genes functioning as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes have been identified, in pancreatic juice or in blood or in the samples from the pancreatic resections, but further researches are required to use these informations for clinical intent, in order to better define the natural history of these diseases and to improve their management.
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MESH Headings
- Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics
- Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism
- Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal/classification
- Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal/genetics
- Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal/metabolism
- Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal/pathology
- Carcinoma, Papillary/classification
- Carcinoma, Papillary/genetics
- Carcinoma, Papillary/metabolism
- Carcinoma, Papillary/pathology
- DNA Methylation
- Epigenesis, Genetic
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
- Genetic Predisposition to Disease
- Genetic Testing
- Humans
- Neoplasms, Cystic, Mucinous, and Serous/classification
- Neoplasms, Cystic, Mucinous, and Serous/genetics
- Neoplasms, Cystic, Mucinous, and Serous/metabolism
- Neoplasms, Cystic, Mucinous, and Serous/pathology
- Pancreatic Neoplasms/classification
- Pancreatic Neoplasms/genetics
- Pancreatic Neoplasms/metabolism
- Pancreatic Neoplasms/pathology
- Phenotype
- Predictive Value of Tests
- Signal Transduction
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Wen VW, MacKenzie KL. Modeling human endothelial cell transformation in vascular neoplasias. Dis Model Mech 2014; 6:1066-79. [PMID: 24046386 PMCID: PMC3759327 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.012674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Endothelial cell (EC)-derived neoplasias range from benign hemangioma to aggressive metastatic angiosarcoma, which responds poorly to current treatments and has a very high mortality rate. The development of treatments that are more effective for these disorders will be expedited by insight into the processes that promote abnormal proliferation and malignant transformation of human ECs. The study of primary endothelial malignancy has been limited by the rarity of the disease; however, there is potential for carefully characterized EC lines and animal models to play a central role in the discovery, development and testing of molecular targeted therapies for vascular neoplasias. This review describes molecular alterations that have been identified in EC-derived neoplasias, as well as the processes that underpin the immortalization and tumorigenic conversion of ECs. Human EC lines, established through the introduction of defined genetic elements or by culture of primary tumor tissue, are catalogued and discussed in relation to their relevance as models of vascular neoplasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria W Wen
- Cancer Cell Development Group, Children's Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia
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Wang S, Chen Y, Qu F, He S, Huang X, Jiang H, Jin T, Wan S, Xing J. Association between leukocyte telomere length and glioma risk: a case-control study. Neuro Oncol 2013; 16:505-12. [PMID: 24366909 DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/not240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Compelling epidemiological evidence indicates that alterations of telomere length are associated with risks of many malignancies in a tumor-specific manner, such as lung cancer, breast cancer, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, the association between leukocyte telomere length and glioma risk has not been investigated. METHODS Relative telomere length (RTL) of peripheral blood leukocytes from 467 glioma patients and 467 healthy controls, matched by age and sex, was measured using the real-time PCR-based method in a case-control study. An unconditional multivariate logistic regression model was applied to estimate the association between RTL and glioma risk. RESULTS Glioma patients showed notably longer RTL than controls (median, 0.555 vs 0.444; P > .04). RTL was negatively correlated with age in both cases (ρ = -0.430; P < .001) and controls (ρ = -0.388; P < .001). After adjusting for age, sex, smoking status and family history of cancer, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that there was a U-shaped association between RTL and glioma risk (P for nonlinearity <.001). Compared with individuals in the second tertile of RTL, the odds ratios (95% CI) for participants in the first and third tertiles were 2.16 (range, 1.52-3.09) and 3.51 (range, 2.45-5.00), respectively. Stratified analysis showed that the association between RTL and glioma risk was not modulated by major host characteristics. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrates for the first time that either shorter or longer RTL in peripheral blood leukocytes is associated with increased glioma risk, which warrants further investigation in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaolong Wang
- Department of Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China (S.W., H.J.); State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Experimental Teaching Center of Basic Medicine, Xi'an, China (Y.C., F.Q., X.H., J.X.); Department of Neurosurgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China (S.H.); National Engineering Research Center for Miniaturized Detection Systems, School of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China (T.J.); Division of Population Science, Department of Medical Oncology, Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (S.W.)
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Understanding telomere diseases through analysis of patient-derived iPS cells. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2013; 23:526-33. [PMID: 23993228 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2013.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2013] [Revised: 07/25/2013] [Accepted: 07/26/2013] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
A unique characteristic of tissue stem cells is the ability to self-renew, a process that enables the life-long maintenance of many organs. Stem cell self-renewal is dependent in part on the synthesis of telomere repeats by the enzyme telomerase. Defects in telomerase and in genes in the telomere maintenance pathway result in diverse disease states, including dyskeratosis congenita, pulmonary fibrosis, aplastic anemia, liver cirrhosis and cancer. Many of these disease states share a tissue failure phenotype, such as loss of bone marrow cells or failure of pulmonary epithelium, suggesting that stem cell dysfunction is a common pathophysiological mechanism underlying these telomere diseases. Studies of telomere diseases in undifferentiated iPS cells have provided a quantitative relationship between the magnitude of biochemical defects in the telomerase pathway and disease severity in patients, thereby establishing a clear correlation between genotype and phenotype in telomere disease states. Modeling telomere diseases in iPS cells has also revealed diverse underlying disease mechanisms, including reduced telomerase catalytic activity, diminished assembly of the telomerase holoenzyme and impaired trafficking of the enzyme within the nucleus. These studies highlight the need for therapies tailored to the underlying biochemical defect in each class of patients.
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Roger L, Jones RE, Heppel NH, Williams GT, Sampson JR, Baird DM. Extensive telomere erosion in the initiation of colorectal adenomas and its association with chromosomal instability. J Natl Cancer Inst 2013; 105:1202-11. [PMID: 23918447 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djt191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Telomere shortening, dysfunction, and fusion may facilitate the acquisition of large-scale genomic rearrangements, driving clonal evolution and tumor progression. The relative contribution that telomere dysfunction and/or APC mutation play in the chromosome instability that occurs during colorectal tumorigenesis is not clear. METHODS We used high-resolution telomere length and fusion analysis to analyze 85 adenomatous colorectal polyps obtained from 10 patients with familial adenomatous polyposis and a panel of 50 colorectal carcinomas with patient-matched normal colonic mucosa. Telomerase activity was determined using the telomeric repeat amplification protocol. Array-CGH was used to detect large-scale genomic rearrangements. Pearson correlation and Student t test were used, and all statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Despite the presence of telomerase activity, we observed apparent telomere shortening in colorectal polyps that correlated with large-scale genomic rearrangements (P < .0001) but was independent of polyp size and indistinguishable from that observed in colorectal carcinomas (P = .82). We also observed apparent lengthening of telomeres in both polyps and carcinomas. The extensive differences in mean telomere length of up to 4.6kb between patient-matched normal mucosa and polyps were too large to be accounted for by replicative telomere erosion alone. Telomere fusion events were detected in both polyps and carcinomas; the mutational spectrum accompanying fusion was consistent with alternative nonhomologous end joining. CONCLUSIONS Telomere length distributions observed in colorectal polyps reflect the telomere length composition of the normal originating cells from which clonal growth was initiated. Originating cells containing both short telomeres and APC mutations may give rise to polyps that exhibit short telomeres and are prone to telomere dysfunction, driving genomic instability and progression to malignancy. J Natl Cancer Inst;2013;105:1202-1211.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laureline Roger
- Institute of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
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40
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Matatall KA, Agapova OA, Onken MD, Worley LA, Bowcock AM, Harbour JW. BAP1 deficiency causes loss of melanocytic cell identity in uveal melanoma. BMC Cancer 2013; 13:371. [PMID: 23915344 PMCID: PMC3846494 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2407-13-371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2013] [Accepted: 08/01/2013] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Uveal melanoma is a highly aggressive cancer with a strong propensity for metastasis, yet little is known about the biological mechanisms underlying this metastatic potential. We recently showed that most metastasizing uveal melanomas, which exhibit a class 2 gene expression profile, contain inactivating mutations in the tumor suppressor BAP1. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of BAP1 in uveal melanoma progression. Methods Uveal melanoma cells were studied following RNAi-mediated depletion of BAP1 using proliferation, BrdU incorporation, flow cytometry, migration, invasion, differentiation and clonogenic assays, as well as in vivo tumorigenicity experiments in NOD-SCID-Gamma mice. Results Depletion of BAP1 in uveal melanoma cells resulted in a loss of differentiation and gain of stem-like properties, including expression of stem cell markers, increased capacity for self-replication, and enhanced ability to grow in stem cell conditions. BAP1 depletion did not result in increased proliferation, migration, invasion or tumorigenicity. Conclusions BAP1 appears to function in the uveal melanocyte lineage primarily as a regulator of differentiation, with cells deficient for BAP1 exhibiting stem-like qualities. It will be important to elucidate how this effect of BAP1 loss promotes metastasis and how to reverse this effect therapeutically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie A Matatall
- Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St, Louis, Missouri, USA.
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42
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Glass D, Viñuela A, Davies MN, Ramasamy A, Parts L, Knowles D, Brown AA, Hedman ÅK, Small KS, Buil A, Grundberg E, Nica AC, Di Meglio P, Nestle FO, Ryten M, Durbin R, McCarthy MI, Deloukas P, Dermitzakis ET, Weale ME, Bataille V, Spector TD. Gene expression changes with age in skin, adipose tissue, blood and brain. Genome Biol 2013; 14:R75. [PMID: 23889843 PMCID: PMC4054017 DOI: 10.1186/gb-2013-14-7-r75] [Citation(s) in RCA: 199] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2012] [Revised: 05/13/2013] [Accepted: 07/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous studies have demonstrated that gene expression levels change with age. These changes are hypothesized to influence the aging rate of an individual. We analyzed gene expression changes with age in abdominal skin, subcutaneous adipose tissue and lymphoblastoid cell lines in 856 female twins in the age range of 39-85 years. Additionally, we investigated genotypic variants involved in genotype-by-age interactions to understand how the genomic regulation of gene expression alters with age. RESULTS Using a linear mixed model, differential expression with age was identified in 1,672 genes in skin and 188 genes in adipose tissue. Only two genes expressed in lymphoblastoid cell lines showed significant changes with age. Genes significantly regulated by age were compared with expression profiles in 10 brain regions from 100 postmortem brains aged 16 to 83 years. We identified only one age-related gene common to the three tissues. There were 12 genes that showed differential expression with age in both skin and brain tissue and three common to adipose and brain tissues. CONCLUSIONS Skin showed the most age-related gene expression changes of all the tissues investigated, with many of the genes being previously implicated in fatty acid metabolism, mitochondrial activity, cancer and splicing. A significant proportion of age-related changes in gene expression appear to be tissue-specific with only a few genes sharing an age effect in expression across tissues. More research is needed to improve our understanding of the genetic influences on aging and the relationship with age-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Glass
- Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, St Thomas' Campus, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7EH, UK
- North West London Hospitals NHS Trust, Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow HA1 3UJ, UK
| | - Ana Viñuela
- Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, St Thomas' Campus, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7EH, UK
| | - Matthew N Davies
- Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, St Thomas' Campus, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7EH, UK
| | - Adaikalavan Ramasamy
- Department of Medical ƒ Molecular Genetics, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK
| | | | - David Knowles
- Stanford University, 450 Serra MallStanford, CA 94305, USA
| | | | - Åsa K Hedman
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Kerrin S Small
- Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, St Thomas' Campus, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7EH, UK
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, HinxtonCB10 1SA,UK
| | - Alfonso Buil
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, 1 Rue Michel-Servet (CMU office 9088), Geneva 1211, Switzerland
| | - Elin Grundberg
- Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, St Thomas' Campus, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7EH, UK
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, HinxtonCB10 1SA,UK
| | - Alexandra C Nica
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, 1 Rue Michel-Servet (CMU office 9088), Geneva 1211, Switzerland
| | - Paola Di Meglio
- St. John's Institute of Dermatology, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK
| | - Frank O Nestle
- St. John's Institute of Dermatology, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK
| | - Mina Ryten
- Department of Medical ƒ Molecular Genetics, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK
| | - the UK Brain Expression consortium
- Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, St Thomas' Campus, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7EH, UK
| | | | | | - Mark I McCarthy
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
- Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology ƒ Metabolism, University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, Headington OX3 7LJ,UK
| | | | - Emmanouil T Dermitzakis
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, 1 Rue Michel-Servet (CMU office 9088), Geneva 1211, Switzerland
| | - Michael E Weale
- Department of Medical ƒ Molecular Genetics, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK
| | - Veronique Bataille
- Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, St Thomas' Campus, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7EH, UK
| | - Tim D Spector
- Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, St Thomas' Campus, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7EH, UK
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Ng CKY, Pemberton HN, Reis-Filho JS. Breast cancer intratumor genetic heterogeneity: causes and implications. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther 2013; 12:1021-32. [PMID: 23030222 DOI: 10.1586/era.12.85] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
There is burgeoning evidence to suggest that tumor evolution follows the laws of Darwinian evolution, whereby individual tumor cell clones harbor private genetic aberrations in addition to the founder mutations, and that these distinct populations of cancer cells interact in competitive and mutualistic manners. The combined effect of genetic and epigenetic instability, and differential selective pressures according to the microenvironment and therapeutic interventions, create many different evolutionary routes such that intratumor heterogeneity is inevitable. Numerous cytogenetic, comparative genomic hybridization and, more recently, massively parallel sequencing studies have generated indisputable evidence of this phenomenon. The impact of intratumor heterogeneity on response and resistance to therapy is beginning to be understood; this information may prove crucial for the potentials of personalized medicine to be realized. In this review, the evidence of intratumor heterogeneity in breast cancer, its potential causes and implications for the clinical management of breast cancer patients are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte K Y Ng
- Molecular Pathology Team, Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, London, SW3 6JB, UK
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Abstract
During oncogenesis, cells acquire multiple genetic alterations that confer essential tumor-specific traits, including immortalization, escape from antimitogenic signaling, neovascularization, invasiveness, and metastatic potential. In most instances, these alterations are thought to arise incrementally over years, if not decades. However, recent progress in sequencing cancer genomes has begun to challenge this paradigm, because a radically different phenomenon, termed chromothripsis, has been suggested to cause complex intra- and interchromosomal rearrangements on short timescales. In this Review, we review established pathways crucial for genome integrity and discuss how their dysfunction could precipitate widespread chromosome breakage and rearrangement in the course of malignancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew J K Jones
- Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
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Castro-Vega LJ, Jouravleva K, Liu WY, Martinez C, Gestraud P, Hupé P, Servant N, Albaud B, Gentien D, Gad S, Richard S, Bacchetti S, Londoño-Vallejo A. Telomere crisis in kidney epithelial cells promotes the acquisition of a microRNA signature retrieved in aggressive renal cell carcinomas. Carcinogenesis 2013; 34:1173-80. [PMID: 23358853 DOI: 10.1093/carcin/bgt029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomere shortening is a major source of chromosome instability (CIN) at early stages during carcinogenesis. However, the mechanisms through which telomere-driven CIN (T-CIN) contributes to the acquisition of tumor phenotypes remain uncharacterized. We discovered that human epithelial kidney cells undergoing T-CIN display massive microRNA (miR) expression changes that are not related to local losses or gains. This widespread miR deregulation encompasses a miR-200-dependent epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) that confers to immortalized pre-tumoral cells phenotypic traits of metastatic potential. Remarkably, a miR signature of these cells, comprising a downregulation of miRs with conserved expression in kidney, was retrieved in poorly differentiated aggressive renal cell carcinomas. Our results reveal an unanticipated connection between telomere crisis and the activation of the EMT program that occurs at pre-invasive stages of epithelial cancers, through mechanisms that involve miR deregulation. Thus, this study provides a new rational into how telomere instability contributes to the acquisition of the malignant phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Jaime Castro-Vega
- UMR3244, Telomeres and Cancer Laboratory, Institut Curie, 26 rue d'Ulm, Paris 75248, France
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Gocha ARS, Harris J, Groden J. Alternative mechanisms of telomere lengthening: permissive mutations, DNA repair proteins and tumorigenic progression. Mutat Res 2012; 743-744:142-150. [PMID: 23219603 DOI: 10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2012.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2012] [Revised: 11/22/2012] [Accepted: 11/24/2012] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres protect chromosome termini to maintain genomic stability and regulate cellular lifespan. Maintenance of telomere length is required for neoplastic cells after the acquisition of mutations that deregulate cell cycle control and increase cellular proliferation, and can occur through expression of the enzyme telomerase or in a telomerase-independent manner termed alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). The precise mechanisms that govern the activation of ALT or telomerase in tumor cells are unknown, although cellular origin may favor one or the other mechanisms. ALT pathways are incompletely understood to date; however, recent publications have increasingly broadened our understanding of how ALT is activated, how it proceeds, and how it influences tumor growth. Specific mutational events influence ALT activation, as mutations in genes that suppress recombination and/or alterations in the regulation of telomerase expression are associated with ALT. Once engaged, ALT uses DNA repair proteins to maintain telomeres in the absence of telomerase; experiments that manipulate the expression of specific proteins in cells using ALT are illuminating some of its mechanisms. Furthermore, ALT may influence tumor growth, as experimental and clinical data suggest that telomerase expression may favor tumor progression. This review summarizes recent findings in mammalian cells and models, as well as clinical data, that identify the genetic mutations permissive to ALT, the DNA repair proteins involved in ALT mechanisms and the importance of telomere maintenance mechanisms for tumor progression. A comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that permit tumor cell immortalization will be important for identifying novel therapeutic targets in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- April Renee Sandy Gocha
- Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Julia Harris
- Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Joanna Groden
- Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43210, United States.
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Yan B, Ouyang R, Huang C, Liu F, Neill D, Li C, Dewhirst M. Heat induces gene amplification in cancer cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2012; 427:473-7. [PMID: 22975353 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2012] [Accepted: 09/01/2012] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hyperthermia plays an important role in cancer therapy. However, as with radiation, it can cause DNA damage and therefore genetic instability. We studied whether hyperthermia can induce gene amplification in cancer cells and explored potential underlying molecular mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS (1) Hyperthermia: HCT116 colon cancer cells received water-submerged heating treatment at 42 or 44°C for 30 min; (2) gene amplification assay using N-(phosphoacetyl)-L-aspartate (PALA) selection of cabamyl-P-synthetase, aspartate transcarbarmylase, dihydro-orotase (cad) gene amplified cells; (3) southern blotting for confirmation of increased cad gene copies in PALA-resistant cells; (4) γH2AX immunostaining to detect γH2AX foci as an indication for DNA double strand breaks. RESULTS (1) Heat exposure at 42 or 44°C for 30 min induces gene amplification. The frequency of cad gene amplification increased by 2.8 and 6.5 folds respectively; (2) heat exposure at both 42 and 44°C for 30 min induces DNA double strand breaks in HCT116 cells as shown by γH2AX immunostaining. CONCLUSION This study shows that heat exposure can induce gene amplification in cancer cells, likely through the generation of DNA double strand breaks, which are believed to be required for the initiation of gene amplification. This process may be promoted by heat when cellular proteins that are responsible for checkpoints, DNA replication, DNA repair and telomere functions are denatured. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide direct evidence of hyperthermia induced gene amplification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Yan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39213, USA.
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Giovinazzo F, Turri G, Zanini S, Butturini G, Scarpa A, Bassi C. Clinical implications of biological markers in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Surg Oncol 2012; 21:e171-82. [PMID: 22981281 DOI: 10.1016/j.suronc.2012.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2012] [Revised: 07/17/2012] [Accepted: 07/26/2012] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a malignant neoplasm and is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in US with a 5-year survival rate less than 5%. Surgery is the only potentially curative treatment even though the result is a palliation in the majority of cases and the majority of lesions are lately diagnosed. Progression from normal pancreatic epithelium to metastatic disease is now a well-characterized sequence of events. Research has shown that pancreatic cancer is fundamentally a genetic disease with several biological pathway implied in apoptosis, cell proliferation and self-sufficiency in growth signaling, but how those findings could be applied in daily clinical practice remain unknown. Several studies tried to characterize diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in PDAC to make it possible an earlier diagnosis, guarantee a more effective treatment and reach a better prognosis even though the results remain contrasting. The main limit of the published researches is the small number of patients studied, but even the heterogeneity of the used methods of analysis. Examining critically the research of the last years future trials may be addressed toward a translational models integrating "the bench and the bed" with the clinical experience and drive the basic research toward the clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Giovinazzo
- Laboratory of Translational Surgery, University Laboratories of Medical Research (LURM), G.B. Rossi Hospital, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, Verona 37134, Italy
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Xu L, Li S, Stohr BA. The role of telomere biology in cancer. ANNUAL REVIEW OF PATHOLOGY-MECHANISMS OF DISEASE 2012; 8:49-78. [PMID: 22934675 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-pathol-020712-164030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Telomere biology plays a critical and complex role in the initiation and progression of cancer. Although telomere dysfunction resulting from replicative attrition constrains tumor growth by engaging DNA-damage signaling pathways, it can also promote tumorigenesis by causing oncogenic chromosomal rearrangements. Expression of the telomerase enzyme enables telomere-length homeostasis and allows tumor cells to escape the antiproliferative barrier posed by short telomeres. Telomeres and telomerase also function independently of one another. Recent work has suggested that telomerase promotes cell growth through pathways unrelated to telomere maintenance, and a subset of tumors elongate telomeres through telomerase-independent mechanisms. In an effort to exploit the integral link between telomere biology and cancer growth, investigators have developed several telomerase-based therapeutic strategies, which are currently in clinical trials. Here, we broadly review the state of the field with a particular focus on recent developments of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lifeng Xu
- Department of Microbiology, University of California-Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Pont AR, Sadri N, Hsiao SJ, Smith S, Schneider RJ. mRNA decay factor AUF1 maintains normal aging, telomere maintenance, and suppression of senescence by activation of telomerase transcription. Mol Cell 2012; 47:5-15. [PMID: 22633954 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2012.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2011] [Revised: 03/07/2012] [Accepted: 04/12/2012] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Inflammation is associated with DNA damage, cellular senescence, and aging. Cessation of the inflammatory cytokine response is mediated in part through cytokine mRNA degradation facilitated by RNA-binding proteins, including AUF1. We report a major function of AUF1-it activates telomerase expression, suppresses cellular senescence, and maintains normal aging. AUF1-deficient mice undergo striking telomere erosion, markedly increased DNA damage responses at telomere ends, pronounced cellular senescence, and rapid premature aging that increases with successive generations, which can be rescued in AUF1 knockout mice and their cultured cells by resupplying AUF1 expression. AUF1 binds and strongly activates the transcription promoter for telomerase catalytic subunit Tert. In addition to directing inflammatory cytokine mRNA decay, AUF1 destabilizes cell-cycle checkpoint mRNAs, preventing cellular senescence. Thus, a single gene, AUF1, links maintenance of telomere length and normal aging to attenuation of inflammatory cytokine expression and inhibition of cellular senescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam R Pont
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
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