1
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Gazzellone A, Sangiorgi E. From Churchill to Elephants: The Role of Protective Genes against Cancer. Genes (Basel) 2024; 15:118. [PMID: 38255007 PMCID: PMC10815068 DOI: 10.3390/genes15010118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Richard Peto's paradox, first described in 1975 from an epidemiological perspective, established an inverse correlation between the probability of developing cancer in multicellular organisms and the number of cells. Larger animals exhibit fewer tumors compared to smaller ones, though exceptions exist. Mice are more susceptible to cancer than humans, while elephants and whales demonstrate significantly lower cancer prevalence rates than humans. How nature and evolution have addressed the issue of cancer in the animal kingdom remains largely unexplored. In the field of medicine, much attention has been devoted to cancer-predisposing genes, as they offer avenues for intervention, including blocking, downregulating, early diagnosis, and targeted treatment. Predisposing genes also tend to manifest clinically earlier and more aggressively, making them easier to identify. However, despite significant strides in modern medicine, the role of protective genes lags behind. Identifying genes with a mild predisposing effect poses a significant challenge. Consequently, comprehending the protective function conferred by genes becomes even more elusive, and their very existence is subject to questioning. While the role of variable expressivity and penetrance defects of the same variant in a family is well-documented for many hereditary cancer syndromes, attempts to delineate the function of protective/modifier alleles have been restricted to a few instances. In this review, we endeavor to elucidate the role of protective genes observed in the animal kingdom, within certain genetic syndromes that appear to act as cancer-resistant/repressor alleles. Additionally, we explore the role of protective alleles in conditions predisposing to cancer. The ultimate goal is to discern why individuals, like Winston Churchill, managed to live up to 91 years of age, despite engaging in minimal physical activity, consuming large quantities of alcohol daily, and not abstaining from smoking.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eugenio Sangiorgi
- Sezione di Medicina Genomica, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Sanità Pubblica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy;
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2
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Bragina EY, Gomboeva DE, Saik OV, Ivanisenko VA, Freidin MB, Nazarenko MS, Puzyrev VP. Apoptosis Genes as a Key to Identification of Inverse Comorbidity of Huntington's Disease and Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24119385. [PMID: 37298337 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24119385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer and neurodegenerative disorders present overwhelming challenges for healthcare worldwide. Epidemiological studies showed a decrease in cancer rates in patients with neurodegenerative disorders, including the Huntington disease (HD). Apoptosis is one of the most important processes for both cancer and neurodegeneration. We suggest that genes closely connected with apoptosis and associated with HD may affect carcinogenesis. We applied reconstruction and analysis of gene networks associated with HD and apoptosis and identified potentially important genes for inverse comorbidity of cancer and HD. The top 10 high-priority candidate genes included APOE, PSEN1, INS, IL6, SQSTM1, SP1, HTT, LEP, HSPA4, and BDNF. Functional analysis of these genes was carried out using gene ontology and KEGG pathways. By exploring genome-wide association study results, we identified genes associated with neurodegenerative and oncological disorders, as well as their endophenotypes and risk factors. We used publicly available datasets of HD and breast and prostate cancers to analyze the expression of the identified genes. Functional modules of these genes were characterized according to disease-specific tissues. This integrative approach revealed that these genes predominantly exert similar functions in different tissues. Apoptosis along with lipid metabolism dysregulation and cell homeostasis maintenance in the response to environmental stimulus and drugs are likely key processes in inverse comorbidity of cancer in patients with HD. Overall, the identified genes represent the promising targets for studying molecular relations of cancer and HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Yu Bragina
- Research Institute of Medical Genetics, Tomsk National Research Medical Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Densema E Gomboeva
- Research Institute of Medical Genetics, Tomsk National Research Medical Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Olga V Saik
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir A Ivanisenko
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Maxim B Freidin
- Research Institute of Medical Genetics, Tomsk National Research Medical Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Biology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Centre of Omics Technology, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Maria S Nazarenko
- Research Institute of Medical Genetics, Tomsk National Research Medical Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of General Medicine, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Valery P Puzyrev
- Research Institute of Medical Genetics, Tomsk National Research Medical Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of General Medicine, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
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3
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Hasholt LF. Upregulated Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy May Perform a Key Role in Reduced Cancer Incidence in Huntington's Disease. J Huntingtons Dis 2023; 12:371-376. [PMID: 37927269 PMCID: PMC11091607 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-230586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Incidence of cancer is markedly reduced in patients with the hereditary neurodegenerative polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases. We have very poor knowledge of the underlying molecular mechanisms, but the expanded polyQ sequence is assumed to play a central role, because it is common to the respective disease related proteins. The inhibition seems to take place in all kinds of cells, because the lower cancer frequency applies to nearly all types of tumors and is not related with the characteristic pathological changes in specific brain tissues. Further, the cancer repressing mechanisms appear to be active early in life including in pre-symptomatic and early phase polyQ patients. Autophagy plays a central role in clearing proteins with expanded polyQ tracts, and autophagy modulation has been demonstrated and particularly investigated in Huntington's disease (HD). Macroautophagy may be dysfunctional due to defects in several steps of the process, whereas increased chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) has been shown in HD patients, cell and animal models. Recently, CMA is assumed to play a key role in prevention of cellular transformation of normal cells into cancer cells. Investigations of normal cells from HD and other polyQ carriers could therefore add further insight into the protective mechanisms of CMA in tumorigenesis, and be important for development of autophagy based strategies to prevent malignant processes leading to cancer and neurodegeneration.
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4
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Chan LL, Hill A, Lu G, Van Raamsdonk J, Gascoyne R, Hayden MR, Leavitt BR. Huntingtin Overexpression Does Not Alter Overall Survival in Murine Cancer Models. J Huntingtons Dis 2022; 11:383-389. [PMID: 36442204 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-220554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
A reduced incidence of various forms of cancer has been reported in Huntington's disease patients and may be due to pro-apoptotic effects of mutant huntingtin. We tested this hypothesis by assessing the effects of huntingtin protein overexpression on survival in two murine cancer models. We generated YAC HD mice containing human huntingtin transgenes with various CAG tract lengths (YAC18, YAC72, YAC128) on either an Msh2 or p53 null background which have increased cancer incidence. In both mouse models of cancer, the overexpression of either mutant or wild-type huntingtin had no significant effect on overall survival. These results do not support the hypothesis that mutant huntingtin expression is protective against cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Lynn Chan
- Department of Medical Genetics and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Austin Hill
- Department of Medical Genetics and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Ge Lu
- Department of Medical Genetics and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Jeremy Van Raamsdonk
- Laboratory of Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease, Center for Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.,Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Metabolic Disorders and Complications Program, and Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Randy Gascoyne
- Center for Lymphoid Cancer, British Columbia Cancer, Vancouver, BC, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Michael R Hayden
- Department of Medical Genetics and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Blair R Leavitt
- Department of Medical Genetics and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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5
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Manini A, Gagliardi D, Meneri M, Antognozzi S, Del Bo R, Scaglione C, Comi GP, Corti S, Ronchi D. Analysis of
HTT
CAG
repeat expansion in Italian patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2022; 9:1820-1825. [DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Arianna Manini
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
| | - Delia Gagliardi
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Neurology Unit IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan Italy
| | - Megi Meneri
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
| | - Sara Antognozzi
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
| | - Roberto Del Bo
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
| | - Cesa Scaglione
- IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna Bologna Italy
| | - Giacomo Pietro Comi
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
- Department of Neuroscience IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Neuromuscular and Rare Diseases Unit Milan Italy
| | - Stefania Corti
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Neurology Unit IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan Italy
| | - Dario Ronchi
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Neurology Unit IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan Italy
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6
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How the variability between computer-assisted analysis procedures evaluating immune markers can influence patients' outcome prediction. Histochem Cell Biol 2021; 156:461-478. [PMID: 34383240 DOI: 10.1007/s00418-021-02022-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Differences between computer-assisted image analysis (CAI) algorithms may cause discrepancies in the identification of immunohistochemically stained immune biomarkers in biopsies of breast cancer patients. These discrepancies have implications for their association with disease outcome. This study aims to compare three CAI procedures (A, B and C) to measure positive marker areas in post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy biopsies of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and to explore the differences in their performance in determining the potential association with relapse in these patients. A total of 3304 digital images of biopsy tissue obtained from 118 TNBC patients were stained for seven immune markers using immunohistochemistry (CD4, CD8, FOXP3, CD21, CD1a, CD83, HLA-DR) and were analyzed with procedures A, B and C. The three methods measure the positive pixel markers in the total tissue areas. The extent of agreement between paired CAI procedures, a principal component analysis (PCA) and Cox multivariate analysis was assessed. Comparisons of paired procedures showed close agreement for most of the immune markers at low concentration. The probability of differences between the paired procedures B/C and B/A was generally higher than those observed in C/A. The principal component analysis, largely based on data from CD8, CD1a and HLA-DR, identified two groups of patients with a significantly lower probability of relapse than the others. The multivariate regression models showed similarities in the factors associated with relapse for procedures A and C, as opposed to those obtained with procedure B. General agreement among the results of CAI procedures would not guarantee that the same predictive breast cancer markers were consistently identified. These results highlight the importance of developing additional strategies to improve the sensitivity of CAI procedures.
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7
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Dewan R, Scholz SW, Chiò A, Traynor BJ. Highlighting the clinical potential of HTT repeat expansions in Frontotemporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Neuron 2021; 109:1947-1948. [PMID: 34139184 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ramita Dewan
- Neuromuscular Diseases Research Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Sonja W Scholz
- Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Unit, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University Medical Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Adriano Chiò
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin 10126, Italy; Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, C.N.R., Rome 00185, Italy; Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin 10126, Italy
| | - Bryan J Traynor
- Neuromuscular Diseases Research Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University Medical Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; Reta Lila Weston Institute, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 1PJ, UK.
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8
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Thomas Q, Coarelli G, Heinzmann A, Le Ber I, Amador MDM, Durr A. Questioning the causality of HTT CAG-repeat expansions in FTD/ALS. Neuron 2021; 109:1945-1946. [PMID: 34139183 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Thomas
- AP-HP, Genetic Department, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Giulia Coarelli
- AP-HP, Genetic Department, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; Sorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Anna Heinzmann
- AP-HP, Genetic Department, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; Sorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Isabelle Le Ber
- Sorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France; AP-HP, National Reference center "rare and young dementias," IM2A, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Maria Del Mar Amador
- AP-HP, Genetic Department, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; Sorbonne University, Department of Neurology, National Reference center ALS Paris, AP-HP, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Alexandra Durr
- AP-HP, Genetic Department, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; Sorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France.
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9
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Benn CL, Gibson KR, Reynolds DS. Drugging DNA Damage Repair Pathways for Trinucleotide Repeat Expansion Diseases. J Huntingtons Dis 2021; 10:203-220. [PMID: 32925081 PMCID: PMC7990437 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-200421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
DNA damage repair (DDR) mechanisms have been implicated in a number of neurodegenerative diseases (both genetically determined and sporadic). Consistent with this, recent genome-wide association studies in Huntington’s disease (HD) and other trinucleotide repeat expansion diseases have highlighted genes involved in DDR mechanisms as modifiers for age of onset, rate of progression and somatic instability. At least some clinical genetic modifiers have been shown to have a role in modulating trinucleotide repeat expansion biology and could therefore provide new disease-modifying therapeutic targets. In this review, we focus on key considerations with respect to drug discovery and development using DDR mechanisms as a target for trinucleotide repeat expansion diseases. Six areas are covered with specific reference to DDR and HD: 1) Target identification and validation; 2) Candidate selection including therapeutic modality and delivery; 3) Target drug exposure with particular focus on blood-brain barrier penetration, engagement and expression of pharmacology; 4) Safety; 5) Preclinical models as predictors of therapeutic efficacy; 6) Clinical outcome measures including biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline L Benn
- LoQus23 Therapeutics, Riverside, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - Karl R Gibson
- Sandexis Medicinal Chemistry Ltd, Innovation House, Discovery Park, Sandwich, Kent, UK
| | - David S Reynolds
- LoQus23 Therapeutics, Riverside, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK
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10
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Pierron L, Hennessy J, Tezenas du Montcel S, Coarelli G, Heinzmann A, Schaerer E, Herson A, Petit E, Gargiulo M, Durr A. Informing about genetic risk in families with Huntington disease: comparison of attitudes across two decades. Eur J Hum Genet 2020; 29:672-679. [PMID: 33299145 DOI: 10.1038/s41431-020-00776-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The low uptake of presymptomatic testing in Huntington disease prompted us to question family members on how they handle the transmission of information regarding genetic risk. We hypothesised that in 2019, parents would inform their at-risk children about their genetic risk more and at a younger age than in 2000, given the availability of prenatal diagnosis, French legislation changes since 2011, and recent therapeutic advances. We made a questionnaire available about the transmission of genetic information within families with Huntington disease in 2000 and 2019. We obtained 443 questionnaires (295 in 2019 and 148 in 2000). Participants were mainly at-risk for Huntington disease (n = 113), affected (n = 85), and spouses (n = 154). In 2019, participants had a higher mean education level (p < 0.01) and a mean age of 44.1 ± 15.1 years (vs 48.1 ± 11.4 years in 2000, p < 0.01). They had been informed about the risk of being a carrier at around 30 years of age (29.0 ± 14.2 in 2019 vs 32.2 ± 13.8 in 2000, p = 0.09). However, they would inform at an earlier age (≤18 years, 67% vs 59%, p = 0.16). Information on transmission risk had been given primarily by parents (45% vs 30%, p = 0.06). In addition, genetic testing for relatives unaware of their status was recommended more frequently in 2019 (46% vs 32%, p < 0.001). Respondents in 2019 recommended genetic testing more often but overall attitudes towards information and testing have not changed significantly over the 19-year time period since the questionnaire was first delivered even despite recent clinical trials potential disease modifying therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Pierron
- AP-HP, Department of Genetics, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Juliette Hennessy
- Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute (ICM), AP-HP, INSERM, CNRS, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Sophie Tezenas du Montcel
- Sorbonne Université, Medical Information Unit, AP-HP, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis de Santé Publique, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Giulia Coarelli
- Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute (ICM), AP-HP, INSERM, CNRS, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Anna Heinzmann
- Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute (ICM), AP-HP, INSERM, CNRS, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Elodie Schaerer
- AP-HP, Department of Genetics, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France.,AP-HP, Institute of Myology, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Ariane Herson
- AP-HP, Department of Genetics, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France.,AP-HP, Institute of Myology, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Elodie Petit
- Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute (ICM), AP-HP, INSERM, CNRS, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Marcela Gargiulo
- AP-HP, Department of Genetics, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France. .,AP-HP, Institute of Myology, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France. .,Université de Paris, Laboratoire de Psychologie Clinique et Psychopathologie, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Institut de Psychologie, EA 4056, Paris, France.
| | - Alexandra Durr
- Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute (ICM), AP-HP, INSERM, CNRS, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France.
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11
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Gomboeva DE, Bragina EY, Nazarenko MS, Puzyrev VP. The Inverse Comorbidity between Oncological Diseases and Huntington’s Disease: Review of Epidemiological and Biological Evidence. RUSS J GENET+ 2020. [DOI: 10.1134/s1022795420030059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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12
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Durr A. [Anti-sense oligonucleotides RNA therapy in Huntington disease: a great promise and many unknowns]. Med Sci (Paris) 2019; 35:834-836. [PMID: 31845872 DOI: 10.1051/medsci/2019165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Durr
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du cerveau et de la moelle épinière (ICM), AP-HP, Inserm, CNRS, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, 47-83 boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France
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13
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Abstract
Huntingtin (HTT) is a scaffold protein mostly known because it gives rise to the severe and incurable inherited neurological disorder Huntington’s disease (HD) when mutated. The Huntingtin gene (HTT) carries a polymorphic trinucleotide expansion of CAGs in exon 1 that ranges from 9 to 35 in the non-HD affected population. However, if it exceeds 35 CAG repeats, the altered protein is referred to as mutant HTT and leads to the development of HD. Given the wide spectrum of severe symptoms developed by HD individuals, wild-type and mutant HTT have been mostly studied in the context of this disorder. However, HTT expression is ubiquitous and several peripheral symptoms in HD have been described, suggesting that HTT is of importance, not only in the central nervous system (CNS), but also in peripheral organs. Accordingly, HTT and mutant HTT may interfere with non-brain-related diseases. Correlative studies have highlighted a decreased cancer incidence in the HD population and both wild-type and mutant HTT have been implicated in tumor progression. In this review, we describe the current evidence linking wild-type and mutant HTT to cancer and discuss how CAG polymorphism, HTT function, and partners may influence carcinogenesis and metastatic progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgane Sonia Thion
- Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Sandrine Humbert
- Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences, GIN, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France.,INSERM, U1216, Grenoble, France
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14
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Satange R, Chang CK, Hou MH. A survey of recent unusual high-resolution DNA structures provoked by mismatches, repeats and ligand binding. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:6416-6434. [PMID: 29945186 PMCID: PMC6061790 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The structure of the DNA duplex is arguably one of the most important biological structures elucidated in modern history. DNA duplex structure is closely associated with essential biological functions such as DNA replication and RNA transcription. In addition to the classical A-, B- and Z-DNA conformations, DNA duplexes are capable of assuming a variety of alternative conformations depending on the sequence and environmental context. A considerable number of these unusual DNA duplex structures have been identified in the past decade, and some of them have been found to be closely associated with different biological functions and pathological conditions. In this manuscript, we review a selection of unusual DNA duplex structures, particularly those originating from base pair mismatch, repetitive sequence motifs and ligand-induced structures. Although the biological significance of these novel structures has not yet been established in most cases, the illustrated conformational versatility of DNA could have relevance for pharmaceutical or nanotechnology development. A perspective on the future directions of this field is also presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roshan Satange
- Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.,Ph.D. Program in Medical Biotechnology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Ke Chang
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Hon Hou
- Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.,Ph.D. Program in Medical Biotechnology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
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15
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Morton AJ, Skillings EA, Wood NI, Zheng Z. Antagonistic pleiotropy in mice carrying a CAG repeat expansion in the range causing Huntington's disease. Sci Rep 2019; 9:37. [PMID: 30631090 PMCID: PMC6328633 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-37102-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 11/28/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Antagonist pleiotropy, where a gene exerts a beneficial effect at early stages and a deleterious effect later on in an animal’s life, may explain the evolutionary persistence of devastating genetic diseases such as Huntington’s disease (HD). To date, however, there is little direct experimental evidence to support this theory. Here, we studied a transgenic mouse carrying the HD mutation with a repeat of 50 CAGs (R6/2_50) that is within the pathological range of repeats causing adult-onset disease in humans. R6/2_50 mice develop characteristic HD brain aggregate pathology, with aggregates appearing predominantly in the striatum and cortex. However, they show few signs of disease in their lifetime. On the contrary, R6/2_50 mice appear to benefit from carrying the mutation. They have extended lifespans compared to wildtype (WT) mice, and male mice show enhanced fecundity. Furthermore, R6/2_50 mice outperform WT mice on the rotarod and show equal or better performance in the two choice discrimination task than WT mice. This novel mouse line provides direct experimental evidence that, although the HD mutation causes a fatal neurodegenerative disorder, there may be premorbid benefits of carrying the mutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Morton
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3DY, United Kingdom.
| | - E A Skillings
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3DY, United Kingdom
| | - N I Wood
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3DY, United Kingdom
| | - Z Zheng
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3DY, United Kingdom
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Coarelli G, Diallo A, Thion MS, Rinaldi D, Calvas F, Boukbiza OL, Tataru A, Charles P, Tranchant C, Marelli C, Ewenczyk C, Tchikviladzé M, Monin ML, Carlander B, Anheim M, Brice A, Mochel F, Tezenas du Montcel S, Humbert S, Durr A. Low cancer prevalence in polyglutamine expansion diseases. Neurology 2017; 88:1114-1119. [DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000003725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2016] [Accepted: 11/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective:Polyglutamine (PolyQ) diseases are dominantly transmitted neurologic disorders, caused by coding and expanded CAG trinucleotide repeats. Cancer was reported retrospectively to be rare in patients with PolyQ diseases and we aimed to investigate its prevalence in France.Methods:Consecutive patients with Huntington disease (HD) and spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) were questioned about cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and related risk factors in 4 university hospitals in Paris, Toulouse, Strasbourg, and Montpellier. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR), based on age- and sex-adjusted rate of the French population, were assessed for different types of cancer.Results:We questioned 372 patients with HD and 134 patients with SCA. SIR showed significantly reduced risk of cancer in HD: 23 observed cases vs 111.05 expected ones (SIR 0.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.13–0.31), as well as in SCA: 7 observed cases vs 34.73 expected (SIR 0.23, 95% CI 0.08–0.42). This was surprising since risk behavior for cancer was increased in these patients, with significantly greater tobacco and alcohol consumption in patients with HD vs patients with SCA (p < 0.0056). There was no association between CAG repeat size and cancer or cardiovascular disease. However, in patients with HD, skin cancers were more frequent than expected (5 vs 0.98, SIR 5.11, 95% CI 1.65–11.95).Conclusions:There was a decreased cancer rate in PolyQ diseases despite high incidence of risk factors. Intriguingly, skin cancer incidence was higher, suggesting a crosstalk between neurodegeneration and skin tumorigenesis.
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