Association study between epidermal growth factor receptor and epidermal growth factor polymorphisms and endometriosis in a Japanese population

Genetics of endometriosis: a comprehensive review

This review aimed to critically evaluate the review, observational, cohort, and case-control studies performed so far in order to assess the association between endometriosis and genetics. The search strategies used included an online search of the MEDLINE database and a manual search of relevant publications and reviews. Additional reports were collected by systematically reviewing all references from the retrieved papers. Family studies have long suggested that genetic factors play a role in the etiology of endometriosis. Nevertheless, until now, studies on candidate genes have revealed inconsistent and contradictory evidence, leading to more questions rather than clear answers. It is possible that recent technological improvements in genetic evaluation could allow for a better understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of endometriosis in the near future.

Association of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene polymorphisms with endometriosis

AIMS

To investigate the association between polymorphism in the gene encoding the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and susceptibility to endometriosis among women in southwest China.

METHODS

A case-control study involving 201 endometriosis patients and 237 control women without endometriosis was carried out at West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University from June 2016 to December 2017. Two tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of EGFR gene, rs11977660 and rs2072454 were selected, and the distribution of genotypes and alleles was compared between the 2 groups using the chi-squared test with 2-sided contingency tables.

RESULTS

Genotype at rs11977660 was significantly associated with endometriosis (P < .05 for genotype and allele). T/T+C/T genotypes were associated with significantly higher risk of developing endometriosis than the C/C genotype (OR 2.129, 95%CI 1.411-3.212). No significant association was found between genotype at rs2072454 and endometriosis.

CONCLUSION

Genotypes with a T nucleotide at rs11977660 may significantly increase risk of endometriosis in Chinese.

Association of EGFR c.2073A>T Polymorphism with Decreased Risk of Diffusely Infiltrating Astrocytoma in a Brazilian Case-Control Study

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene overexpression has been implicated in the development of many types of tumors, including glioblastomas, the most frequent diffusely infiltrating astrocytomas. However, little is known about the influence of the polymorphisms of EGFR on EGFR production and/or activity, possibly modulating the susceptibility to astrocytomas. This study aimed to examine the association of two EGFR promoter polymorphisms (c-191C>A and c.-216G>T) and the c.2073A>T polymorphism located in exon 16 with susceptibility to astrocytomas, EGFR gene expression and survival in a case-control study of 193 astrocytoma patients and 200 cancer-free controls. We found that the variant TT genotype of the EGFR c.2073A>T polymorphism was associated with a significantly decreased risk of astrocytoma when compared with the AA genotype [sex- and age-adjusted odds ratio 0.51, 95% confidence interval 0.26–0.98]. No association of the two promoter EGFR polymorphisms (or combinations of these polymorphisms) and risk of astrocytomas, EGFR expression or survival was found. Our findings suggest that modulation of the EGFR c.2073A>T polymorphism could play a role in future therapeutic approaches to astrocytoma.

Somatic copy number alterations associated with Japanese or endometriosis in ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma

When compared with other epithelial ovarian cancers, the clinical characteristics of ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCC) include 1) a higher incidence among Japanese, 2) an association with endometriosis, 3) poor prognosis in advanced stages, and 4) a higher incidence of thrombosis as a complication. We used high resolution comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) to identify somatic copy number alterations (SCNAs) associated with each of these clinical characteristics of CCC. The Human Genome CGH 244A Oligo Microarray was used to examine 144 samples obtained from 120 Japanese, 15 Korean, and nine German patients with CCC. The entire 8q chromosome (minimum corrected p-value: q = 0.0001) and chromosome 20q13.2 including the ZNF217 locus (q = 0.0078) were amplified significantly more in Japanese than in Korean or German samples. This copy number amplification of the ZNF217 gene was confirmed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR). ZNF217 RNA levels were also higher in Japanese tumor samples than in non-Japanese samples (P = 0.027). Moreover, endometriosis was associated with amplification of EGFR gene (q = 0.047), which was again confirmed by Q-PCR and correlated with EGFR RNA expression. However, no SCNAs were significantly associated with prognosis or thrombosis. These results indicated that there may be an association between CCC and ZNF217 amplification among Japanese patients as well as between endometriosis and EGFR gene amplifications.

ADAM-10 and -17 regulate endometriotic cell migration via concerted ligand and receptor shedding feedback on kinase signaling

A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinases (ADAMs) are the principal enzymes for shedding receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ectodomains and ligands from the cell surface. Multiple layers of activity regulation, feedback, and catalytic promiscuity impede our understanding of context-dependent ADAM "sheddase" function and our ability to predictably target that function in disease. This study uses combined measurement and computational modeling to examine how various growth factor environments influence sheddase activity and cell migration in the invasive disease of endometriosis. We find that ADAM-10 and -17 dynamically integrate numerous signaling pathways to direct cell motility. Data-driven modeling reveals that induced cell migration is a quantitative function of positive feedback through EGF ligand release and negative feedback through RTK shedding. Although sheddase inhibition prevents autocrine ligand shedding and resultant EGF receptor transactivation, it also leads to an accumulation of phosphorylated receptors (HER2, HER4, and MET) on the cell surface, which subsequently enhances Jnk/p38 signaling. Jnk/p38 inhibition reduces cell migration by blocking sheddase activity while additionally preventing the compensatory signaling from accumulated RTKs. In contrast, Mek inhibition reduces ADAM-10 and -17 activities but fails to inhibit compensatory signaling from accumulated RTKs, which actually enhances cell motility in some contexts. Thus, here we present a sheddase-based mechanism of rapidly acquired resistance to Mek inhibition through reduced RTK shedding that can be overcome with rationally directed combination inhibitor treatment. We investigate the clinical relevance of these findings using targeted proteomics of peritoneal fluid from endometriosis patients and find growth-factor-driven ADAM-10 activity and MET shedding are jointly dysregulated with disease.

Association of epidermal growth factor receptor gene polymorphisms with advanced endometriosis in a Korean population

OBJECTIVES

To determine if specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) gene were meaningful markers for the risk of advanced stage endometriosis in a Korean population.

STUDY DESIGN

Case-control study in a collective of 299 women with endometriosis and 285 controls. Three polymorphisms (151904 A>T [T628T] on exon 16 [rs 17337023], 162093 G>A [Q787Q] on exon 20 [rs 10251977], and 181946 C>T [D994D] on exon 25 [rs 2293347]) were assessed by a Minor Groove Binder (MGB) primer/probe Taqman assay. In-silico haplotypes were deduced using the Haploview (version 3.32) software package.

RESULTS

There were no statistically significant differences in the genotype or haplotype frequencies of the three EGFR polymorphisms between subjects with endometriosis versus the control group. Even when the endometriosis cases were subdivided into stage III and IV based on the ASRM criteria, no statistically significant differences in genotype distribution or haplotype frequencies were observed between the three groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the 151904 A>T, 162093 G>A, and 181946 C>T polymorphisms in the EGFR gene are not associated with advanced stage endometriosis in a Korean population. Our results are in agreement with the results reported by Inagaki et al.

Association between epidermal growth factor polymorphism and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma susceptibility

Genetic factors are known to be important in the development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Epidermal growth factor (EGF) can activate several signaling pathways leading to proliferation, differentiation, and tumorigenesis of epithelial tissues by binding with its receptor. Interindividual variations in EGF production were genetically contributed to EGF +61 G/A polymorphism. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential association between EGF gene polymorphism and ESCC in a Chinese population. In this study, we analyzed single nucleotide polymorphism of EGF +61 G/A in 158 patients with ESCC and 212 age- and sex-matched controls in a Chinese population using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) strategy and DNA sequencing. The variant genotypes of GA/AA were associated with a significantly decreased risk of ESCC compared with the wild-type homozygote GG (OR = 0.657, 95% CI: 0.434-0.996). However, no significant difference was observed between the EGF +61 G/A polymorphism and the risk of ESCC when the analyses were stratified in terms of age, gender, smoking status, different clinical stage, and lymph node status. The EGF +61 G/A polymorphism is associated with ESCC in a Chinese population. Our data suggests that the EGF gene may play a role in the development of ESCC.

Status of HER1 and HER2 in peritoneal, ovarian and colorectal endometriosis and ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinoma

A role for the EGF system, in particular HER1 and 2, in growth of the endometrium has been suggested but HER1 and 2 have not been studied in all locations of endometriosis and in ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinoma (OEC) which is a rare form of malignant transformation of endometriosis. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used for studying HER1 and HER2 in ovarian (n = 10), peritoneal (n = 10), colorectal endometriosis (n = 20) and OEC (n = 10). Fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) was used for analysing the status of HER2 gene in colorectal endometriosis and OEC. All samples were negative for HER2 in both glandular and stromal cells and in glandular cells for HER1 by IHC. In 15 out of 20 colorectal endometriosis, there was a weak expression in stromal cells. Following FISH, two colorectal samples had a partial 17 aneusomy and three OEC, a 17 polysomy. The other samples were 17 disomic without HER2 amplification; HER1 and 2 do not seem to have a role in endometriosis physiopathology.