Transcriptional frameshifts contribute to protein allergenicity

Transcription infidelity (TI) is a mechanism that increases RNA and protein diversity. We found that single-base omissions (i.e., gaps) occurred at significantly higher rates in the RNA of highly allergenic legumes. Transcripts from peanut, soybean, sesame, and mite allergens contained a higher density of gaps than those of nonallergens. Allergen transcripts translate into proteins with a cationic carboxy terminus depleted in hydrophobic residues. In mice, recombinant TI variants of the peanut allergen Ara h 2, but not the canonical allergen itself, induced, without adjuvant, the production of anaphylactogenic specific IgE (sIgE), binding to linear epitopes on both canonical and TI segments of the TI variants. The removal of cationic proteins from bovine lactoserum markedly reduced its capacity to induce sIgE. In peanut-allergic children, the sIgE reactivity was directed toward both canonical and TI segments of Ara h 2 variants. We discovered 2 peanut allergens, which we believe to be previously unreported, because of their RNA-DNA divergence gap patterns and TI peptide amino acid composition. Finally, we showed that the sIgE of children with IgE-negative milk allergy targeted cationic proteins in lactoserum. We propose that it is not the canonical allergens, but their TI variants, that initiate sIgE isotype switching, while both canonical and TI variants elicit clinical allergic reactions.

Identification of a Circulating MicroRNA Profile as a Biomarker of Metastatic Cutaneous Melanoma

No specific biomarkers for prognostication or evaluation of tumour load in melanoma have been reported to our knowledge. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are strongly implicated in oncogenesis and tumour progression, and their circulating forms have been studied as potential biomarkers in oncology. The aim of this prospective study was to identify a melanoma-specific profile of plasma miRNAs. A screening phase, using RNA microarray, was conducted on plasma from 14 patients with metastatic melanoma and 5 healthy subjects. Selected miRNAs were analysed by RTqPCR in 2 independent training and validation cohorts including, respectively, 29 and 31 patients and 16 and 43 control subjects. A profile of 2 miRNAs (miR-1246 and miR-185) significantly associated with metastatic melanoma with a sensitivity of 90.5% and a specificity of 89.1% was identified. This plasma miRNA profile may become an accurate non-invasive biomarker for melanoma.

Abstract 5287: RNA DNA divergences: An unsuspected marker of cancer genomic instability accurately predicts triple-negative breast cancer severity

Next generation sequencing provides 3 measures of cancer genomic instability i.e. somatic DNA variations, differential gene expression and RNA DNA divergences (RDD). The latter reflects changes in RNA sequences that are not present at the DNA level. Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) represent the most severe form of the disease and are currently not amenable to targeted therapies nor to prognosis testing. We used the 3 measures of genomic instability to construct specific optimal algorithms that effectively separated 20 TNBC patients with poor or good clinical outcomes: 11 patients died from the disease within 1000 days following diagnosis of non metastatic TNBC while 9 were alive after 2500 days of follow up. All 3 models efficiently separated these 2 clinically polarized groups. However, only RDD based algorithms and not those relying on somatic mutations and expression profiles retains performances in excess of 90% accuracy after statistical cross validation. The 3 models were then applied in blind to 45 unknown patients with the same inclusion criteria i.e. non metastatic TNBC diagnosed before the age of 65 irrespective of menopausal, lymph node, tumor size and ethnic origin or recruitment centers. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the RDD based algorithm was highly predictive of clinical outcome i.e. 100% of patients predicted with good outcome were alive while 80% of patients predicted with poor outcome died in the same time interval (p<10-5). Algorithm based on somatic mutations and expression failed to predict clinical outcome in Kaplan-Meier analysis of validation set (p = NS). We then applied RDD predictive algorithm to TNBC cell lines and found that cells with RDD rate leading to poor clinical outcome prediction were statistically significantly associated with higher invasion and migration capacity (p<0.001). Inactivation of the expression of the most important transcript contributing to the RDD model reversed the in vitro phenotype. Comparison of RDD events occurring in good an poor outcome patients showed statistically significant differences in affected and replacement bases between the 2 groups. Therefore, RDD originate in non-random defects in the transfer of information between DNA and RNA that strongly contribute to tumor severity, further identification of specific transcripts differentially affected by RDD rate between poor and good clinical outcome allows development of novel strategies for selective therapeutic intervention.

Citation Format: Bernard E. Bihain, Stéphane Verdun, Julie Tomasina, Benoit Hilselberger, Marie Brulliard, Lionel Bonnard, Marina Trarbach, Olivier Roitel, Sandrine Jacquenet, Virginie Ogier, Jean-Pierre Armand, Benoit Thouvenot. RNA DNA divergences: An unsuspected marker of cancer genomic instability accurately predicts triple-negative breast cancer severity. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5287. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5287

Abstract 2225: First double validation of transcription infidelity biomarkers for breast cancer diagnosis

Comparison of cancer versus normal transcriptome identified single base variations occurring at increasing rates in cancer (Brulliard et al PNAS 2007). These variations are not explained by somatic mutations, polymorphisms nor alternate splicing but are caused by errors made by RNA polymerase II while copying DNA i.e. transcription infidelity (TI). Omission of single base is the TI event that most dramatically increases in cancer. RNAs carrying these frame shifts translate into proteins with distinctive carboxy terminal AA sequences. Molecular characterisation of such variant that can not be encoded by translation of the 6 phases of human or mice genome led to its detection in mice and human cancer cell lines (LLC1, B16F10, NCI-H23 and HT29). TI proteins contain specific epitopes of IgG that are part of innate humoral immunity. Injections of cancer cells to syngenic mice elicit a shift from innate to adaptive humoral response thereby establishing a causal relationship between over production of TI proteins and humoral immune response to cancer. These pre-clinical models provide for the first time a quantitative measure of cancer induced changes in IgG with reactivity specific of TI proteins and no reactivity with proteins encoded by RNA without frame shift. Using samples collected in 2 independent centres and that included age matched [median 53 y range 30 to 70 y] controls (n=227) and breast cancers (n=285), a combination 24 TI biomarkers yielded detection of breast cancers with 95 % sensitivity and 97 % specificity. Area under receiver operating curve was 0.98. These collections contain all stages of the disease with 84 % ductal, 10 % lobular and 6 % other histologic types. Test performances were 94 %, 100 % and 88% for the each type respectively. Triple negative patients represented 14 % of breast cancers and 95 % had positive testing. There were no differences in performances between the 2 recruitment centres and no detectable interferences caused by associated non malignant pathological conditions. Two men with breast cancer not included in training set were correctly classified.

We propose that a novel mechanism -TI- increases in cancer contributing to very high heterogeneity of cancer transcriptome and proteome. TI proteins are recognized as danger signals contributing to cancer immunogenicity. The first clinical application yielded high performances blood based breast cancer diagnosis. Prospective large scale multi centres cases controls study applying standardized blood sampling procedures and optimized analytical conditions and including controls, breast cancer, as well as lung cancer patients is ongoing. Preliminary analysis indicates that sensitivity and specificity > 98 % will be achieved for both types of cancer. Further breast cancer test does not cross react with lung cancer and vice versa.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2225. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2225

A novel immunoassay using recombinant allergens simplifies peanut allergy diagnosis

BACKGROUND

Double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC) is currently considered the gold standard for peanut allergy diagnosis. However, this procedure that requires the hospitalization of patients, mostly children, in specialized centers for oral exposure to allergens may cause severe reactions requiring emergency measures. Thus, a simpler and safer diagnosis procedure is needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of a new set of in vitro blood tests for peanut allergy.

METHODS

The levels of IgE directed towards peanut extract and recombinant peanut allergens Ara h 1, Ara h 2, Ara h 3, Ara h 6, Ara h 7, and Ara h 8 were measured in 3 groups of patients enrolled at 2 independent centers: patients with proven peanut allergy (n=166); pollen-sensitized subjects without peanut allergy (n=61), and control subjects without allergic disease (n=10).

RESULTS

Seventy-nine percent of the pollen-sensitized patients showed IgE binding to peanut, despite their tolerance to peanut. In contrast, combining the results of specific IgE to peanut extract and to recombinant Ara h 2 and Ara h 6 yielded a peanut allergy diagnosis with a 98% sensitivity and an 85% specificity at a positivity threshold of 0.10 kU/l. Use of a threshold of 0.23 kU/l for recombinant Ara h 2 increased specificity (96%) at the cost of sensitivity (93%).

CONCLUSION

A simple blood test can be used to diagnose peanut allergy with a high level of precision. However, DBPCFC will remain useful for the few cases where immunological and clinical observations yield conflicting results.

Nonrandom variations in human cancer ESTs indicate that mRNA heterogeneity increases during carcinogenesis

Virtually all cancer biological attributes are heterogeneous. Because of this, it is currently difficult to reconcile results of cancer transcriptome and proteome experiments. It is also established that cancer somatic mutations arise at rates higher than suspected, but yet are insufficient to explain all cancer cell heterogeneity. We have analyzed sequence variations of 17 abundantly expressed genes in a large set of human ESTs originating from either normal or cancer samples. We show that cancer ESTs have greater variations than normal ESTs for >70% of the tested genes. These variations cannot be explained by known and putative SNPs. Furthermore, cancer EST variations were not random, but were determined by the composition of the substituted base (b0) as well as that of the bases located upstream (up to b - 4) and downstream (up to b + 3) of the substitution event. The replacement base was also not randomly selected but corresponded in most cases (73%) to a repetition of b - 1 or of b + 1. Base substitutions follow a specific pattern of affected bases: A and T substitutions were preferentially observed in cancer ESTs. In contrast, cancer somatic mutations [Sjoblom T, et al. (2006) Science 314:268-274] and SNPs identified in the genes of the current study occurred preferentially with C and G. On the basis of these observations, we developed a working hypothesis that cancer EST heterogeneity results primarily from increased transcription infidelity.

Characterization of the molecular mechanisms involved in the differential production of erythrose-4-phosphate dehydrogenase, 3-phosphoglycerate kinase and class II fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase in Escherichia coli

A gapA-pgk gene tandem coding the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and 3-phosphoglycerate kinase, is most frequently found in bacteria. However, in Enterobacteriaceae, gapA is replaced by an epd open reading frame (ORF) coding an erythrose-4-phosphate dehydrogenase and an fbaA ORF coding the class II fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase follows pgk. Although epd expression is very low in Escherichia coli, we show that, in the presence of glucose, the 3 epd, pgk and fbaA ORFs are efficiently cotranscribed from promoter epd P0. Conservation of promoter epd P0 is likely due to its important role in modulation of the metabolic flux during glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. As a consequence, we found that the epd translation initiation region and ORF have been adapted in order to limit epd translation and to create an efficient RNase E entry site. We also show that fbaA is cotranscribed with pgk, from promoter epd P0 or an internal pgk P1 promoter of the extended -10 class. The differential expression of pgk and fbaA also depends upon an RNase E segmentation process, leading to individual mRNAs with different stabilities. The secondary structures of the RNA regions containing the RNase E sites were experimentally determined which brings important information on the structural features of RNase E ectopic sites.

The strong efficiency of the Escherichia coli gapA P1 promoter depends on a complex combination of functional determinants

The Escherichia coli multi-promoter region of the gapA gene ensures a high level of GAPDH (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) production under various growth conditions. In the exponential phase of growth, gapA mRNAs are mainly initiated at the highly efficient gapA P1 promoter. In the present study, by using site-directed mutagenesis and chemical probing of the RPo (open complex) formed by Esigma70 (holoenzyme associated with sigma70) RNAP (RNA polymerase) at promoter gapA P1, we show that this promoter is an extended -10 promoter that needs a -35 sequence for activity. The -35 sequence compensates for the presence of a suboptimal -10 hexamer. A tract of thymine residues in the spacer region, which is responsible for a DNA distortion, is also required for efficient activity. We present the first chemical probing of an RPo formed at a promoter needing both a -10 extension and a -35 sequence. It reveals a complex array of RNAP-DNA interactions. In agreement with the fact that residue A-11 in the non-template strand is flipped out in a protein pocket in previously studied RPos, the corresponding A residue in gapA P1 promoter is protected in RPo and is essential for activity. However, in contrast with some of the previous findings on RPos formed at other promoters, the -12 A:T pair is opened. Strong contacts with RNAP occur both with the -35 sequence and the TG extension, so that the sigma4 and sigma2 domains may simultaneously contact the promoter DNA. RNAP-DNA interactions were also detected immediately downstream of the -35 hexamer and in a more distal upstream segment, reflecting a wrapping of RNAP by the core and upstream promoter DNA. Altogether, the data reveal that promoter gapA P1 is a very efficient promoter sharing common properties with both extended -10 and non-extended -10 promoters.