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Reggiani F, El Rashed Z, Petito M, Pfeffer M, Morabito A, Tanda ET, Spagnolo F, Croce M, Pfeffer U, Amaro A. Machine Learning Methods for Gene Selection in Uveal Melanoma. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1796. [PMID: 38339073 PMCID: PMC10855534 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular malignancy with a limited five-year survival for metastatic patients. Limited therapeutic treatments are currently available for metastatic disease, even if the genomics of this tumor has been deeply studied using next-generation sequencing (NGS) and functional experiments. The profound knowledge of the molecular features that characterize this tumor has not led to the development of efficacious therapies, and the survival of metastatic patients has not changed for decades. Several bioinformatics methods have been applied to mine NGS tumor data in order to unveil tumor biology and detect possible molecular targets for new therapies. Each application can be single domain based while others are more focused on data integration from multiple genomics domains (as gene expression and methylation data). Examples of single domain approaches include differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis on gene expression data with statistical methods such as SAM (significance analysis of microarray) or gene prioritization with complex algorithms such as deep learning. Data fusion or integration methods merge multiple domains of information to define new clusters of patients or to detect relevant genes, according to multiple NGS data. In this work, we compare different strategies to detect relevant genes for metastatic disease prediction in the TCGA uveal melanoma (UVM) dataset. Detected targets are validated with multi-gene score analysis on a larger UM microarray dataset.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Reggiani
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (F.R.); (M.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Zeinab El Rashed
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (F.R.); (M.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Mariangela Petito
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (F.R.); (M.P.); (A.M.)
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genova, Via Leon Battista Alberti, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Max Pfeffer
- Institute of Numerical and Applied Mathematics, University of Göttingen, 37083 Göttingen, Germany;
| | - Anna Morabito
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (F.R.); (M.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Enrica Teresa Tanda
- Skin Cancer Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (E.T.T.); (F.S.)
- Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Genova, Viale Benedetto XV, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Francesco Spagnolo
- Skin Cancer Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (E.T.T.); (F.S.)
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Michela Croce
- Biotherapies, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy;
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (F.R.); (M.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Adriana Amaro
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (F.R.); (M.P.); (A.M.)
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Reggiani F, Ambrosio M, Croce M, Tanda ET, Spagnolo F, Raposio E, Petito M, El Rashed Z, Forlani A, Pfeffer U, Amaro AA. Interdependence of Molecular Lesions That Drive Uveal Melanoma Metastasis. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15602. [PMID: 37958591 PMCID: PMC10648765 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242115602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The metastatic risk of uveal melanoma (UM) is defined by a limited number of molecular lesions, somatic mutations (SF3B1 and BAP1), and copy number alterations (CNA): monosomy of chromosome 3 (M3), chr8q gain (8q), chr6p gain (6p), yet the sequence of events is not clear. We analyzed data from three datasets (TCGA-UVM, GSE27831, GSE51880) with information regarding M3, 8q, 6p, SF3B1, and BAP1 status. We confirm that BAP1 mutations are always associated with M3 in high-risk patients. All other features (6p, 8q, M3, SF3B1 mutation) were present independently from each other. Chr8q gain was frequently associated with chr3 disomy. Hierarchical clustering of gene expression data of samples with different binary combinations of aggressivity factors shows that patients with 8q|M3, BAP1|M3 form one cluster enriched in samples that developed metastases. Patients with 6p combined with either 8q or SF3B1 are mainly represented in the other, low-risk cluster. Several gene expression events that show a non-significant association with outcome when considering single features become significant when analyzing combinations of risk features indicating additive action. The independence of risk factors is consistent with a random risk model of UM metastasis without an obligatory sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Reggiani
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Marianna Ambrosio
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genova, Via Leon Battista Alberti, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Michela Croce
- Biotherapies, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Enrica Teresa Tanda
- Skin Cancer Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
- Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Genova, Viale Benedetto XV, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Francesco Spagnolo
- Skin Cancer Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Edoardo Raposio
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
- Plastic Surgery Division, Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Mariangela Petito
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Zeinab El Rashed
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Alessandra Forlani
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Adriana Agnese Amaro
- Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
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Amaro A, Pfeffer U. Clonal Extinction Drives Tumorigenesis. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:4761. [PMID: 37835454 PMCID: PMC10571900 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15194761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Before a tumor is diagnosed and surgically removed, it has been growing for many months or even years [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Amaro
- Laboratory of Regulation of Gene Expression, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Laboratory of Regulation of Gene Expression, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
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Minuzzo S, Agnusdei V, Pinazza M, Amaro AA, Sacchetto V, Pfeffer U, Bertorelle R, Spinelli O, Serafin V, Indraccolo S. Targeting NOTCH1 in combination with antimetabolite drugs prolongs life span in relapsed pediatric and adult T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia xenografts. Exp Hematol Oncol 2023; 12:76. [PMID: 37667380 PMCID: PMC10476325 DOI: 10.1186/s40164-023-00439-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a hematologic tumor, characterized by several genetic alterations, that constitutes 15% of pediatric and 25% of adult ALL. While with current therapeutic protocols children and adults' overall survival (OS) rates reach 85-90% and 40-50%, respectively, the outcome for both pediatric and adult T-ALL patients that relapse or are refractory to induction therapy, remains extremely poor, achieving around 25% OS for both patient groups. About 60% of T-ALL patients show increased NOTCH1 activity, due to activating NOTCH1 mutations or alterations in its ubiquitin ligase FBXW7. NOTCH signaling has been shown to contribute to chemotherapy resistance in some tumor models. Hence, targeting the NOTCH1 signaling pathway may be an effective option to overcome relapsed and refractory T-ALL.Here, we focused on the therapeutic activity of the NOTCH1-specific monoclonal antibody OMP-52M51 in combination either with drugs used during the induction, consolidation, or maintenance phase in mice xenografts established from pediatric and adult relapsed NOTCH1 mutated T-ALL samples. Interestingly, from RNAseq data we observed that anti-NOTCH1 treatment in vivo affects the purine metabolic pathway. In agreement, both in vitro and in vivo, the greatest effect on leukemia growth reduction was achieved by anti-NOTCH1 therapy in combination with antimetabolite drugs. This result was further corroborated by the longer life span of mice treated with the anti-NOTCH1 in combination with antimetabolites, indicating a novel Notch-targeted therapeutic approach that could ameliorate pediatric and adult T-ALL patients outcome with relapse disease for whom so far, no other therapeutic options are available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Minuzzo
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Valentina Agnusdei
- Istituto Oncologico Veneto IOV - IRCCS, Padova, Italy
- Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ, 07417, USA
| | - Marica Pinazza
- Istituto Oncologico Veneto IOV - IRCCS, Padova, Italy
- Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ, 07417, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Orietta Spinelli
- Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit of Azienda Ospedaliera Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Valentina Serafin
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
- Istituto Oncologico Veneto IOV - IRCCS, Padova, Italy.
| | - Stefano Indraccolo
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
- Istituto Oncologico Veneto IOV - IRCCS, Padova, Italy.
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Amaro A, Reggiani F, Fenoglio D, Gangemi R, Tosi A, Parodi A, Banelli B, Rigo V, Mastracci L, Grillo F, Cereghetti A, Tastanova A, Ghosh A, Sallustio F, Emionite L, Daga A, Altosole T, Filaci G, Rosato A, Levesque M, Maio M, Pfeffer U, Croce M. Guadecitabine increases response to combined anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 treatment in mouse melanoma in vivo by controlling T-cells, myeloid derived suppressor and NK cells. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2023; 42:67. [PMID: 36934257 PMCID: PMC10024396 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-023-02628-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The combination of Programmed Cell Death 1 (PD-1) and Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Antigen 4 (CTLA-4) blockade has dramatically improved the overall survival rate for malignant melanoma. Immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs) limit the tumor's immune escape yet only for approximately a third of all tumors and, in most cases, for a limited amount of time. Several approaches to overcome resistance to ICBs are being investigated among which the addition of epigenetic drugs that are expected to act on both immune and tumor cells. Guadecitabine, a dinucleotide prodrug of a decitabine linked via phosphodiester bond to a guanosine, showed promising results in the phase-1 clinical trial, NIBIT-M4 (NCT02608437). METHODS We used the syngeneic B16F10 murine melanoma model to study the effects of immune checkpoint blocking antibodies against CTLA-4 and PD-1 in combination, with and without the addition of Guadecitabine. We comprehensively characterized the tumor's and the host's responses under different treatments by flow cytometry, multiplex immunofluorescence and methylation analysis. RESULTS In combination with ICBs, Guadecitabine significantly reduced subcutaneous tumor growth as well as metastases formation compared to ICBs and Guadecitabine treatment. In particular, Guadecitabine greatly enhanced the efficacy of combined ICBs by increasing effector memory CD8+ T cells, inducing effector NK cells in the spleen and reducing tumor infiltrating regulatory T cells and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC), in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Guadecitabine in association with ICBs increased serum levels of IFN-γ and IFN-γ-induced chemokines with anti-angiogenic activity. Guadecitabine led to a general DNA-demethylation, in particular of sites of intermediate methylation levels. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate Guadecitabine as a promising epigenetic drug to be added to ICBs therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Amaro
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Francesco Reggiani
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Daniela Fenoglio
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Rosaria Gangemi
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Anna Tosi
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Diagnostics, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, Padova, Italy
| | - Alessia Parodi
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Barbara Banelli
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Valentina Rigo
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Luca Mastracci
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Federica Grillo
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Alessandra Cereghetti
- Department of Dermatology, University of Zurich, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Aizhan Tastanova
- Department of Dermatology, University of Zurich, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Adhideb Ghosh
- Functional Genomics Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Fabio Sallustio
- Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy
| | - Laura Emionite
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Antonio Daga
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Tiziana Altosole
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Gilberto Filaci
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Antonio Rosato
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Diagnostics, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, Padova, Italy
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Mitchell Levesque
- Department of Dermatology, University of Zurich, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy.
| | - Michela Croce
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
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Grottoli M, Carrega P, Zullo L, Dellepiane C, Rossi G, Parisi F, Barletta G, Zinoli L, Coco S, Alama A, Marconi S, Parodi M, Orecchia P, Bassi S, Vitale M, Mingari MC, Pfeffer U, Genova C, Pietra G. Immune Checkpoint Blockade: A Strategy to Unleash the Potential of Natural Killer Cells in the Anti-Cancer Therapy. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14205046. [PMID: 36291830 PMCID: PMC9599824 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14205046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) with antibodies targeting CTLA-4 (Cytotoxic Lymphocyte Antigen 4) and/or programmed death-1 protein (PD-1)/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) has significantly modified the therapeutic landscape of a broad range of human tumor types, including advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Despite great advances of checkpoint immunotherapies, a minority of NSCLC patients (<20%) respond and/or experience long-term clinical benefits from these treatments. Limited response rates of T cell–based checkpoint immunotherapies suggest the presence of other checkpoints able to inhibit effective anti-tumor immune responses. Natural Killer (NK) cells represent a promising target for tumor immunotherapies, particularly against tumors that escape T-cell-mediated control. Like T cell function, NK cell function is also regulated by inhibitory immune-checkpoint molecules. In this review, we will provide an overview of the rationale, mechanisms of action, and clinical efficacy of these NK cell-based checkpoint therapy approaches. Finally, the future directions and current enhancements planned will be discussed. Abstract Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) immunotherapy has represented a breakthrough in cancer treatment. Clinical use of ICIs has shown an acceptable safety profile and promising antitumor activity. Nevertheless, some patients do not obtain clinical benefits after ICIs therapy. In order to improve and cure an increasing number of patients, the field has moved toward the discovery of new ICIs expressed by cells of innate immunity with an elevated inherent antitumor activity, such as natural killer cells. This review will focus on the recent findings concerning the role of classical and non-classical immune checkpoint molecules and receptors that regulate natural killer cell function, as potential targets, and their future clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melania Grottoli
- UO Immunologia IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Paolo Carrega
- Laboratory of Immunology and Biotherapy, Department of Human Pathology, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy
| | - Lodovica Zullo
- UO Oncologia Medica 2 IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Chiara Dellepiane
- UO Oncologia Medica 2 IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Giovanni Rossi
- UO Oncologia Medica 2 IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Francesca Parisi
- UO Oncologia Medica 2 IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Giulia Barletta
- UO Oncologia Medica 2 IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Linda Zinoli
- DiMI, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Simona Coco
- UOS Tumori Polmonari IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Angela Alama
- UOS Tumori Polmonari IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Silvia Marconi
- UOS Tumori Polmonari IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Monica Parodi
- UO Immunologia IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Paola Orecchia
- UO Immunologia IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Sara Bassi
- UO Immunologia IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Massimo Vitale
- UO Immunologia IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Maria Cristina Mingari
- UO Immunologia IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
- DiMES, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Laboratory of Tumor Epigenetics IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Carlo Genova
- DiMI, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
- UO Clinica di Oncologia Medica IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
- Correspondence: (C.G.); (G.P.)
| | - Gabriella Pietra
- UO Immunologia IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
- DiMES, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
- Correspondence: (C.G.); (G.P.)
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Bertoni A, Penco F, Mollica H, Bocca P, Prigione I, Corcione A, Cangelosi D, Schena F, Del Zotto G, Amaro A, Paladino N, Pontali E, Feasi M, Signa S, Bustaffa M, Caorsi R, Palmeri S, Contini P, De Palma R, Pfeffer U, Uva P, Rubartelli A, Gattorno M, Volpi S. Spontaneous NLRP3 inflammasome-driven IL1-β secretion is induced in severe COVID-19 patients and responds to anakinra treatment. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2022; 150:796-805. [PMID: 35835255 PMCID: PMC9272569 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2022.05.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND SARS-CoV-2 infection may result in a severe pneumonia associated to elevation of blood inflammatory parameters, reminiscent of cytokine storm syndrome. Steroidal anti-inflammatory therapies have shown efficacy in reducing mortality in critically ill patients, however the mechanisms by which SARS-CoV2 virus triggers such an extensive inflammation remain unexplained. OBJECTIVES To dissect the mechanisms underlying SARS-CoV-2 associated inflammation in severe COVID-19 patients we studied the role of IL-1β, a pivotal cytokine driving inflammatory phenotypes, whose maturation and secretion are regulated by inflammasomes. METHODS We analyzed NLRP3 pathway activation by means of confocal microscopy, plasma cytokine measurement, cytokine secretion following in vitro stimulation of blood circulating monocytes and whole blood RNA sequencing. The role of ORF3a SARS-CoV2 protein was assessed by confocal microscopy analysis following nucleofection of a monocytic cell line. RESULTS We found that circulating monocytes from COVID-19 patients display ASC specks that colocalize with NLRP3 inflammasome and spontaneously secrete IL-1β in vitro. This spontaneous activation reverts following patient's treatment with the IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra. Transfection of a monocytic cell line with cDNA coding for the ORF3a SARS-CoV2 protein, resulted in ASC speck formation CONCLUSIONS: These results provide further evidence that IL-1β targeting could represent an effective strategy in this disease and suggest a mechanistic explanation for the strong inflammatory manifestations associated to COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arinna Bertoni
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy; DINOGMI, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Federica Penco
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Hilaria Mollica
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy; DINOGMI, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Paola Bocca
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Ignazia Prigione
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Anna Corcione
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Davide Cangelosi
- Clinical Bioinformatics Unit, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Francesca Schena
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Genny Del Zotto
- Department of Research and Diagnostics, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy
| | - Adriana Amaro
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
| | - Noemi Paladino
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | | | | | - Sara Signa
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy; DINOGMI, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Marta Bustaffa
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Roberta Caorsi
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Serena Palmeri
- DINOGMI, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Paola Contini
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa and IRCCS IST-Ospedale San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Raffaele De Palma
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa and IRCCS IST-Ospedale San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | | | - Paolo Uva
- Clinical Bioinformatics Unit, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy; Italian Institute of Technology, Genova, Italy
| | | | - Marco Gattorno
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy.
| | - Stefano Volpi
- UOSD Centro per le Malattie Autoinfiammatorie e Immunodeficienze, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy; DINOGMI, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy
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8
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Izzotti A, Grasselli E, Barbaresi M, Bixio M, Colombo M, Pfeffer U, Pulliero A, Sossai D, Borneto A, Boccaccio A, Manfredi V, Bassetti M, Nicosia E, Tiso M. Development of an integrated environmental monitoring protocol for SARS-CoV-2 contamination. Applications at the IRCSS San Martino Polyclinic Hospital in Genoa, Italy. Environ Res 2022; 209:112790. [PMID: 35104484 PMCID: PMC8800503 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.112790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND Environmental sampling of SARS-CoV-2 is a fundamental tool for evaluating the effectiveness of non-specific prophylaxis measures in counteracting virus spread. The purpose of our work was to evaluate the effectiveness of the different sampling methods in the hospital setting to assess their correlation with the structural, functional, and operational situation of the monitored departments and to define the dynamics of the spread of the virus in indoor environments. METHODS The monitoring (air bubbling sampling, surface wipe test) was carried out at the San Martino Polyclinic Hospital (Genoa, Italy) in the period since April 2020 to June 2021. The presence of viral RNA in the collected samples was evaluated by qPCR. The infection capacity of the samples collected was also evaluated by an in vitro challenge test on cells sensitive to SARS-CoV-2 infection. RESULTS The percentage of positivity with respect to the number of tests performed (sensitivity) were air bubbler 50%, wipe test 17%, and challenge test 11%. Only 20% of the samples tested positive in the wipe test and 43% of the samples tested positive in the bubbler sampling were also positive in the challenge test. All the positivity obtained was detected at a distance of less than 2 m and height of less than 1.5 from COVID-19 patients. CONCLUSIONS Environmental contamination from SARS-CoV-2 detected at the San Martino Polyclinic Hospital is found lower than similar assessments performed in other hospitals both in Italy and abroad. Our study predicted that environmental monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 must be carried out in an integrated way by not using a single sampling method, as each individual test has a different biological significance and performance. However, the virus detected by wipe test only is often a degraded viral fragment and not an intact infecting virion.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Izzotti
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy; Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Italy.
| | - E Grasselli
- Life Sciences Department, University of Genoa, Italy.
| | - M Barbaresi
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.
| | - M Bixio
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.
| | - M Colombo
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.
| | - U Pfeffer
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.
| | - A Pulliero
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Italy.
| | - D Sossai
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.
| | - A Borneto
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.
| | | | | | - M Bassetti
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy; Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Italy.
| | - E Nicosia
- Environmental Department, Ligurian Region, Italy.
| | - M Tiso
- Life Sciences Department, University of Genoa, Italy; MICAMO Environmental and Molecular Microbiology - Spin-Off University of Genoa, Italy.
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9
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Rossi E, Croce M, Reggiani F, Schinzari G, Ambrosio M, Gangemi R, Tortora G, Pfeffer U, Amaro A. Uveal Melanoma Metastasis. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:5684. [PMID: 34830841 PMCID: PMC8616038 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13225684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Uveal melanoma (UM) is characterized by relatively few, highly incident molecular alterations and their association with metastatic risk is deeply understood. Nevertheless, this knowledge has so far not led to innovative therapies for the successful treatment of UM metastases or for adjuvant therapy, leaving survival after diagnosis of metastatic UM almost unaltered in decades. The driver mutations of UM, mainly in the G-protein genes GNAQ and GNA11, activate the MAP-kinase pathway as well as the YAP/TAZ pathway. At present, there are no drugs that target the latter and this likely explains the failure of mitogen activated kinase kinase inhibitors. Immune checkpoint blockers, despite the game changing effect in cutaneous melanoma (CM), show only limited effects in UM probably because of the low mutational burden of 0.5 per megabase and the unavailability of antibodies targeting the main immune checkpoint active in UM. The highly pro-tumorigenic microenvironment of UM also contributes to therapy resistance. However, T-cell redirection by a soluble T-cell receptor that is fused to an anti-CD3 single-chain variable fragment, local, liver specific therapy, new immune checkpoint blockers, and YAP/TAZ specific drugs give new hope to repeating the success of innovative therapy obtained for CM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernesto Rossi
- Medical Oncology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy; (E.R.); (G.S.); (G.T.)
| | - Michela Croce
- Laboratory of Biotherapies, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (M.C.); (R.G.)
| | - Francesco Reggiani
- Laboratory of Epigenetics, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (F.R.); (M.A.); (A.A.)
| | - Giovanni Schinzari
- Medical Oncology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy; (E.R.); (G.S.); (G.T.)
- Medical Oncology, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Marianna Ambrosio
- Laboratory of Epigenetics, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (F.R.); (M.A.); (A.A.)
| | - Rosaria Gangemi
- Laboratory of Biotherapies, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (M.C.); (R.G.)
| | - Giampaolo Tortora
- Medical Oncology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy; (E.R.); (G.S.); (G.T.)
- Medical Oncology, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Laboratory of Epigenetics, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (F.R.); (M.A.); (A.A.)
| | - Adriana Amaro
- Laboratory of Epigenetics, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy; (F.R.); (M.A.); (A.A.)
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10
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Izzotti A, Fracchia E, Au W, Colombo M, Pfeffer U, Emionite L, Pavan S, Miotto D, Lova P, Grasselli E, Faelli E, Piero R, Tiso M, Pulliero A. Prevention of Covid-19 Infection and Related Complications by Ozonized Oils. J Pers Med 2021; 11:jpm11030226. [PMID: 33809879 PMCID: PMC8004285 DOI: 10.3390/jpm11030226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the human population; therefore, multiple prevention and intervention protocols are being rapidly developed. The aim of our study was to develop a new chemo-prophylactic/-therapeutic strategy that effectively prevents COVID-19 and related complications. Methods: In in vitro studies, COVID-19 infection-sensitive cells were incubated with human oropharyngeal fluids containing high SARS-CoV-2 loads. Levels of infection were determined via intra-cellular virus loads using quantitative PCR (qPCR). Efficacies for infection prevention were determined using several antiviral treatments: lipid-encapsulated ozonized oil (HOO), water-soluble HOO (HOOws), UV, and hydrogen peroxide. In in vivo studies, safety and efficacy of HOO in fighting COVID-19 infection was evaluated in human subjects. Results: HOO in combination with HOOws was the only treatment able to fully neutralize SARS-CoV-2 as well as its capacity to penetrate and reproduce inside sensitive cells. Accordingly, the feasibility of using HOO/HOOws was tested in vivo. Analysis of expired gas in healthy subjects indicates that HOO administration increases oxygen availability in the lung. For our human studies, HOO/HOOws was administered to 52 cancer patients and 21 healthy subjects at high risk for COVID-19 infection, and all of them showed clinical safety. None of them developed COVID-19 infection, although an incidence of at least 11 cases was expected. Efficacy of HOO/HOOws was tested in four COVID-19 patients obtaining recovery and qPCR negativization in less than 10 days. Conclusions: Based on our experience, the HOO/HOOws treatment can be administered at standard doses (three pills per day) for chemo-prophylactic purposes to healthy subjects for COVID-19 prevention and at high doses (up to eight pills per day) for therapeutic purposes to infected patients. This combined prevention strategy can provide a novel protocol to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Izzotti
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (E.F.); (R.P.)
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (M.C.); (U.P.); (L.E.)
- Correspondence:
| | | | - William Au
- Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology, The George Emil Palade University, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania;
| | - Monica Colombo
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (M.C.); (U.P.); (L.E.)
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (M.C.); (U.P.); (L.E.)
| | - Laura Emionite
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (M.C.); (U.P.); (L.E.)
| | - Simone Pavan
- BWH Graphic Solutions, 28001 Madrid, Spain; (S.P.); (D.M.)
| | - Daniele Miotto
- BWH Graphic Solutions, 28001 Madrid, Spain; (S.P.); (D.M.)
| | - Paola Lova
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy;
| | - Elena Grasselli
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy;
| | - Emanuela Faelli
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (E.F.); (R.P.)
| | - Ruggeri Piero
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (E.F.); (R.P.)
| | - Micaela Tiso
- MICAMO Spin-Off Department of Earth Sciences, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy;
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11
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Vanni I, Casula M, Pastorino L, Manca A, Dalmasso B, Andreotti V, Pisano M, Colombino M, Pfeffer U, Tanda ET, Rozzo C, Paliogiannis P, Cossu A, Ghiorzo P, Palmieri G. Quality assessment of a clinical next-generation sequencing melanoma panel within the Italian Melanoma Intergroup (IMI). Diagn Pathol 2020; 15:143. [PMID: 33317587 PMCID: PMC7737361 DOI: 10.1186/s13000-020-01052-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Identification of somatic mutations in key oncogenes in melanoma is important to lead the effective and efficient use of personalized anticancer treatment. Conventional methods focus on few genes per run and, therefore, are unable to screen for multiple genes simultaneously. The use of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies enables sequencing of multiple cancer-driving genes in a single assay, with reduced costs and DNA quantity needed and increased mutation detection sensitivity. METHODS We designed a customized IMI somatic gene panel for targeted sequencing of actionable melanoma mutations; this panel was tested on three different NGS platforms using 11 metastatic melanoma tissue samples in blinded manner between two EMQN quality certificated laboratory. RESULTS The detection limit of our assay was set-up to a Variant Allele Frequency (VAF) of 10% with a coverage of at least 200x. All somatic variants detected by all NGS platforms with a VAF ≥ 10%, were also validated by an independent method. The IMI panel achieved a very good concordance among the three NGS platforms. CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that, using the main sequencing platforms currently available in the diagnostic setting, the IMI panel can be adopted among different centers providing comparable results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Vanni
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, L.go R Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Milena Casula
- Unit of Cancer Genetics, National Research Council (CNR), Sassari, Italy
| | - Lorenza Pastorino
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, L.go R Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Antonella Manca
- Unit of Cancer Genetics, National Research Council (CNR), Sassari, Italy
| | - Bruna Dalmasso
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, L.go R Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Virginia Andreotti
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, L.go R Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Marina Pisano
- Unit of Cancer Genetics, National Research Council (CNR), Sassari, Italy
| | - Maria Colombino
- Unit of Cancer Genetics, National Research Council (CNR), Sassari, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Tumor Epigenetics, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | | | - Carla Rozzo
- Unit of Cancer Genetics, National Research Council (CNR), Sassari, Italy
| | - Panagiotis Paliogiannis
- Department of Medical, Surgical, and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Antonio Cossu
- Unit of Cancer Genetics, National Research Council (CNR), Sassari, Italy
| | - Paola Ghiorzo
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, L.go R Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy.
- Genetics of Rare Cancers, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
| | - Giuseppe Palmieri
- Unit of Cancer Genetics, National Research Council (CNR), Sassari, Italy
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12
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Carosio R, Fontana V, Mastracci L, Ferro P, Grillo F, Banelli B, Canessa PA, Dessanti P, Vigani A, Morabito A, Pfeffer U, Poggi A, Roncella S, Pistillo MP. Characterization of soluble PD-L1 in pleural effusions of mesothelioma patients: potential implications in the immune response and prognosis. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2020; 147:459-468. [PMID: 33216211 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-020-03457-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) protein plays a central role in the antitumor immune response, and appears to be a predictor of prognosis and efficacy for PD-L1 and programmed death 1 (PD-1) blockade therapy. The immunoregulatory role and prognostic impact of PD-L1 soluble form (sPD-L1) have been investigated in biological fluids of patients with different tumors. In malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), circulating sPD-L1 has been recently reported in patients' sera, but no data are available in pleural effusions (PE). In our study, we evaluated the baseline expression levels of sPD-L1 in PE from 84 MPM patients and correlated them with PD-L1-status in matched tumors and patients' overall survival (OS). METHODS sPD-L1 in PE was determined by ELISA and tumor PD-L1 by immunohistochemistry. Association of sPD-L1 with OS was estimated using the Cox regression model. RESULTS We observed that sPD-L1 was variably expressed in all the PE and tended to be higher (by 30%) in patients with PD-L1-positive tumors (cut-off ≥ 1% stained cells) as compared to patients with PD-L1-negative tumors (geometric mean ratio = 1.28, P value = 0.288). sPD-L1 levels were significantly higher than those of sPD-1 (P value = 0.001) regardless of the MPM histotypes and they were positively correlated (r = 0.50, P value < 0.001). Moreover, high PE sPD-L1 concentrations were associated with a trend towards increased OS (hazard ratio 0.79, 95% CL 0.62-1.01, P value = 0.062). CONCLUSIONS Our study documents the presence of sPD-L1 in PE of MPM patients, and suggests its possible biological and prognostic role in MPM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Carosio
- Tumor Epigenetics Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Fontana
- Clinical Epidemiology Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Luca Mastracci
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genova, Genoa, Italy.,Anatomic Pathology Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Paola Ferro
- Histopathology and Cytopathology Division, Azienda Sanitaria Locale 5, La Spezia, Italy
| | - Federica Grillo
- Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics (DISC), University of Genova, Genoa, Italy.,Anatomic Pathology Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Barbara Banelli
- Tumor Epigenetics Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
| | | | - Paolo Dessanti
- Histopathology and Cytopathology Division, Azienda Sanitaria Locale 5, La Spezia, Italy
| | | | - Anna Morabito
- Tumor Epigenetics Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Tumor Epigenetics Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
| | - Alessandro Poggi
- Molecular Oncology and Angiogenesis Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Silvio Roncella
- Histopathology and Cytopathology Division, Azienda Sanitaria Locale 5, La Spezia, Italy
| | - Maria Pia Pistillo
- Tumor Epigenetics Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy.
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13
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Gennari A, Sormani M, Puntoni M, Martini V, Amaro A, Bruzzi P, Pfeffer U. Identification of a Prognostic Signature Based on the Expression of Genes Related to the Insulin Pathway in Early Breast Cancer. Breast Care (Basel) 2020; 16:299-306. [PMID: 34248472 DOI: 10.1159/000509207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Insulin and the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) family play a key role in breast cancer (BC). Objective In this study, we evaluated on a genomic scale the potential prognostic value of insulin signaling in early BC. Methods Candidate genes were selected from the published literature and gene expression profiling experiments. Three publicly available BC datasets, containing gene expression data on 502 cases, were used to test the prognostic ability of the score. The gene signature was developed on GSE1456, containing microarray data from 159 patients, split into a training set (102 breast tumors) and a validation set (n = 57). GSE3494 and GSE2990 (350 patients) were used for external validation. Univariate Mann-Whitney test was used to identify genes differentially expressed between relapsed and nonrelapsed patients. Expression of genes significantly correlated with relapse was combined in a linear score. Patients were classified as low or high risk with respect to the median value. Results On the training set, 15 genes turned out to be differentially expressed: 8-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 51 and 91% in the high- and low-risk group (p < 0.001), respectively. In the validation set, DFS was 97 and 54% (p = 0.009), respectively. External validation: 8-year DFS was 72 and 61%, respectively, in GSE3494 (p = 0.03) and 74 and 55% in GSE2990 (p = 0.03). By multivariate analyses, the insulin signature was significantly associated with DFS, independently of age, hormone receptor status, nodal status, and grade. Conclusions Our findings indicate that the insulin pathway is involved in BC prognosis at a genomic level and provide a window of selectivity for preventive and treatment strategies targeting the insulin/IGF pathway in BC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Gennari
- Division of Oncology, Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy
| | | | - Matteo Puntoni
- Clinical Trial Unit, Galliera Hospital Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Veronica Martini
- Division of Oncology, Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy
| | - Adriana Amaro
- Tumor Epigenetics, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Paolo Bruzzi
- Clinical Epidemiology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Tumor Epigenetics, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
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14
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Cangelosi D, Morini M, Zanardi N, Sementa AR, Muselli M, Conte M, Garaventa A, Pfeffer U, Bosco MC, Varesio L, Eva A. Hypoxia Predicts Poor Prognosis in Neuroblastoma Patients and Associates with Biological Mechanisms Involved in Telomerase Activation and Tumor Microenvironment Reprogramming. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:E2343. [PMID: 32825087 PMCID: PMC7563184 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12092343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 08/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The biological and clinical heterogeneity of neuroblastoma (NB) demands novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets in order to drive the most appropriate treatment for each patient. Hypoxia is a condition of low-oxygen tension occurring in poorly vascularized tumor tissues. In this study, we aimed to assess the role of hypoxia in the pathogenesis of NB and at developing a new clinically relevant hypoxia-based predictor of outcome. We analyzed the gene expression profiles of 1882 untreated NB primary tumors collected at diagnosis and belonging to four existing data sets. Analyses took advantage of machine learning methods. We identified NB-hop, a seven-gene hypoxia biomarker, as a predictor of NB patient prognosis, which is able to discriminate between two populations of patients with unfavorable or favorable outcome on a molecular basis. NB-hop retained its prognostic value in a multivariate model adjusted for established risk factors and was able to additionally stratify clinically relevant groups of patients. Tumors with an unfavorable NB-hop expression showed a significant association with telomerase activation and a hypoxic, immunosuppressive, poorly differentiated, and apoptosis-resistant tumor microenvironment. NB-hop defines a new population of NB patients with hypoxic tumors and unfavorable prognosis and it represents a critical factor for the stratification and treatment of NB patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Cangelosi
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy; (M.M.); (N.Z.); (L.V.); (A.E.)
| | - Martina Morini
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy; (M.M.); (N.Z.); (L.V.); (A.E.)
| | - Nicolò Zanardi
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy; (M.M.); (N.Z.); (L.V.); (A.E.)
| | - Angela Rita Sementa
- Laboratory of Pathology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy;
| | - Marco Muselli
- Institute of Electronics, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering, Italian National Research Council, 16149 Genova, Italy;
| | - Massimo Conte
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy; (M.C.); (A.G.)
| | - Alberto Garaventa
- Pediatric Oncology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy; (M.C.); (A.G.)
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Integrated Oncology Therapies Department, Molecular Pathology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy;
| | - Maria Carla Bosco
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy; (M.M.); (N.Z.); (L.V.); (A.E.)
| | - Luigi Varesio
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy; (M.M.); (N.Z.); (L.V.); (A.E.)
| | - Alessandra Eva
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy; (M.M.); (N.Z.); (L.V.); (A.E.)
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15
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Di Paolo D, Pastorino F, Brignole C, Corrias MV, Emionite L, Cilli M, Tamma R, Priddy L, Amaro A, Ferrari D, Marotta R, Ferretti E, Pfeffer U, Ribatti D, Sementa AR, Brown D, Ikegaki N, Shimada H, Ponzoni M, Perri P. Combined Replenishment of miR-34a and let-7b by Targeted Nanoparticles Inhibits Tumor Growth in Neuroblastoma Preclinical Models. Small 2020; 16:e1906426. [PMID: 32323486 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201906426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Revised: 03/20/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Neuroblastoma (NB) tumor substantially contributes to childhood cancer mortality. The design of novel drugs targeted to specific molecular alterations becomes mandatory, especially for high-risk patients burdened by chemoresistant relapse. The dysregulated expression of MYCN, ALK, and LIN28B and the diminished levels of miR-34a and let-7b are oncogenic in NB. Due to the ability of miRNA-mimics to recover the tumor suppression functions of miRNAs underexpressed into cancer cells, safe and efficient nanocarriers selectively targeted to NB cells and tested in clinically relevant mouse models are developed. The technology exploits the nucleic acids negative charges to build coated-cationic liposomes, then functionalized with antibodies against GD2 receptor. The replenishment of miR-34a and let-7b by NB-targeted nanoparticles, individually and more powerfully in combination, significantly reduces cell division, proliferation, neoangiogenesis, tumor growth and burden, and induces apoptosis in orthotopic xenografts and improves mice survival in pseudometastatic models. These functional effects highlight a cooperative down-modulation of MYCN and its down-stream targets, ALK and LIN28B, exerted by miR-34a and let-7b that reactivate regulatory networks leading to a favorable therapeutic response. These findings demonstrate a promising therapeutic efficacy of miR-34a and let-7b combined replacement and support its clinical application as adjuvant therapy for high-risk NB patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Di Paolo
- Laboratory of Experimental Therapies in Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, 16147, Italy
| | - Fabio Pastorino
- Laboratory of Experimental Therapies in Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, 16147, Italy
| | - Chiara Brignole
- Laboratory of Experimental Therapies in Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, 16147, Italy
| | - Maria Valeria Corrias
- Laboratory of Experimental Therapies in Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, 16147, Italy
| | - Laura Emionite
- Animal Facility, IRCSS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, 16132, Italy
| | - Michele Cilli
- Animal Facility, IRCSS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, 16132, Italy
| | - Roberto Tamma
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, 70124, Italy
| | - Leslie Priddy
- Mirna Therapeutics, Inc. 2150 Woodward Street, Suite 100, Austin, TX, 78744, USA
| | - Adriana Amaro
- Tumor Epigenetic Unit, IRCSS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, 16132, Italy
| | - Davide Ferrari
- TIB MOLBIOL S.r.l., Advanced Biotechnology Center, Genoa, 16132, Italy
| | - Roberto Marotta
- Electron Microscopy Facility, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genoa, 16163, Italy
| | - Elisa Ferretti
- Laboratory of Experimental Therapies in Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, 16147, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Tumor Epigenetic Unit, IRCSS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, 16132, Italy
| | - Domenico Ribatti
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, 70124, Italy
| | - Angela Rita Sementa
- Pathology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Via G. Gaslini 5, Genoa, 16147, Italy
| | - David Brown
- Mirna Therapeutics, Inc. 2150 Woodward Street, Suite 100, Austin, TX, 78744, USA
| | - Naohiko Ikegaki
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Hiroyuki Shimada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90027, USA
| | - Mirco Ponzoni
- Laboratory of Experimental Therapies in Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Via G. Gaslini 5, Genoa, 16147, Italy
| | - Patrizia Perri
- Laboratory of Experimental Therapies in Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Via G. Gaslini 5, Genoa, 16147, Italy
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Abstract
Individual age is a phenotypic trait that provides useful information not only in forensic investigations but also in the aging research which is becoming an urgent call due to the dramatic growth of the aging population worldwide.TaqMan quantification PCR (qPCR) can be successfully applied to biological age estimation, using method defined in Zubakov et al. (Curr Biol 20:R970-R971, 2010). Since levels of signal joint T-cell receptor rearrangement excision circle (sjTREC) in human lymphocytes are known to decrease with age increasing, the qPCR of sjTREC represents a simple and relatively reproducible technique which offers highly accurate age estimation results.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Aldo Chiesa
- Ente Ospedaliero Ospedali Galliera, Genoa, Italy
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17
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Piaggio F, Tozzo V, Bernardi C, Croce M, Puzone R, Viaggi S, Patrone S, Barla A, Coviello D, Jager MJ, van der Velden PA, Zeschnigk M, Cangelosi D, Eva A, Pfeffer U, Amaro A. Secondary Somatic Mutations in G-Protein-Related Pathways and Mutation Signatures in Uveal Melanoma. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11111688. [PMID: 31671564 PMCID: PMC6896012 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11111688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2019] [Revised: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Uveal melanoma (UM), a rare cancer of the eye, is characterized by initiating mutations in the genes G-protein subunit alpha Q (GNAQ), G-protein subunit alpha 11 (GNA11), cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 2 (CYSLTR2), and phospholipase C beta 4 (PLCB4) and by metastasis-promoting mutations in the genes splicing factor 3B1 (SF3B1), serine and arginine rich splicing factor 2 (SRSF2), and BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1). Here, we tested the hypothesis that additional mutations, though occurring in only a few cases ("secondary drivers"), might influence tumor development. METHODS We analyzed all the 4125 mutations detected in exome sequencing datasets, comprising a total of 139 Ums, and tested the enrichment of secondary drivers in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways that also contained the initiating mutations. We searched for additional mutations in the putative secondary driver gene protein tyrosine kinase 2 beta (PTK2B) and we developed new mutational signatures that explain the mutational pattern observed in UM. RESULTS Secondary drivers were significantly enriched in KEGG pathways that also contained GNAQ and GNA11, such as the calcium-signaling pathway. Many of the secondary drivers were known cancer driver genes and were strongly associated with metastasis and survival. We identified additional mutations in PTK2B. Sparse dictionary learning allowed for the identification of mutational signatures specific for UM. CONCLUSIONS A considerable part of rare mutations that occur in addition to known driver mutations are likely to affect tumor development and progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Piaggio
- Tumor Epigenetics; IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy.
| | | | - Cinzia Bernardi
- Tumor Epigenetics; IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy.
| | - Michela Croce
- Biotherapy; IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy.
| | - Roberto Puzone
- Clinical Epidemiology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy.
| | - Silvia Viaggi
- DISTAV, University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy.
- IRCCS Istituto G. Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy.
| | | | | | | | - Martine J Jager
- Laboratory of Human Genetics, Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Pieter A van der Velden
- Laboratory of Human Genetics, Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Michael Zeschnigk
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Clinics Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany.
| | - Davide Cangelosi
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy.
| | - Alessandra Eva
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy.
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Tumor Epigenetics; IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy.
| | - Adriana Amaro
- Tumor Epigenetics; IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy.
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18
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Pfeffer M, Uschmajew A, Amaro A, Pfeffer U. Data Fusion Techniques for the Integration of Multi-Domain Genomic Data from Uveal Melanoma. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11101434. [PMID: 31561508 PMCID: PMC6826760 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11101434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Revised: 08/29/2019] [Accepted: 09/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Uveal melanoma (UM) is a rare cancer that is well characterized at the molecular level. Two to four classes have been identified by the analyses of gene expression (mRNA, ncRNA), DNA copy number, DNA-methylation and somatic mutations yet no factual integration of these data has been reported. We therefore applied novel algorithms for data fusion, joint Singular Value Decomposition (jSVD) and joint Constrained Matrix Factorization (jCMF), as well as similarity network fusion (SNF), for the integration of gene expression, methylation and copy number data that we applied to the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) UM dataset. Variant features that most strongly impact on definition of classes were extracted for biological interpretation of the classes. Data fusion allows for the identification of the two to four classes previously described. Not all of these classes are evident at all levels indicating that integrative analyses add to genomic discrimination power. The classes are also characterized by different frequencies of somatic mutations in putative driver genes (GNAQ, GNA11, SF3B1, BAP1). Innovative data fusion techniques confirm, as expected, the existence of two main types of uveal melanoma mainly characterized by copy number alterations. Subtypes were also confirmed but are somewhat less defined. Data fusion allows for real integration of multi-domain genomic data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Pfeffer
- Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - André Uschmajew
- Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Adriana Amaro
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy.
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy.
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19
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Agnusdei V, Minuzzo S, Pinazza M, Gasparini A, Pezzè L, Amaro AA, Pasqualini L, Bianco PD, Tognon M, Frasson C, Palumbo P, Ciribilli Y, Pfeffer U, Carella M, Amadori A, Indraccolo S. Dissecting molecular mechanisms of resistance to NOTCH1-targeted therapy in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia xenografts. Haematologica 2019; 105:1317-1328. [PMID: 31467126 PMCID: PMC7193477 DOI: 10.3324/haematol.2019.217687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite substantial progress in treatment of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), mortality remains relatively high, mainly due to primary or acquired resistance to chemotherapy. Further improvements in survival demand better understanding of T-ALL biology and development of new therapeutic strategies. The Notch pathway has been involved in the pathogenesis of this disease and various therapeutic strategies are currently under development, including selective targeting of NOTCH receptors by inhibitory antibodies. We previously demonstrated that the NOTCH1-specific neutralizing antibody OMP52M51 prolongs survival in TALL patient-derived xenografts bearing NOTCH1/FBW7 mutations. However, acquired resistance to OMP52M51 eventually developed and we used patient-derived xenografts models to investigate this phenomenon. Multi-level molecular characterization of T-ALL cells resistant to NOTCH1 blockade and serial transplantation experiments uncovered heterogeneous types of resistance, not previously reported with other Notch inhibitors. In one model, resistance appeared after 156 days of treatment, it was stable and associated with loss of Notch inhibition, reduced mutational load and acquired NOTCH1 mutations potentially affecting the stability of the heterodimerization domain. Conversely, in another model resistance developed after only 43 days of treatment despite persistent down-regulation of Notch signaling and it was accompanied by modulation of lipid metabolism and reduced surface expression of NOTCH1. Our findings shed light on heterogeneous mechanisms adopted by the tumor to evade NOTCH1 blockade and support clinical implementation of antibody-based target therapy for Notch-addicted tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sonia Minuzzo
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Padova
| | | | | | - Laura Pezzè
- Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Genetics, Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento
| | | | | | | | | | - Chiara Frasson
- Istituto di Ricerca Pediatrica, Fondazione Città della Speranza, Padova
| | - Pietro Palumbo
- Medical Genetics Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
| | - Yari Ciribilli
- Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Genetics, Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Tumor Epigenetics, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova
| | - Massimo Carella
- Medical Genetics Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
| | - Alberto Amadori
- Istituto Oncologico Veneto IOV - IRCCS, Padova.,Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Padova
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20
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van Weeghel C, Wierenga APA, Versluis M, van Hall T, van der Velden PA, Kroes WGM, Pfeffer U, Luyten GPM, Jager MJ. Do GNAQ and GNA11 Differentially Affect Inflammation and HLA Expression in Uveal Melanoma? Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11081127. [PMID: 31394807 PMCID: PMC6721447 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11081127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Inflammation, characterized by high numbers of infiltrating leukocytes and a high HLA Class I expression, is associated with a bad prognosis in uveal melanoma (UM). We wondered whether mutations in GNA11 or GNAQ differentially affect inflammation and HLA expression, and thereby progression of the disease. We analyzed data of 59 primarily enucleated UM eyes. The type of GNAQ/11 mutation was analyzed using dPCR; chromosome aberrations were determined by Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH), karyotyping, and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, and mRNA expression by Illumina PCR. Comparing tumors with a GNAQ mutation with those with a GNA11 mutation yielded no significant differences in histopathological characteristics, infiltrate, or HLA expression. When comparing the Q209L mutations with Q209P mutations in tumors with monosomy of chromosome 3, a higher mitotic count was found in the Q209P/M3 tumors (p = 0.007). The Kaplan-Meier (KM) curves between the patients of the different groups were not significantly different. We conclude that the type (Q209P/Q209L) or location of the mutation (GNA11/GNAQ) do not have a significant effect on the immunological characteristics of the tumors, such as infiltrate and HLA Class I expression. Chromosome 3 status was the main determinant in explaining the difference in infiltrate and HLA expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christiaan van Weeghel
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Annemijn P A Wierenga
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Mieke Versluis
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Thorbald van Hall
- Department of Clinical Oncology, LUMC, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Pieter A van der Velden
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Wilma G M Kroes
- Department of Clinical Genetics, LUMC, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Tumor Epigenetics, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Gregorius P M Luyten
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Martine J Jager
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands.
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21
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Dogrusöz M, Ruschel Trasel A, Cao J, Ҫolak S, van Pelt SI, Kroes WGM, Teunisse AFAS, Alsafadi S, van Duinen SG, Luyten GPM, van der Velden PA, Amaro A, Pfeffer U, Jochemsen AG, Jager MJ. Differential Expression of DNA Repair Genes in Prognostically-Favorable versus Unfavorable Uveal Melanoma. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11081104. [PMID: 31382494 PMCID: PMC6721581 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11081104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Revised: 07/26/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Expression of DNA repair genes was studied in uveal melanoma (UM) in order to identify genes that may play a role in metastases formation. We searched for genes that are differentially expressed between tumors with a favorable and unfavorable prognosis. Gene-expression profiling was performed on 64 primary UM from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands. The expression of 121 genes encoding proteins involved in DNA repair pathways was analyzed: a total of 44 genes differed between disomy 3 and monosomy 3 tumors. Results were validated in a cohort from Genoa and Paris and the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. Expression of the PRKDC, WDR48, XPC, and BAP1 genes was significantly associated with clinical outcome after validation. PRKDC was highly expressed in metastasizing UM (p < 0.001), whereas WDR48, XPC, and BAP1 were lowly expressed (p < 0.001, p = 0.006, p = 0.003, respectively). Low expression of WDR48 and XPC was related to a large tumor diameter (p = 0.01 and p = 0.004, respectively), and a mixed/epithelioid cell type (p = 0.007 and p = 0.03, respectively). We conclude that the expression of WDR48, XPC, and BAP1 is significantly lower in UM with an unfavorable prognosis, while these tumors have a significantly higher expression of PRKDC. Pharmacological inhibition of DNA-PKcs resulted in decreased survival of UM cells. PRKDC may be involved in proliferation, invasion and metastasis of UM cells. Unraveling the role of DNA repair genes may enhance our understanding of UM biology and result in the identification of new therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet Dogrusöz
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Ophthalmology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Andrea Ruschel Trasel
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 90040-060 Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Jinfeng Cao
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
| | - Selҫuk Ҫolak
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital, 5022 GC Tilburg, The Netherlands
| | - Sake I van Pelt
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Wilma G M Kroes
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Amina F A S Teunisse
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Samar Alsafadi
- Department of Translational Research, PSL Research University, Institute Curie, 75248 Paris, France
| | - Sjoerd G van Duinen
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Gregorius P M Luyten
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Pieter A van der Velden
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Adriana Amaro
- Laboratory of Tumor Epigenetics, Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16133 Genoa, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Laboratory of Tumor Epigenetics, Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16133 Genoa, Italy
| | - Aart G Jochemsen
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Martine J Jager
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 AZ Leiden, The Netherlands.
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22
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Caporali S, Amaro A, Levati L, Alvino E, Lacal PM, Mastroeni S, Ruffini F, Bonmassar L, Antonini Cappellini GC, Felli N, Carè A, Pfeffer U, D'Atri S. miR-126-3p down-regulation contributes to dabrafenib acquired resistance in melanoma by up-regulating ADAM9 and VEGF-A. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2019; 38:272. [PMID: 31227006 PMCID: PMC6588909 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-019-1238-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Background Development of resistance to inhibitors of BRAF (BRAFi) and MEK (MEKi) remains a great challenge for targeted therapy in patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma. Here, we explored the role of miRNAs in melanoma acquired resistance to BRAFi. Methods miRNA expression in two BRAF-mutant melanoma cell lines and their dabrafenib-resistant sublines was determined using Affymetrix GeneChip® miRNA 3.1 microarrays and/or qRT-PCR. The effects of miR-126-3p re-expression on proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, ERK1/2 and AKT phosphorylation, dabrafenib sensitivity, invasiveness and VEGF-A secretion were evaluated in the dabrafenib-resistant sublines using MTT assays, flow cytometry, immunoblotting, invasion assays in Boyden chambers and ELISA. ADAM9, PIK3R2, MMP7 and CXCR4 expression in the sensitive and dabrafenib-resistant cells was determined by immunoblotting. Small RNA interference was performed to investigate the consequence of VEGFA or ADAM9 silencing on proliferation, invasiveness or dabrafenib sensitivity of the resistant sublines. Long-term proliferation assays were carried out in dabrafenib-sensitive cells to assess the effects of enforced miR-126-3p expression or ADAM9 silencing on resistance development. VEGF-A serum levels in melanoma patients treated with BRAFi or BRAFi+MEKi were evaluated at baseline (T0), after two months of treatment (T2) and at progression (TP) by ELISA. Results miR-126-3p was significantly down-regulated in the dabrafenib-resistant sublines as compared with their parental counterparts. miR-126-3p replacement in the drug-resistant cells inhibited proliferation, cell cycle progression, phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and/or AKT, invasiveness, VEGF-A and ADAM9 expression, and increased dabrafenib sensitivity. VEGFA or ADAM9 silencing impaired proliferation and invasiveness of the drug-resistant sublines. ADAM9 knock-down in the resistant cells increased dabrafenib sensitivity, whereas miR-126-3p enforced expression or ADAM9 silencing in the drug-sensitive cells delayed the development of resistance. At T0 and T2, statistically significant differences were observed in VEGF-A serum levels between patients who responded to therapy and patients who did not. In responder patients, a significant increase of VEGF-A levels was observed at TP versus T2. Conclusions Strategies restoring miR-126-3p expression or targeting VEGF-A or ADAM9 could restrain growth and metastasis of dabrafenib-resistant melanomas and increase their drug sensitivity. Circulating VEGF-A is a promising biomarker for predicting patients’ response to BRAFi or BRAFi+MEKi and for monitoring the onset of resistance. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-019-1238-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Caporali
- Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata, IDI-IRCCS, Via dei Monti di Creta 104, 00167, Rome, Italy
| | - Adriana Amaro
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS-Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Lauretta Levati
- Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata, IDI-IRCCS, Via dei Monti di Creta 104, 00167, Rome, Italy
| | - Ester Alvino
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Council of Research, Rome, Italy
| | - Pedro Miguel Lacal
- Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata, IDI-IRCCS, Via dei Monti di Creta 104, 00167, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Federica Ruffini
- Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata, IDI-IRCCS, Via dei Monti di Creta 104, 00167, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Bonmassar
- Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata, IDI-IRCCS, Via dei Monti di Creta 104, 00167, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Nadia Felli
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandra Carè
- Center of Gender Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS-Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Stefania D'Atri
- Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata, IDI-IRCCS, Via dei Monti di Creta 104, 00167, Rome, Italy.
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23
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Croce M, Ferrini S, Pfeffer U, Gangemi R. Targeted Therapy of Uveal Melanoma: Recent Failures and New Perspectives. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:E846. [PMID: 31216772 PMCID: PMC6628160 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11060846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Among Uveal Melanoma (UM) driver mutations, those involving GNAQ or GNA11 genes are the most frequent, while a minor fraction of tumors bears mutations in the PLCB4 or CYSLTR2 genes. Direct inhibition of constitutively active oncoproteins deriving from these mutations is still in its infancy in UM, whereas BRAFV600E-targeted therapy has obtained relevant results in cutaneous melanoma. However, UM driver mutations converge on common downstream signaling pathways such as PKC/MAPK, PI3K/AKT, and YAP/TAZ, which are presently considered as actionable targets. In addition, BAP1 loss, which characterizes UM metastatic progression, affects chromatin structure via histone H2A deubiquitylation that may be counteracted by histone deacetylase inhibitors. Encouraging results of preclinical studies targeting signaling molecules such as MAPK and PKC were unfortunately not confirmed in early clinical studies. Indeed, a general survey of all clinical trials applying new targeted and immune therapy to UM displayed disappointing results. This paper summarizes the most recent studies of UM-targeted therapies, analyzing the possible origins of failures. We also focus on hyperexpressed molecules involved in UM aggressiveness as potential new targets for therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Croce
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
| | | | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
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Romano P, Céol A, Dräger A, Fiannaca A, Giugno R, La Rosa M, Milanesi L, Pfeffer U, Rizzo R, Shin SY, Xia J, Urso A. The 2017 Network Tools and Applications in Biology (NETTAB) workshop: aims, topics and outcomes. BMC Bioinformatics 2019; 20:125. [PMID: 30999855 PMCID: PMC6472292 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-019-2681-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The 17th International NETTAB workshop was held in Palermo, Italy, on October 16-18, 2017. The special topic for the meeting was "Methods, tools and platforms for Personalised Medicine in the Big Data Era", but the traditional topics of the meeting series were also included in the event. About 40 scientific contributions were presented, including four keynote lectures, five guest lectures, and many oral communications and posters. Also, three tutorials were organised before and after the workshop. Full papers from some of the best works presented in Palermo were submitted for this Supplement of BMC Bioinformatics. Here, we provide an overview of meeting aims and scope. We also shortly introduce selected papers that have been accepted for publication in this Supplement, for a complete presentation of the outcomes of the meeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Romano
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, Genova, I-16132 Italy
| | - Arnaud Céol
- European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, 20141 Italy
| | - Andreas Dräger
- Computational Systems Biology of Infection and Antimicrobial-Resistant Pathogens, Center for Bioinformatics Tübingen (ZBIT), Tübingen, 72074 Germany
- Department of Computer Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72074 Germany
| | - Antonino Fiannaca
- ICAR-CNR, Institute for high performance computing and networking, National Research Council of Italy, Palermo, 90146 Italy
| | - Rosalba Giugno
- Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Verona, 37134 Italy
| | - Massimo La Rosa
- ICAR-CNR, Institute for high performance computing and networking, National Research Council of Italy, Palermo, 90146 Italy
| | - Luciano Milanesi
- ITB-CNR, Institute of biomedical technologies, National Research Council of Italy, Segrate (MI), 20090 Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, Genova, I-16132 Italy
| | - Riccardo Rizzo
- ICAR-CNR, Institute for high performance computing and networking, National Research Council of Italy, Palermo, 90146 Italy
| | - Soo-Yong Shin
- Department of Digital Health, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, 03063 South Korea
| | - Junfeng Xia
- Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601 China
| | - Alfonso Urso
- ICAR-CNR, Institute for high performance computing and networking, National Research Council of Italy, Palermo, 90146 Italy
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Bianchi G, Ravera S, Traverso C, Amaro A, Piaggio F, Emionite L, Bachetti T, Pfeffer U, Raffaghello L. Curcumin induces a fatal energetic impairment in tumor cells in vitro and in vivo by inhibiting ATP-synthase activity. Carcinogenesis 2019; 39:1141-1150. [PMID: 29860383 DOI: 10.1093/carcin/bgy076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2018] [Accepted: 05/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Curcumin has been reported to inhibit inflammation, tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis by decreasing cell growth and by inducing apoptosis mainly through the inhibition of nuclear factor kappa-B (NFκB), a master regulator of inflammation. Recent reports also indicate potential metabolic effects of the polyphenol, therefore we analyzed whether and how it affects the energy metabolism of tumor cells. We show that curcumin (10 µM) inhibits the activity of ATP synthase in isolated mitochondrial membranes leading to a dramatic drop of ATP and a reduction of oxygen consumption in in vitro and in vivo tumor models. The effects of curcumin on ATP synthase are independent of the inhibition of NFκB since the IκB Kinase inhibitor, SC-514, does not affect ATP synthase. The activities of the glycolytic enzymes hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase are only slightly affected in a cell type-specific manner. The energy impairment translates into decreased tumor cell viability. Moreover, curcumin induces apoptosis by promoting the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of lipid oxidation, and autophagy, at least in part due to the activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). According to the in vitro anti-tumor effect, curcumin (30 mg/kg body weight) significantly delayed in vivo cancer growth likely due to an energy impairment but also through the reduction of tumor angiogenesis. These results establish the ATP synthase, a central enzyme of the cellular energy metabolism, as a target of the antitumoral polyphenol leading to inhibition of cancer cell growth and a general reprogramming of tumor metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Silvia Ravera
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Laura Emionite
- Animal Facility, Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
| | - Tiziana Bachetti
- Department of Medical Genetics, Istituto G. Gaslini, Genova, Italy.,Biochemistry Laboratory, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
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Lo Sicco C, Reverberi D, Villa F, Pfeffer U, Quarto R, Cancedda R, Tasso R. Circulating healing (CH) cells expressing BST2 are functionally activated by the injury-regulated systemic factor HGFA. Stem Cell Res Ther 2018; 9:300. [PMID: 30409222 PMCID: PMC6225669 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-018-1056-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Revised: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 10/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Restoration of damaged tissues through the activation of endogenous progenitors is an attractive therapeutic option. A deep evaluation of the intrinsic stem/progenitor cell properties as well as the reciprocal interactions with injured environments is of critical importance. Methods Here, we show that bone marrow stromal cell antigen 2 (BST2) allows the isolation of a population of circulating progenitors, the circulating healing (CH) cells, characterized by a distinctive core signature. The bone marrow (BM) origin of BST2pos CH cells has been strengthened by the co-expression of leptin receptor, the hallmark of a subpopulation of BM-skeletal stem cells. Results BST2pos CH cells retained the capacity to (i) respond to injury signals generated by a bone fracture, (ii) modify the expression of cell motility genes following damage, and (iii) react to hepatocyte growth factor-activator (HGFA), an injury-related stimulus sufficient to induce their transition into GALERT, a state in which cells are functionally activated and participate in tissue repair. Conclusions Taken together, these results could pave the way for the identification of new strategies to enhance and potentiate endogenous regenerative mechanisms for future therapies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13287-018-1056-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Lo Sicco
- Cellular Oncology Laboratory, Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genova, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Daniele Reverberi
- U.O. Molecular Pathology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Federico Villa
- U.O. Cellular Oncology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- U.O. Molecular Pathology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Rodolfo Quarto
- Cellular Oncology Laboratory, Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genova, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genova, Italy.,U.O. Cellular Oncology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Ranieri Cancedda
- Cellular Oncology Laboratory, Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genova, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genova, Italy.,Biorigen srl, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genova, Italy
| | - Roberta Tasso
- Cellular Oncology Laboratory, Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genova, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genova, Italy. .,U.O. Cellular Oncology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genova, Italy.
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Pfeffer U, Bianchi G, Ravera S, Traverso C, Amaro A, Piaggio F, Emionite L, Bacchetti T, Raffaghello L. Abstract 3513: Curcumin induces a fatal energetic impairment by inhibiting ATP-synthase activity and decreasing ATP generation and oxygen consumption in in vitro and in vivo tumor models. Cancer Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2018-3513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Curcumin has been reported to inhibit inflammation, tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis by decreasing cell growth and by inducing apoptosis mainly through the inhibition of nuclear factor kappa-B (NFkB), a master regulator of inflammation. Recent reports also indicate potential metabolic effects of the polyphenol and we therefore analyzed whether and how it affects the energy metabolism of tumor cells. We show that curcumin inhibits the activity of ATP-synthase in isolated mitochondrial membranes leading to a dramatic drop of ATP and a reduction of oxygen consumption in in vitro in several murine tumor cell lines (CT26 colon cancer, B16 melanoma, L1210 lymphocytic leukemia, 4T1 breast cancer) and in vivo in syngeneic tumor models. The effects of curcumin on ATP-synthase are independent of the inhibition of nuclear factor kB (NFkB) since the IkB Kinase inhibitor, SC-514, inhibits the expression of the NFkB target gene, BCL2, but does not affect the activity of the ATP-synthase. The activities of the glucose metabolism enzymes hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase are only slightly affected in a cell type specific manner. The energy impairment translates into decreased tumor cell viability. Apoptosis is induced by promoting the generation of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of lipid oxidation. Tumor autophagy is induced by curcumin at least in part due to the activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). These activities translate into a significant delay of in vivo tumor growth likely due to a reduction of tumor angiogenesis since we observe reduced number and size of tumor vessels in vivo. These results establish the ATP-synthase, a central enzyme of the cellular energy metabolism, as a target of the anti-tumoral polyphenol leading to inhibition of cancer cell growth and a general reprogramming of tumor metabolism.
Citation Format: Ulrich Pfeffer, Giovanna Bianchi, Silvia Ravera, Chiara Traverso, Adriana Amaro, Francesca Piaggio, Laura Emionite, Tiziana Bacchetti, Lizzia Raffaghello. Curcumin induces a fatal energetic impairment by inhibiting ATP-synthase activity and decreasing ATP generation and oxygen consumption in in vitro and in vivo tumor models [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3513.
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Caporali S, Levati L, Alvino E, Amaro A, Lacal PM, Bonmassar L, Bassi C, Lupini L, Cappellini GCA, Pfeffer U, Negrini M, Felli N, Carè A, Russo G, D'Atri S. Abstract 474: Alterations of micro-RNAs are associated with melanoma resistance to BRAF inhibitors: Role of miR-126. Cancer Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2018-474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Altered expression of miRNAs has been demonstrated in tumor tissue and plasma/serum of cancer patients. miRNAs have been shown to have both diagnostic and prognostic significance and to potentially constitute novel targets and therapeutic agents for cancer treatment. Experimental evidences also support an involvement of miRNAs in tumor cell response to therapy. In this study, we explored the role of miRNAs in melanoma resistance to BRAF inhibitors (BRAFi). The melanoma cell line A375 and its dabrafenib-resistant subline A375R, which displays increased invasiveness and VEGF secretion, were analyzed for miRNA expression using Affymetrix GeneChip® miRNA 3.1 microarrays. Differential expression of selected miRNAs was confirmed in the two cell lines using qRT-PCR. miR-126, previously shown to act as a tumor suppressor gene in melanoma, was chosen for additional studies that were performed also in a second pair of matched melanoma cell lines, sensitive or resistant to dabrafenib (i.e SK-Mel28 and SK-Mel28R). The resistant sublines were transfected with 50 nM Pre-miR hsa-miR-126 miRNA Precursor (pre-miRNA-126) or Pre-miR miRNA Precursor Negative Control#1 (Ambion®) and analyzed for proliferation 6 days later using the MTT assay. Seventy-two hours after transfection, the cells were also assayed for invasion of the extracellular matrix and VEGF-A secretion using Boyden Chamber and ELISA assays, respectively. In 33 melanoma patients treated with BRAFi, alone or in combination with MEKi, plasma samples were collected before the beginning of therapy (T0), and two months later (T2) and subjected to miRNA expression profiling by small RNA-seq. A375R cells displayed 13 up-regulated miRNAs and 32 down-regulated miRNAs with respect to A375 cells (SAM analysis; fold change ≥ 2). Down-regulation of miR-126 was confirmed by qRT-PCR analysis in both A375R and SK-Mel28R cells. Restoration of miR-126 expression in A375R and SK-Mel28R cells by pre-miRNA-126 transfection impaired proliferation, invasion and secretion of VEGF-A, a validated target of miR-126. Fifthy and 28 circulating miRNAs were differentially expressed at T0 and at T2, respectively, between patients who responded to therapy (n=28) and patients who did not (n=5). Our results demonstrate that down-regulation of miR-126 expression is associated with acquired resistance to dabrafenib in melanoma cells and suggest that restoration of this miRNA in dabrafenib-resistant melanomas might restrain tumor growth and metastasis. They also show that in melanoma patients with primary resistance to BRAFi, a set of circulating miRNAs is differentially expressed with respect to patients responding to therapy, suggesting a potential role of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers for early prediction of drug response. Supported by the Italian Ministry of Health, grant 5PerMille-2010 and AIRC, IGP 17585
Citation Format: Simona Caporali, Lauretta Levati, Ester Alvino, Adriana Amaro, Pedro Miguel Lacal, Laura Bonmassar, Cristian Bassi, Laura Lupini, Gian Carlo Antonini Cappellini, Ulrich Pfeffer, Massimo Negrini, Nadia Felli, Alessandra Carè, Giandomenico Russo, Stefania D'Atri. Alterations of micro-RNAs are associated with melanoma resistance to BRAF inhibitors: Role of miR-126 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 474.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Adriana Amaro
- 3IRCCS-AUO San Martino, National Cancer Research Institute, Genoa, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- 3IRCCS-AUO San Martino, National Cancer Research Institute, Genoa, Italy
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Amaro A, Angelini G, Mirisola V, Esposito AI, Reverberi D, Matis S, Maffei M, Giaretti W, Viale M, Gangemi R, Emionite L, Astigiano S, Cilli M, Bachmeier BE, Killian PH, Albini A, Pfeffer U. A highly invasive subpopulation of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells shows accelerated growth, differential chemoresistance, features of apocrine tumors and reduced tumorigenicity in vivo. Oncotarget 2018; 7:68803-68820. [PMID: 27626697 PMCID: PMC5356591 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.11931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Accepted: 08/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The acquisition of an invasive phenotype is a prerequisite for metastasization, yet it is not clear whether or to which extent the invasive phenotype is linked to other features characteristic of metastatic cells. We selected an invasive subpopulation from the triple negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231, performing repeated cycles of preparative assays of invasion through Matrigel covered membranes. The invasive sub-population of MDA-MB-231 cells exhibits stronger migratory capacity as compared to parental cells confirming the highly invasive potential of the selected cell line. Prolonged cultivation of these cells did not abolish the invasive phenotype. ArrayCGH, DNA index quantification and karyotype analyses confirmed a common genetic origin of the parental and invasive subpopulations and revealed discrete structural differences of the invasive subpopulation including increased ploidy and the absence of a characteristic amplification of chromosome 5p14.1-15.33. Gene expression analyses showed a drastically altered expression profile including features of apocrine breast cancers and of invasion related matrix-metalloproteases and cytokines. The invasive cells showed accelerated proliferation, increased apoptosis, and an altered pattern of chemo-sensitivity with lower IC50 values for drugs affecting the mitotic apparatus. However, the invasive cell population is significantly less tumorigenic in orthotopic mouse xenografts suggesting that the acquisition of the invasive capacity and the achievement of metastatic growth potential are distinct events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Amaro
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Giovanna Angelini
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Valentina Mirisola
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Alessia Isabella Esposito
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Daniele Reverberi
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Serena Matis
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Massimo Maffei
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Walter Giaretti
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Maurizio Viale
- Biotherapy, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Rosaria Gangemi
- Biotherapy, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Laura Emionite
- Animal Facility, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Simonetta Astigiano
- Immunology, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Michele Cilli
- Animal Facility, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Beatrice E Bachmeier
- Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
| | - Peter H Killian
- Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
| | - Adriana Albini
- Scientific and Technology Park, IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
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Abstract
Tumors growing within the host form dynamic aberrant tissue that consists of host components, including the stroma, an expanding vasculature and often chronic inflammation, in addition to the tumor cells themselves. These host components can contribute to, rather than limit, tumor expansion, whereas deprivation of vessel formation has the potential to confine tumors in small, clinically silent foci. Therapeutic inhibition of vessel formation could be best suited to preventive strategies aimed at the suppression of angiogenesis in primary tumors in subjects at risk, or of micrometastases after surgical removal of a primary tumor. Our analysis of potential cancer chemopreventive molecules including N-acetylcysteine, green tea flavonoids and 4-hydroxyphenyl-retinamide has identified antiangiogenic activities that could account -at least in part - for the tumor prevention effects observed with these compounds. These drugs appear to target common mechanisms of tumor angiogenesis that may permit identification of critical targets for antiangiogenic therapy and antiangiogenic chemoprevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- U Pfeffer
- Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Research Institute, Genoa, Italy.
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31
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Bachmeier BE, Vené R, Iancu CM, Pfeffer U, Mayer B, Noonan D, Albini A, Jochum M, Nerlich AG. Transcriptional control of cell density dependent regulation of matrix metalloproteinase and TIMP expression in breast cancer cell lines. Thromb Haemost 2017; 93:761-9. [PMID: 15841325 DOI: 10.1160/th04-09-0601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
SummaryOur recent studies on breast carcinoma cell lines with differing tumorigenicity / invasiveness (MCF-7< MDA-MB-468< MDAMB-231< MDA-MB-435) had shown significantly decreasing expression levels of MMPs-1,-2,-3,-8,-9,-10,-11 and –13 with increasing cell density while the levels of TIMP-1 and –2 increased. This correlated well with a lower invasiveness of confluent cells. In the present study, we extend our in vitro studies on three-dimensional cultures of breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDAMB-435 and the transcriptional control of MMP and TIMP-expression in two-dimensional cultures of MDA-MB-231 and –435 cells. The tumor spheroid model showed that MMP expression and proteolytic activity were considerably higher in loosely structured tumor groups as compared to densely growing “compact” cell complexes. These data suggested that cell density regulates MMP and TIMP transcription and therefore, we tested whether AP-1, NFκB and CRE are involved in this process. Gene silencing of c-jun in sparse cultures had an inhibitory effect on MMP-3,–9 and –13 expression, on proteolytic activity as well as on the invasive potential of the cells, thus confirming a role for AP-1. TIMP-1, and –2 expression was up-regulated as compared to control cells. Consistent with this, overexpression of c-jun and c-fos in confluent breast cancer cell lines leads to up-regulation of MMP expression, proteolytic activity and invasion as well as down-regulation of TIMP-1. In summary, we provide evidence that cell density influences the invasive potential of tumor cells via regulation of MMPs and TIMPs by AP-1, NFκB and CRE transcription factors. Overexpression of MMPs in sparse cultures could help explain early dissemination of potentially metastatic cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice E Bachmeier
- Dept. of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, Surgical Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Nussbaumstr. 20, D-80336 München, Germany.
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Amaro A, Parodi F, Diedrich K, Angelini G, Götz C, Viaggi S, Maric I, Coviello D, Pistillo MP, Morabito A, Mandalà M, Ghiorzo P, Visconti P, Gualco M, Anselmi L, Puzone R, Lanza F, Mosci C, Raggi F, Bosco MC, Varesio L, Zeschnigk M, Spano L, Queirolo P, Pfeffer U. Analysis of the Expression and Single-Nucleotide Variant Frequencies of the Butyrophilin-like 2 Gene in Patients With Uveal Melanoma. JAMA Ophthalmol 2017; 134:1125-1133. [PMID: 27532663 DOI: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2016.2691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Importance Chromosome 6p amplification is associated with more benign behavior for uveal melanomas (UMs) with an otherwise high risk of metastasis conferred by chromosome 3 monosomy. Chromosome 6p contains several members of the B7 family of immune regulator genes, including butyrophilin-like 2 (BTNL2; OMIM, 606000), which is associated with prostate cancer risk and autoimmune diseases. Objective To investigate the expression and variant allele frequencies of BTNL2, a candidate gene for chromosome 6 amplification, in patients with UM. Design, Setting, and Participants In this case-control study, we analyzed the expression of BTNL2 in UM cell lines and human macrophages in patients with UM. Variants of BTNL2 were analyzed using probes for polymerase chain reaction and high-resolution melting. The association of missense variants rs28362679 and rs41441651 with tumor risk was analyzed in 209 patients with UM and 116 matched control patients as well as 12 UM and 64 other tumor cell lines. Genes that were differentially expressed in M1- and M2-polarized macrophages were identified by microarray analysis of 111 patients with UM, and the association of the expression of these genes with disease-free survival was analyzed by Cox regression analysis. Data were collected from September 2013 to November 2015. Main Outcomes and Measures Butyrophilin-like 2 single-nucleotide variants were associated with UM risk; M1 and M2 macrophage-specific gene expression was associated with disease-free survival. Results We genotyped a total of 325 patients. Of the 209 patients with UM, 124 (59.3%) were male, 114 (54.5%) were Italian, and 95 (45.5%) were German; the mean (range) age was 65 (27-94) years. Of the 116 Italian control patients, 67 (57.8%) were female, and the mean (range) age was 39 (21-88) years. Butyrophilin-like 2 is expressed in patients with UM and macrophages. The frequency of the rs28362679 variant was higher in patients with UM (16 of 209 [7.7%]; 95% CI, 4.7-12.2) than frequencies from European Variation Archive and Exome Aggregation Consortium data (2134 of 118 564 [1.8%]; 95% CI, 1.7-1.9) and Exome Sequencing Project data (100 of 4540 [2.2%]; 95% CI, 1.8-2.7) but were not higher compared with Italian control patients (10 of 116 [8.6%]; 95% CI, 4.6-15.4). The rs41441651 variant was present in 5 patients with UM (2.4%; 95% CI, 0.9-5.7), 2 Italian control patients (1.7%; 95% CI, 0.1-6.5), 2846 patients from European Variation Archive and Exome Aggregation Consortium data (2.4%; 95% CI, 2.3-2.5), and 23 patients from Exome Sequencing Project data (0.5%; 95% CI, 0.3-0.8). Human UM cells express M1 and M2 macrophage-specific genes, whose expression is associated with disease-free survival. Conclusions and Relevance Butyrophilin-like 2, expressed at various levels by UM cells and macrophages, might interfere with the immune control of the tumor. Butyrophilin-like 2 variants showed highly variable frequencies among ethnically related cohorts. There was no enrichment of BTNL2 variants in patients with UM compared with control patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Amaro
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy2Department of Earth Sciences, Environment, and Life, Università Degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Federica Parodi
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy3Intergruppo Melanoma Italiano, Genova, Italy
| | - Konrad Diedrich
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Giovanna Angelini
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | | | - Silvia Viaggi
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment, and Life, Università Degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy5Ente Ospedaliero Galliera, Genova, Italy
| | | | | | - Maria Pia Pistillo
- Department of Tumor Epigenetics, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Anna Morabito
- Department of Tumor Epigenetics, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Mario Mandalà
- Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Ospedale Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Paola Ghiorzo
- Department of Genetics of Rare Tumors, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Paola Visconti
- Department of Blood Transfusion Center, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Marina Gualco
- Department of Anatomy and Cytohistopathology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | | | - Roberto Puzone
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | | | | | - Federica Raggi
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Maria Carla Bosco
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Luigi Varesio
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Michael Zeschnigk
- Institute of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University Duisburg-Essen, West German Cancer Center and the German Cancer Consortium, Essen, Germany
| | - Laura Spano
- Department of Medical Oncology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Paola Queirolo
- Department of Medical Oncology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
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Pfeffer U. Zulassungsüberschreitende Verschreibung von Antidepressiva nicht evidenzbasiert. Dtsch Med Wochenschr 2017. [DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-105772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Abstract
Uveal melanoma (UM), a rare cancer of the eye, is distinct from cutaneous melanoma by its etiology, the mutation frequency and profile, and its clinical behavior including resistance to targeted therapy and immune checkpoint blockers. Primary disease is efficiently controlled by surgery or radiation therapy, but about half of UMs develop distant metastasis mostly to the liver. Survival of patients with metastasis is below 1 year and has not improved in decades. Recent years have brought a deep understanding of UM biology characterized by initiating mutations in the G proteins GNAQ and GNA11. Cytogenetic alterations, in particular monosomy of chromosome 3 and amplification of the long arm of chromosome 8, and mutation of the BRCA1-associated protein 1, BAP1, a tumor suppressor gene, or the splicing factor SF3B1 determine UM metastasis. Cytogenetic and molecular profiling allow for a very precise prognostication that is still not matched by efficacious adjuvant therapies. G protein signaling has been shown to activate the YAP/TAZ pathway independent of HIPPO, and conventional signaling via the mitogen-activated kinase pathway probably also contributes to UM development and progression. Several lines of evidence indicate that inflammation and macrophages play a pro-tumor role in UM and in its hepatic metastases. UM cells benefit from the immune privilege in the eye and may adopt several mechanisms involved in this privilege for tumor escape that act even after leaving the niche. Here, we review the current knowledge of the biology of UM and discuss recent approaches to UM treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Amaro
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, L.go Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
| | - Rosaria Gangemi
- Laboratory of Biotherapies, Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Francesca Piaggio
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, L.go Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
| | - Giovanna Angelini
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, L.go Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
| | - Gaia Barisione
- Laboratory of Biotherapies, Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Silvano Ferrini
- Laboratory of Biotherapies, Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, L.go Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy.
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Pfeffer U. Testosteronbehandlung erhöht das Risiko venöser Thromboembolien. Dtsch Med Wochenschr 2017. [DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-123372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Abstract
Colorectal cancer is characterized by exquisite genomic instability either in the form of microsatellite instability or chromosomal instability. Microsatellite instability is the result of mutation of mismatch repair genes or their silencing through promoter methylation as a consequence of the CpG island methylator phenotype. The molecular causes of chromosomal instability are less well characterized. Genomic instability and field cancerization lead to a high degree of intratumoral heterogeneity and determine the formation of cancer stem cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition mediated by the TGF-β and APC pathways. Recent analyses using integrated genomics reveal different phases of colorectal cancer evolution. An initial phase of genomic instability that yields many clones with different mutations (big bang) is followed by an important, previously not detected phase of cancer evolution that consists in the stabilization of several clones and a relatively flat outgrowth. The big bang model can best explain the coexistence of several stable clones and is compatible with the fact that the analysis of the bulk of the primary tumor yields prognostic information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Amaro
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
| | - Silvana Chiara
- Medical Oncology, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy.
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Borghini S, Ferrera D, Prigione I, Fiore M, Ferraris C, Mirisola V, Amaro AA, Gueli I, Zammataro L, Gattorno M, Pfeffer U, Ceccherini I. Gene expression profile in TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome reveals constitutively enhanced pathways and new players in the underlying inflammation. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2016; 34:S121-S128. [PMID: 27310036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2015] [Accepted: 02/08/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS) is a multisystemic autoinflammatory condition associated with heterozygous TNFRSF1A mutations, presenting with a variety of clinical symptoms, many of which yet unexplained. In this work, we aimed at deepening into TRAPS pathogenic mechanisms sustained by monocytes. METHODS Microarray experiments were conducted to identify genes whose expression results altered in patients compared to healthy individuals, both under basal condition and following LPS stimulation. RESULTS An inflammatory state baseline, characterised by constitutive overexpression of IL1β and IL1R1 receptor, has been shown in TRAPS patients compared to controls, including in non-active disease phases. Following LPS stimulation, IL1RN up-regulation is stronger in controls than in patients and inflammatory pathways and microRNAs undergo differential regulation. Genes involved in post-translational modifications, protein folding and ubiquitination result constitutively up-regulated in TRAPS, while response to interferon types I and II is defective, failing to be up-regulated by LPS. TGFβ pathway is down-regulated in untreated TRAPS monocytes, while genes involved in redox regulation result constitutively over-expressed. Finally, additional molecular alterations seem to reflect organ failures sometime complicating the disease. CONCLUSIONS Gene expression profile in resting TRAPS monocytes has confirmed the patients' chronic inflammatory condition. In addition, pathways not yet associated with the disease have been disclosed, such as interferon types I and II response to LPS stimulation and a downregulation of the TGFβ pathway in basal condition. The role of miRNA, suggested by our results, deserves in-depth analyses in light of the possible development of targeted therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Denise Ferrera
- U.O. Genetica Medica, Istituto G. Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | | | - Michele Fiore
- U.O. Genetica Medica, Istituto G. Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | | | - Valentina Mirisola
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS A.O.U. San Martino, IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Adriana Agnese Amaro
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS A.O.U. San Martino, IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
| | - Ilaria Gueli
- U.O. Pediatria II-Reumatologia and Laboratorio di Immunologia delle Malattie Reumatiche, Istituto G. Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Luca Zammataro
- Computational Research, Center for Genomic Science of IIT@SEMM, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Milano, Italy
| | - Marco Gattorno
- U.O. Pediatria II-Reumatologia and Laboratorio di Immunologia delle Malattie Reumatiche, Istituto G. Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Molecular Pathology, IRCCS A.O.U. San Martino, IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy
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Pfeffer U, Puzone R. Single nucleotide variants at the MAP3K1/SETD9 locus on chromosome 5q11.2 are associated with somatic PIK3CA mutations in breast cancer. Eur J Cancer 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/s0959-8049(16)61084-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Lazzarini E, Carter PR, De Boer M, Balbi C, Altieri P, Pfeffer U, Gambini E, Varesio L, Bosco MC, Coviello D, Pompilio G, Brunelli C, Cancedda R, Ameri P, Bollini S, Mcgowan J, Uppal H, Chandran S, Sarma J, Potluri R, Octavia Y, De Kleijnen MGJ, Van Thiel BS, Ridwan Y, Te Lintel Hekkert M, Van Der Pluijm I, Essers J, Hoeijmakers JH, Duncker DJ. Mechanisms of Cancer-related Cardiomyopathy67Protection against chemotherapy cardiotoxicity by the human amniotic fluid stem cell secretome: a new tool for future paracrine therapy68Hyperlipidaemia reduces mortality in breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer69DNA-repair in cardiomyocytes is critical for maintaining cardiac function. Cardiovasc Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvw130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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Bianchi G, Martella R, Ravera S, Marini C, Capitanio S, Orengo A, Emionite L, Lavarello C, Amaro A, Petretto A, Pfeffer U, Sambuceti G, Pistoia V, Raffaghello L, Longo VD. Fasting induces anti-Warburg effect that increases respiration but reduces ATP-synthesis to promote apoptosis in colon cancer models. Oncotarget 2016; 6:11806-19. [PMID: 25909219 PMCID: PMC4494906 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.3688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 03/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor chemoresistance is associated with high aerobic glycolysis rates and reduced oxidative phosphorylation, a phenomenon called "Warburg effect" whose reversal could impair the ability of a wide range of cancer cells to survive in the presence or absence of chemotherapy. In previous studies, Short-term-starvation (STS) was shown to protect normal cells and organs but to sensitize different cancer cell types to chemotherapy but the mechanisms responsible for these effects are poorly understood. We tested the cytotoxicity of Oxaliplatin (OXP) combined with a 48hour STS on the progression of CT26 colorectal tumors. STS potentiated the effects of OXP on the suppression of colon carcinoma growth and glucose uptake in both in vitro and in vivo models. In CT26 cells, STS down-regulated aerobic glycolysis, and glutaminolysis, while increasing oxidative phosphorylation. The STS-dependent increase in both Complex I and Complex II-dependent O(2) consumption was associated with increased oxidative stress and reduced ATP synthesis. Chemotherapy caused additional toxicity, which was associated with increased succinate/Complex II-dependent O(2) consumption, elevated oxidative stress and apoptosis .These findings indicate that the glucose and amino acid deficiency conditions imposed by STS promote an anti-Warburg effect characterized by increased oxygen consumption but failure to generate ATP, resulting in oxidative damage and apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Silvia Ravera
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Genova, Italy
| | - Cecilia Marini
- CNR Institute of Bioimages and Molecular Physiology, Milan, Section of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Selene Capitanio
- Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Annamaria Orengo
- Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Laura Emionite
- Animal facility, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | | | - Adriana Amaro
- Functional Genomics, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | | | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Functional Genomics, IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Gianmario Sambuceti
- Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Vito Pistoia
- Laboratorio di Oncologia Istituto G. Gaslini, Genoa, Italy
| | | | - Valter D Longo
- Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,IFOM, FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Milan, Italy
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Barisione G, Fabbi M, Gino A, Queirolo P, Orgiano L, Spano L, Picasso V, Pfeffer U, Mosci C, Jager MJ, Ferrini S, Gangemi R. Potential Role of Soluble c-Met as a New Candidate Biomarker of Metastatic Uveal Melanoma. JAMA Ophthalmol 2015; 133:1013-21. [PMID: 26068448 DOI: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2015.1766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Conventional melanoma serum biomarkers (S100 and lactate dehydrogenase [LDH]) perform poorly in patients with uveal melanoma, and the search for new biomarkers is needed. A high expression of the oncoprotein c-Met in primary uveal melanoma is associated with metastatic progression, and c-Met is released as a soluble ectodomain through ADAM10- and ADAM17-mediated cleavage, suggesting a possible role as biomarker. OBJECTIVE To determine the potential role of soluble c-Met (sc-Met) as a biomarker of uveal melanoma progression in comparison with S100 and LDH. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Soluble c-Met was studied in the conditioned medium of 9 uveal melanoma cell lines and in the blood serum samples of 24 mice with uveal melanoma xenografts, 57 patients with uveal melanoma (17 patients whose tumors metastasized and 40 patients whose tumors did not metastasize), and 37 healthy donors. We collected blood samples for as long as 5 years after treatment of the primary tumor. The concentration of sc-Met was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate sensitivity and specificity in the identification of metastatic uveal melanoma. The study began on May 2, 2011, and the last samples were collected in January 2015. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Levels of sc-Met in uveal melanoma cell cultures and in the blood serum samples of xenotransplanted mice, of healthy donors, and of patients with uveal melanoma during follow-up. RESULTS The conditioned medium of uveal melanoma cell lines and the blood serum samples of mice with uveal melanoma xenografts contained significant levels of sc-Met. Patients with metastatic disease had significantly higher serum levels of sc-Met (median level, 590 ng/mL [range, 246-12,856 ng/mL]) than did patients without metastatic disease (median level, 296 ng/mL [range, 201-469 ng/mL]) (P < .001) and healthy donors (median level, 285 ng/mL [range, 65-463 ng/mL]) (P < .001). Analysis of receiver operating characteristic curves for sc-Met levels in patients with nonmetastatic uveal melanoma vs patients with metastatic uveal melanoma yielded an area under the curve of 0.82 (95% CI, 0.68-0.95) (P < .001), which was superior to the areas under the curve achieved with S100 or LDH markers. Patients with progressive metastatic disease showed further increases in sc-Met level, whereas stable patients did not. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The present pilot study suggests that sc-Met should be further exploited as a biomarker for monitoring of uveal melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaia Barisione
- Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Marina Fabbi
- Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Alice Gino
- Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Paola Queirolo
- Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Laura Orgiano
- Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Laura Spano
- Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Virginia Picasso
- Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- Department of Technologically Complex Diagnostics, Pathology, and Therapy, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Carlo Mosci
- Ocular Oncology Center, Galliera Hospital, Genoa, Italy
| | - Martine J Jager
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Silvano Ferrini
- Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
| | - Rosaria Gangemi
- Department of Integrated Oncology Therapies, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy
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Raffaghello L, Bianchi G, Martella R, Marimpietri D, Petretto A, Inglese E, Amaro A, Pistoia V, Pfeffer U, Longo V. Abstract 1149: Consistency between genomic and proteomic profiles reveals novel molecular mechanisms of fasting antitumor activity. Cancer Res 2015. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2015-1149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background/Aim
Fasting or Short term Starvation (STS) represents a novel therapeutic strategy which appears to: i) protect normal but not tumor cells against the chemotherapy-mediated cytotoxicity, ii) induce a potent chemosensitizing effect in a wide range of experimental tumor model, and iii) be feasible, safe and able to reduce common side effects induced by chemotherapy in cancer patients. In addition, fasting alone has been shown to retard in vitro and in vivo tumor growth. However, the molecular mechanisms coupling STS with antitumor activity remain only partially understood. Thus, aim of this study is to investigate the modulation of the genomic and proteomic profiles by fasting in cancer cells with particular attention to elements involved in cell growth and metabolism signaling pathways.
Methods
Tumor cell lines were cultured under control (glucose: 1 g/L + 10% fetal bovine serum) or starved (glucose: 0.5 g/L + 1% fetal bovine serum) conditions for 48 hours. The in vitro viability of STS was tested by Trypan Blue staining and Annexin V apoptosis assay. Tumor cell proliferation was evaluated by 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) and Carboxyfluorescein Succinimidyl ester (CFSE) staining. Gene expression was tested by microarray analysis. Protein expression were studied by western blot and Label Free Quantitation (LFQ) on High Resolution/Mass Accuracy Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (HR/MA LC MS/MS). Proteomic data were evaluated by network analysis using Cytoscape.
Results
In vitro experiments showed that STS significantly reduced cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis. The latter effect was mediated by a fine regulation of genes and proteins involved in cell growth and metabolic signaling pathways. In particular, STS significantly reduced the expression of elements of PI3K/AKT pathway and glycolytic enzymes. This latter modulation likely occurred at the transcriptional level since the expression profiles of STS treated cells showed a clear down-regulation of the genes encoding these enzymes as compared to untreated controls. STS also down-regulated glutaminase both at the mRNA and protein level. In contrast, proteomic and genomic analyses of the expression of oxidative phosphorylation enzymes did not show a clear up-regulation effect by STS. Finally, preliminary data revealed that STS modulates genes and proteins involved in Jak/STAT, MAPK pathways and ubiquitin mediated proteolysis. Noteworthy, for 90% of genes down- or up-regulated by STS for which a protein was identified by HR/MA LC MS/MS, a corresponding mRNA level was modulated by STS with a similar trend.
Conclusions
Taken together, the genomic and proteomic profiles demonstrated that STS caused an anti-Warburg effect and downregulated proliferation and inflammatory pathways. These findings open a novel scenario in cancer treatment.
Citation Format: Lizzia Raffaghello, Giovanna Bianchi, Roberto Martella, Danilo Marimpietri, Andrea Petretto, Elvira Inglese, Adriana Amaro, Vito Pistoia, Ulrich Pfeffer, Valter Longo. Consistency between genomic and proteomic profiles reveals novel molecular mechanisms of fasting antitumor activity. [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 1149. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1149
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Giovanna Bianchi
- 1Laboratory of Oncology, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy
| | - Roberto Martella
- 1Laboratory of Oncology, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Adriana Amaro
- 3Functional Genomics, IRCCS AOU SanMartino-IST, Genoa, Italy
| | - Vito Pistoia
- 1Laboratory of Oncology, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- 3Functional Genomics, IRCCS AOU SanMartino-IST, Genoa, Italy
| | - Valter Longo
- 4Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California,, Los Angeles, CA
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Esposito AI, Amaro A, Angelini G, Emionite L, Gennari A, Indraccolo S, Maggi D, Marini C, Salani B, Sambuceti G, Sormani MP, Pfeffer U. Abstract 1182: Metformin affects breast cancer cell growth and disturbs an IGF1/insulin related gene network that correlates with breast cancer progression. Cancer Res 2015. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2015-1182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Obesity and the insulin resistance syndrome are risk factors for breast cancer and might also affect breast cancer progression. The anti-diabetic drug Metformin (METF) reduces the breast cancer risk in diabetic women. Insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF1) and insulin are involved in breast cancer tumorigenesis and progression.
We tested the effect of METF on the IGF1/insulin pathway and its involvement in breast cancer progression.
Methods
We developed a prognostic signature based on IGF1/insulin pathway genes using the Stockholm breast cancer microarray dataset of 149 cases for training and primary validation and the Uppsala dataset of 249 for external validation. The effect of METF on the prognostic gene set identified was tested in vitro on a panel of breast cancer cell lines. METF effects on proliferation and glucose metabolism were analyzed in vitro and in vivo. The insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) was silenced by transfection with shRNA-lentiviral vectors. Xenograft growth, in the presence and absence of METF, was studied and 18FDG-uptake was measured in vitro and in vivo.
Results
A 15-gene signature (Insulin sensitivity score, ISS) was developed and predicted breast cancer metastasis with an accuracy similar to the Recurrence Score. ISS genes were expressed at variable levels in a breast cancer cell line panel and showed variable responsiveness to METF. The high expression correlation among the ISS genes observed in untreated breast cancer cell lines was lost upon treatment with METF. METF reduced breast cancer cell growth in vitro with IC50 values ranging from 1mM to 25mM. Growth of MDA-MB-231 cells and hyper-invasive subpopulations derived therefrom was reduced in vivo by oral administration of METF to xenografted nude mice. Response to METF in terms of IC50 values correlated with basal expression of the 15 ISS genes with the strongest inverse correlation observed for IRS2. Stable silencing of IRS2 reduced the MDA-231 cell responsiveness to METF in vitro.
Discussion
METF acts on the insulin/IGF1 axis by disturbing a network of breast cancer progression related genes and appears to depend in its action on the expression of IRS2 that inversely correlates with the sensitivity of cell lines to the drug. The disruption of the ISS gene network is expected to correlate with an effect on breast cancer growth and progression and in fact, mouse xenografts show reduced growth upon treatment with METF. IRS2 appears to be a major mediator of METF effects.
Citation Format: Alessia I. Esposito, Adriana Amaro, Giovanna Angelini, Laura Emionite, Alessandra Gennari, Stefano Indraccolo, Davide Maggi, Cecilia Marini, Barabara Salani, Gianmario Sambuceti, Maria Pia Sormani, Ulrich Pfeffer. Metformin affects breast cancer cell growth and disturbs an IGF1/insulin related gene network that correlates with breast cancer progression. [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 1182. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1182
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Adriana Amaro
- 1San Martino Hospital/National Cancer Research Inst., Genova, Italy
| | | | - Laura Emionite
- 1San Martino Hospital/National Cancer Research Inst., Genova, Italy
| | | | | | - Davide Maggi
- 1San Martino Hospital/National Cancer Research Inst., Genova, Italy
| | - Cecilia Marini
- 4Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, National Research Council, Genova, Italy
| | - Barabara Salani
- 1San Martino Hospital/National Cancer Research Inst., Genova, Italy
| | | | | | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- 1San Martino Hospital/National Cancer Research Inst., Genova, Italy
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Salani B, Ravera S, Amaro A, Salis A, Passalacqua M, Millo E, Damonte G, Marini C, Pfeffer U, Sambuceti G, Cordera R, Maggi D. IGF1 regulates PKM2 function through Akt phosphorylation. Cell Cycle 2015; 14:1559-67. [PMID: 25790097 PMCID: PMC4612106 DOI: 10.1080/15384101.2015.1026490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2014] [Revised: 02/20/2015] [Accepted: 02/28/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) acts at the crossroad of growth and metabolism pathways in cells. PKM2 regulation by growth factors can redirect glycolytic intermediates into key biosynthetic pathway. Here we show that IGF1 can regulate glycolysis rate, stimulate PKM2 Ser/Thr phosphorylation and decrease cellular pyruvate kinase activity. Upon IGF1 treatment we found an increase of the dimeric form of PKM2 and the enrichment of PKM2 in the nucleus. This effect was associated to a reduction of pyruvate kinase enzymatic activity and was reversed using metformin, which decreases Akt phosphorylation. IGF1 induced an increased nuclear localization of PKM2 and STAT3, which correlated with an increased HIF1α, HK2, and GLUT1 expression and glucose entrapment. Metformin inhibited HK2, GLUT1, HIF-1α expression and glucose consumption. These findings suggest a role of IGFIR/Akt axis in regulating glycolysis by Ser/Thr PKM2 phosphorylation in cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Salani
- Department of Internal Medicine (DIMI); University of Genova; Genova, Italy
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro Genova, Italy
| | - Silvia Ravera
- Department of Pharmacy (DIFAR); University of Genova; Genova, Italy
| | - Adriana Amaro
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro Genova, Italy
| | - Annalisa Salis
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Biochemistry, and Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research (CEBR); University of Genova; Genova, Italy
| | - Mario Passalacqua
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES); University of Genova; Genova, Italy
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES); Section of Biochemistry, and Italian Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems; University of Genova; Genova, Italy
| | - Enrico Millo
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Biochemistry, and Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research (CEBR); University of Genova; Genova, Italy
| | - Gianluca Damonte
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Biochemistry, and Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research (CEBR); University of Genova; Genova, Italy
| | - Cecilia Marini
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro Genova, Italy
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES); University of Genova; Genova, Italy
- CNR Institute of Molecular Bioimaging and Physiology (IBFM); Genoa Section; Genova, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro Genova, Italy
| | - Gianmario Sambuceti
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro Genova, Italy
- Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES); University of Genova; Genova, Italy
| | - Renzo Cordera
- Department of Internal Medicine (DIMI); University of Genova; Genova, Italy
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro Genova, Italy
| | - Davide Maggi
- Department of Internal Medicine (DIMI); University of Genova; Genova, Italy
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro Genova, Italy
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Caporali S, Alvino E, Amaro A, Lacal P, Levati L, Atzori MG, Cappellini GC, Ruffini F, Bonmassar E, Pfeffer U, D’Atri S. Melanoma cells with acquired resistance to dabrafenib display changes in miRNA expression pattern and respond to this drug with an increase of invasiveness, which is abrogated by inhibition of NF-κB or the PI3K/mTOR signalling pathway. Lab Invest 2015. [PMCID: PMC4315285 DOI: 10.1186/1479-5876-13-s1-p5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Albini A, Rosano C, Angelini G, Amaro A, Esposito AI, Maramotti S, Noonan DM, Pfeffer U. Exogenous hormonal regulation in breast cancer cells by phytoestrogens and endocrine disruptors. Curr Med Chem 2014; 21:458-500. [PMID: 24304271 PMCID: PMC4153070 DOI: 10.2174/09298673113206660291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2013] [Revised: 08/19/2013] [Accepted: 10/04/2013] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Observations on the role of ovarian hormones in breast cancer growth, as well as interest in contraception, stimulated research into the biology of estrogens. The identification of the classical receptors ERα and ERβ and the transmembrane receptor GPER and the resolution of the structure of the ligand bound to its receptor established the principal molecular mechanisms of estrogen action. The presence of estrogen-like compounds in many plants used in traditional medicine or ingested as food ingredients, phytoestrogens, as well as the estrogenic activities of many industrial pollutants and pesticides, xenoestrogens, have prompted investigations into their role in human health. Phyto- and xenoestrogens bind to the estrogen receptors with a lower affinity than the endogenous estrogens and can compete or substitute the hormone. Xenoestrogens, which accumulate in the body throughout life, are believed to increase breast cancer risk, especially in cases of prenatal and prepuberal exposure whereas the role of phytoestrogens is still a matter of debate. At present, the application of phytoestrogens appears to be limited to the treatment of post-menopausal symptoms in women where the production of endogenous estrogens has ceased. In this review we discuss chemistry, structure and classification, estrogen signaling and the consequences of the interactions of estrogens, phytoestrogens and xenoestrogens with their receptors, the complex interactions of endogenous and exogenous ligands, the evaluation of the health risks related to xenoestrogens, and the perspectives toward the synthesis of potent third generation selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - U Pfeffer
- Universita degli Studi dell'Insubria, Facolta di Medicina e Chirurgia, Dipartimento di Biotecnologie e Scienze della Vita, Viale Dunant, n.3 Varese, Italy, 21100.
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Marini C, Salani B, Massollo M, Amaro A, Esposito AI, Orengo AM, Capitanio S, Emionite L, Riondato M, Bottoni G, Massara C, Boccardo S, Fabbi M, Campi C, Ravera S, Angelini G, Morbelli S, Cilli M, Cordera R, Truini M, Maggi D, Pfeffer U, Sambuceti G. Direct inhibition of hexokinase activity by metformin at least partially impairs glucose metabolism and tumor growth in experimental breast cancer. Cell Cycle 2014; 12:3490-9. [PMID: 24240433 PMCID: PMC3906335 DOI: 10.4161/cc.26461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that metformin, a widely used anti-diabetic drug, may be useful in the prevention and treatment of different cancers. In the present study, we demonstrate that metformin directly inhibits the enzymatic function of hexokinase (HK) I and II in a cell line of triple-negative breast cancer (MDA-MB-231). The inhibition is selective for these isoforms, as documented by experiments with purified HK I and II as well as with cell lysates. Measurements of 18F-fluoro-deoxyglycose uptake document that it is dose- and time-dependent and powerful enough to virtually abolish glucose consumption despite unchanged availability of membrane glucose transporters. The profound energetic imbalance activates phosphorylation and is subsequently followed by cell death. More importantly, the “in vivo” relevance of this effect is confirmed by studies of orthotopic xenografts of MDA-MB-231 cells in athymic (nu/nu) mice. Administration of high drug doses after tumor development caused an evident tumor necrosis in a time as short as 48 h. On the other hand, 1 mo metformin treatment markedly reduced cancer glucose consumption and growth. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that HK inhibition contributes to metformin therapeutic and preventive potential in breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Marini
- CNR Institute of Bioimages and Molecular Physiology; Milan, Section of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
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Bruno A, Dallaglio K, Cantelmo AR, Esposito AI, Ruggiero L, Orecchioni S, Callieri A, Bertolini F, Pfeffer U, Noonan DM, Albini A. Abstract 1010: Paradoxic effects of metformin on endothelial cells and angiogenesis. Cancer Res 2014. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2014-1010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Epidemiological evidence has suggested that metformin, an anti-hyperglycemic agent commonly used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is a potential cancer preventive agent. Anti-angiogenesis represents a key mechanism in cancer prevention, a concept termed angioprevention. Since conflicting data concerning the anti-angiogenic action of metformin are emerging, we elucidate the effects of metformin, on endothelial and tumor cells as well as on angiogenesis using in vitro, in vivo and transcriptomic approaches. We show that metformin inhibits endothelial cell ability to organize into capillary-like networks; this effect is partially dependent on the energy sensor AMPK. Gene expression and proteins profiling revealed paradoxic effects on several angiogenesis associated factors. We found induction of VEGF, COX2 and CXCR4 at the mRNA level and down-regulation of ADAMTS1. Interestingly, antibody array analysis showed essentially opposite regulation of numerous angiogenesis-associated proteins in endothelial and breast cancer cells.
We also show that endothelial production of cytochrome p450 family member CYP1B1 was up-regulated by tumor cell supernatants, while metformin blocked this effect by acting on AMPK. The metformin anti-angiogenic activity was exerted through inhibition of ERK1/2 activation, even in the presence of VEGF, while blocking AMPK activity abrogated this effect. Metformin inhibited angiogenesis induced by VEGF in matrigel pellets in vivo and contrasted the increase in microvessel density in obese mice on a high fat diet. Further, it down-regulated the number of endothelial precursor cells from white adipose tissue in obese mice. Our data show that metformin has an anti-angiogenic activity in vitro and in vivo, which is associated with a contradictory enhancement of chemokines and other inflammatory pro-angiogenic mediators, as well as a different regulation in endothelial and breast cancer cells.
Citation Format: Antonino Bruno, Katiuscia Dallaglio, Anna Rita Cantelmo, Alessia I. Esposito, Luca Ruggiero, Stefania Orecchioni, Angelica Callieri, Francesco Bertolini, Ulrich Pfeffer, Douglas M. Noonan, Adriana Albini. Paradoxic effects of metformin on endothelial cells and angiogenesis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1010. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1010
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonino Bruno
- 1Scientific and Technologic Park, IRCCS MultiMedica, Italy, Milan, Italy, Italy
| | - Katiuscia Dallaglio
- 2Research and Statistics Department, IRCCS “Tecnologie Avanzate e Modelli Assistenziali in Oncologia” Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy, Reggio Emilia, Italy, Italy
| | - Anna Rita Cantelmo
- 1Scientific and Technologic Park, IRCCS MultiMedica, Italy, Milan, Italy, Italy
| | - Alessia I. Esposito
- 3Integrated Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino – IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy, Genova, Italy, Italy
| | - Luca Ruggiero
- 1Scientific and Technologic Park, IRCCS MultiMedica, Italy, Milan, Italy, Italy
| | - Stefania Orecchioni
- 44Laboratory of Hematology-Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy, Milan, Italy, Italy
| | - Angelica Callieri
- 44Laboratory of Hematology-Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy, Milan, Italy, Italy
| | - Francesco Bertolini
- 5Laboratory of Hematology-Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy, Milan, Italy, Italy
| | - Ulrich Pfeffer
- 3Integrated Molecular Pathology, IRCCS AOU San Martino – IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy, Genova, Italy, Italy
| | - Douglas M. Noonan
- 6Scientific and Technologic Park, IRCCS MultiMedica, Italy; Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Milan, Italy, Italy
| | - Adriana Albini
- 7Scientific and Technologic Park, IRCCS MultiMedica, Italy Research and Statistics Department, IRCCS, Milan (Italy) and Reggio Emilia (Italy), Italy
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AMARO AA, Gualco M, Dono M, Pfeffer U, Maric I, Mosci C. Abstract 3420: TERT promoter mutations are rare in uveal melanoma. Cancer Res 2014. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2014-3420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Uveal melanoma is the most frequent primary tumor of the eye. It is molecularly clearly distinct from cutaneous melanoma and shows a different pattern of driver mutations. The influence of sunlight UV-exposure on the etiology of uveal melanoma is matter of debate. The recent identification of driver mutations in the promoter of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene with UV induced cytidine-to-thymidine transitions in cutaneous melanoma prompted us to investigate whether these mutations also occur in uveal melanoma. We also analyzed the frequency of other recently discovered uveal melanoma specific mutations in the genes GNAQ, GNA11, BAP1, SF3B1, and EIFAX1, and we analyzed the association of these mutation with histopathological and clinical features including progression free survival. Finally, we analyzed TERT expression in these tumors.
The mutation frequencies observed confirmed the prevalence of GNAQ mutations in cases with disomy of chromosome 3 that have a better prognosis whereas GNA11 was more frequent in monosomic cases. Together these two mutations account for more than 85% of the cases. BAP1 mutations are associated with chromosome 3 monosomy but not with progression free survival. SF3B1 and EIF1AX mutations occur in 10.3 and 22.5% of uveal melanomas, in disomic cases only. We detected a TERT mutation in only one case of a 57-year old white male with clinical and histo-pathological features typical for uveal melanoma. The tumor showed mutations in GNA11 and EIF1AX. No mutations were detected in GNAQ, BAP1, and SF3B1. Both copies of chromosome 3 were retained. Several tumors among which the one carrying the TERT promoter mutation showed elevated TERT expression.
These data indicate that TERT mutations are rare in uveal melanoma, consistent with a reduced etiological influence of sunlight. No conclusion can be drawn on the potential influence of TERT mutations on tumor progression.
Citation Format: Adriana Agnese AMARO, Marina Gualco, Maria Dono, Ulrich Pfeffer, Irena Maric, Carlo Mosci. TERT promoter mutations are rare in uveal melanoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3420. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3420
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Irena Maric
- 2DISTAV Genoa University-EO Galliera, Genoa, Italy
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