scholarly journals Meiosis and Kinetochore genes are used by cancer cells as genome destabilizers and transformation catalysts

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roshina Thapa ◽  
Swetha Vasudevan ◽  
Mimi Abo-Ayoub Ashqar ◽  
Eli Reich ◽  
Nataly Kravchenko-Balasha ◽  
...  

AbstractCancer cells have an altered transcriptome which contributes to their altered behaviors compared to normal cells. Indeed, many tumors express high levels of genes participating in meiosis or kinetochore biology, but the role of this high expression has not been fully elucidated. In this study we explore the relationship between this overexpression and genome instability and transformation capabilities of cancer cells. For this, we obtained expression data from 5 different cancer types which were analyzed using computational information-theoretic analysis. We were able to show that highly expressed meiotic/kinetochore genes were enriched in the altered gene expression subnetworks characterizing unstable cancer types with high chromosome instability (CIN). However, altered subnetworks found in the cancers with low CIN did not include meiotic and kinetochore genes. Representative gene candidates, found by the analysis to be correlated with a CIN phenotype, were further explored by transfecting genomically-stable (HCT116) and unstable (MCF7) cancer cell lines with vectors overexpressing those genes. This overexpression resulted in an increase in the numbers of abnormal cell divisions and defective spindle formations and in increased transformation properties in stable cancer HCT116 cells. Interestingly, the same properties were less affected by the overexpressed genes in the unstable MCF7 cancer cells. Our results indicate that overexpression of both meiosis and kinetochore genes is capable of driving genomic instability and cancer progression.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. TPS9099-TPS9099
Author(s):  
Crispin T. Hiley ◽  
Tanya Ahmad ◽  
Mariam Jamal-Hanjani ◽  
Christopher Abbosh ◽  
Yenting Ngai ◽  
...  

TPS9099 Background: The importance of intratumour heterogeneity (ITH) is increasingly recognised as a driver of cancer progression and survival outcome. However understanding how tumour clonal heterogeneity impacts upon therapeutic outcome is still an area of unmet clinical and scientific need. The TRACERx trial (NCT01888601), a prospective study of patients with radically resected primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), aims to define the evolutionary trajectories of lung cancer in both space and time through genetic analysis of multi-region and longitudinal tumour sampling. DARWIN II is an investigator initiated study for patients who are enrolled within the TRACERx trial, or who have multi-region sequencing of their primary disease, but subsequently relapse with metastatic disease. This study will examine the role of intra-tumour heterogeneity and predicted neo-antigens on the anti-tumour activity of anti-PDL1 immunotherapy. Methods: This multicentre non-randomised phase II molecularly stratified umbrella study will examine how clonal dominance and ITH influence outcomes after treatment, offering a unique opportunity to decipher mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapy with anti-PDL1. These data will help improve future study design by developing greater understanding of patient selection for immunotherapies in patients with NSCLC. The relationship between ITH and cfDNA/CTCs will also be explored in DARWIN II. The study arms: Arm 1: Patients either -1) without an actionable mutation and PDL1 positive or 2) without an actionable mutation and PDL1 negative following first line cytotoxic chemotherapy - Atezolizumab. Arm 2: BRAFV600 - Vemurafenib. Arm 3: ALK/RET gene rearrangement - Alectinib. Arm 4: Her2 Amplification - Trastuzumab Emtansine. Primary Outcome Measures: Progression free survival (PFS), defined as the period between the date of registration to the date of subsequent progression or death will be assessed according to: Neo-antigen burden, mutational burden, ITH as assessed using an ITH ratio index and genomic instability as assessed using a weighted genome instability index (wGII). Trial Sponsor: University College London. Clinical trial information: NCT02314481.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 879
Author(s):  
Yves St-Pierre

It has been almost 25 years since the discovery of galectin-7. This member of the galectin family has attracted interest from many working in the cancer field given its highly restricted expression profile in epithelial cells and the fact that cancers of epithelial origin (carcinoma) are among the most frequent and deadly cancer subtypes. Initially described as a p53-induced gene and associated with apoptosis, galectin-7 is now recognized as having a protumorigenic role in many cancer types. Several studies have indeed shown that galectin-7 is associated with aggressive behavior of cancer cells and induces expression of MMP-9, a member of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) family known to confer invasive behavior to cancer cells. It is therefore not surprising that many studies have examined its relationships with p53 and MMP-9. However, the relationships between galectin-7 and p53 and MMP-9 are not always clear. This is largely because p53 is often mutated in cancer cells and such mutations drastically change its functions and, consequently, its association with galectin-7. In this review, we discuss the functional relationships between galectin-7, p53 and MMP-9 and reconcile some apparently contradictory observations. A better understanding of these relationships will help to develop a working hypothesis and model that will provide the basis for further research in the hope of establishing a new paradigm for tackling the role of galectin-7 in cancer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuefei Zhang ◽  
Lingling Wang ◽  
Haixia Li ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Xiulan Zheng ◽  
...  

Abstract Cancer progression including proliferation, metastasis, and chemoresistance has become a serious hindrance to cancer therapy. This phenomenon mainly derives from the innate insensitive or acquired resistance of cancer cells to apoptosis. Ferroptosis is a newly discovered mechanism of programmed cell death characterized by peroxidation of the lipid membrane induced by reactive oxygen species. Ferroptosis has been confirmed to eliminate cancer cells in an apoptosis-independent manner, however, the specific regulatory mechanism of ferroptosis is still unknown. The use of ferroptosis for overcoming cancer progression is limited. Noncoding RNAs have been found to play an important roles in cancer. They regulate gene expression to affect biological processes of cancer cells such as proliferation, cell cycle, and cell death. Thus far, the functions of ncRNAs in ferroptosis of cancer cells have been examined, and the specific mechanisms by which noncoding RNAs regulate ferroptosis have been partially discovered. However, there is no summary of ferroptosis associated noncoding RNAs and their functions in different cancer types. In this review, we discuss the roles of ferroptosis-associated noncoding RNAs in detail. Moreover, future work regarding the interaction between noncoding RNAs and ferroptosis is proposed, the possible obstacles are predicted and associated solutions are put forward. This review will deepen our understanding of the relationship between noncoding RNAs and ferroptosis, and provide new insights in targeting noncoding RNAs in ferroptosis associated therapeutic strategies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Liu ◽  
Bin Zhang ◽  
xin jin ◽  
Xiang Cheng

Abstract BackgroundPancreatic cancer is a highly heterogeneous and has a poor prognosis. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying pancreatic cancer progression is essential for improving patient survival. Although the E3 ubiquitin ligase mind bomb 1 (MIB1) is involved in cancer cell proliferation and is often overexpressed in pancreatic cancer, the role of MIB1 in pancreatic cancer progression remains unclear.Methods The relationship of MIB1 with the clinicopathological features of pancreatic tumors was bioinformatically investigated in different datasets. The protein levels of MIB1 and ST7 were assessed by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The role of MIB1 and ST7 in pancreatic cancer growth was assessed by MTS assays, colony formation assays, and experiments in mouse xenograft models. The interaction between MIB1 and ST7 was investigated by co-immunoprecipitation. The relationship between MIB1, ST7, and IQGAP1 levels was explored by Western blotting and quantitative real-time PCR.ResultsMIB1 expression was elevated in pancreatic cancer tissues, and its expression levels were associated with unfavorable prognosis. MIB1 overexpression enhanced pancreatic cancer proliferation and invasion in vitro and in vivo. We identified ST7 as a novel MIB1 target for proteasomal degradation. Further, we found that ST7 suppressed tumor growth by downregulating IQGAP1 in pancreatic cancer cells.ConclusionsThese data suggest that MIB1 promotes pancreatic cancer progression by inducing ST7 degradation. ST7 suppresses tumor growth by downregulating IQGAP1 in pancreatic cancer cells. Therefore, the MIB1/ST7/IQGAP1 axis is essential for pancreatic cancer progression, and MIB1 inhibition may improve the survival of pancreatic cancer patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Ilaria Plantamura ◽  
Alessandra Cataldo ◽  
Giulia Cosentino ◽  
Marilena V. Iorio

Despite its controversial roles in different cancer types, miR-205 has been mainly described as an oncosuppressive microRNA (miRNA), with some contrasting results, in breast cancer. The role of miR-205 in the occurrence or progression of breast cancer has been extensively studied since the first evidence of its aberrant expression in tumor tissues versus normal counterparts. To date, it is known that the expression of miR-205 in the different subtypes of breast cancer is decreasing from the less aggressive subtype, estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor positive breast cancer, to the more aggressive, triple negative breast cancer, influencing metastasis capability, response to therapy and patient survival. In this review, we summarize the most important discoveries that have highlighted the functional role of this miRNA in breast cancer initiation and progression, in stemness maintenance, in the tumor microenvironment, its potential role as a biomarker and its relevance in normal breast physiology—the still open questions. Finally, emerging evidence reveals the role of some lncRNAs in breast cancer progression as sponges of miR-205. Here, we also reviewed the studies in this field.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 816
Author(s):  
Priya Ramarao-Milne ◽  
Olga Kondrashova ◽  
Sinead Barry ◽  
John D. Hooper ◽  
Jason S. Lee ◽  
...  

Genetic and epigenetic factors contribute to the development of cancer. Epigenetic dysregulation is common in gynaecological cancers and includes altered methylation at CpG islands in gene promoter regions, global demethylation that leads to genome instability and histone modifications. Histones are a major determinant of chromosomal conformation and stability, and unlike DNA methylation, which is generally associated with gene silencing, are amenable to post-translational modifications that induce facultative chromatin regions, or condensed transcriptionally silent regions that decondense resulting in global alteration of gene expression. In comparison, other components, crucial to the manipulation of chromatin dynamics, such as histone modifying enzymes, are not as well-studied. Inhibitors targeting DNA modifying enzymes, particularly histone modifying enzymes represent a potential cancer treatment. Due to the ability of epigenetic therapies to target multiple pathways simultaneously, tumours with complex mutational landscapes affected by multiple driver mutations may be most amenable to this type of inhibitor. Interrogation of the actionable landscape of different gynaecological cancer types has revealed that some patients have biomarkers which indicate potential sensitivity to epigenetic inhibitors. In this review we describe the role of epigenetics in gynaecological cancers and highlight how it may exploited for treatment.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 3061
Author(s):  
Francesca Aprile ◽  
Giovanni Bruno ◽  
Rossella Palma ◽  
Maria Teresa Mascellino ◽  
Cristina Panetta ◽  
...  

Gut microbiota plays an important role in human health. It may promote carcinogenesis and is related to several diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. This study of microbial dysbiosis in the etiology of colorectal adenoma aimed to investigate the possible causative role of microbiota in the adenoma–carcinoma sequence and its possible preventive role. A systematic, PRISMA-guided review was performed. The PubMed database was searched using “adenoma microbiota” and selecting original articles between January 2010 and May 2020 independently screened. A higher prevalence of Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria, and Bacteroidetes phyla was observed in the fecal luminal and mucosa-associated microbiota of patients with adenoma. However, other studies provided evidence of depletion of Clostridium, Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides and Romboutsia. Results on the relationship between adenoma endoscopic resection and microbiota were inconsistent. In conclusion, none of the analyzed studies developed a predictive model that could differentiate adenoma from non-adenoma patients, and therefore, to prevent cancer progression. The impact of adenoma’s endoscopic resection on microbiota was investigated, but the results were inconclusive. Further research in the field is required.


2008 ◽  
Vol 180 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen W. Yuen ◽  
Arshad Desai

Aneuploidy and chromosome instability (CIN) are hallmarks of the majority of solid tumors, but the relationship between them is not well understood. In this issue, Thompson and Compton (Thompson, S.L., and D.A. Compton. 2008. Examining the link between chromosomal instability and aneuploidy in human cells. J. Cell. Biol. 180:665–672) investigate the mechanism of CIN in cancer cells and find that CIN arises primarily from defective kinetochore–spindle attachments that evade detection by the spindle checkpoint and persist into anaphase. They also explore the consequences of artificially elevating chromosome missegregation in otherwise karyotypically normal cells. Their finding that induced aneuploidy is rapidly selected against suggests that the persistence of aneuploid cells in tumors requires not only chromosome missegregation but also additional, as yet poorly defined events.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2267
Author(s):  
Roni H. G. Wright ◽  
Miguel Beato

Despite global research efforts, breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. The majority of these deaths are due to metastasis occurring years after the initial treatment of the primary tumor and occurs at a higher frequency in hormone receptor-positive (Estrogen and Progesterone; HR+) breast cancers. We have previously described the role of NUDT5 (Nudix-linked to moiety X-5) in HR+ breast cancer progression, specifically with regards to the growth of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). BCSCs are known to be the initiators of epithelial-to-mesenchyme transition (EMT), metastatic colonization, and growth. Therefore, a greater understanding of the proteins and signaling pathways involved in the metastatic process may open the door for therapeutic opportunities. In this review, we discuss the role of NUDT5 and other members of the NUDT family of enzymes in breast and other cancer types. We highlight the use of global omics data based on our recent phosphoproteomic analysis of progestin signaling pathways in breast cancer cells and how this experimental approach provides insight into novel crosstalk mechanisms for stratification and drug discovery projects aiming to treat patients with aggressive cancer.


Author(s):  
Alfonso Varela-López ◽  
Laura Vera-Ramírez ◽  
Francesca Giampieri ◽  
María D. Navarro-Hortal ◽  
Tamara Y. Forbes-Hernández ◽  
...  

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