MET overexpression as a hallmark of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype in colorectal cancer.

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 3529-3529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanwal Pratap Singh Raghav ◽  
Hesham M. Amin ◽  
Wenting Wang ◽  
Ganiraju C. Manyam ◽  
Bradley Broom ◽  
...  

3529 Background: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been identified as a dominant molecular subtype of colorectal cancer (CRC). This EMT phenotype as recognized by complex gene signatures is prognostic and associated with chemoresistance, but a biomarker for EMT suitable for clinical utilization has not yet been validated. The purpose of this study was to compare MET protein expression with protein/gene expression of EMT markers and to evaluate its impact on overall survival (OS). Methods: We performed an exploratory analysis of 139 untreated primary CRC samples using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Protein and gene expressions were measured using reverse-phase protein array (RPPA) and RNA-sequencing, respectively. MET high/overexpressed group was defined by protein level in the highest quartile. Mann-Whitney U-test and Spearman rank correlation was used to determine association between MET protein expression and protein/gene expression of EMT markers and EMT gene signature scores. Regression tree method and Kaplan-Meier estimates were used to assess overall survival (OS). Results: The MET protein distribution is right skewed, demonstrating a unique population of MET high expressing tumors (P < 0.01). Colon tumors had higher MET protein levels compared to rectal tumors (P < 0.01). MET overexpression was associated with decreased OS (HR 2.92; 95% CI: 1.45 - 5.92). MET protein expression correlated strongly with protein expressions of SLUG (transcription factor for EMT) (r = 0.6) and ERCC1 (a marker for oxaliplatin chemo-resistance) (r = 0.6) (P < 0.01). Higher MET protein levels were associated with higher gene expression of 28 EMT markers including AXL, VIM, ZEB1, ZEB2, FGF1, TGFB1I1 and MMP11 (P < 0.05). Higher MET protein levels were also associated with higher gene scores derived from three published EMT gene signatures (P < 0.05). MET protein expression did not correlate with MET gene expression (r = 0.16). Conclusions: Increased MET protein expression strongly correlates with a molecular EMT phenotype and poor survival in patients with CRC. MET protein expression may be used as a surrogate biomarker to represent and select for this unique molecular subset of CRC driven by EMT biology.

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 334-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanwal Pratap Singh Raghav ◽  
Wenting Wang ◽  
Michael J. Overman ◽  
Scott Kopetz

334 Background: Dysregulation of the proto-oncogene MET (mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor gene) has been implicated in tumorigenesis and correlates with worse survival and chemo/radio-resistance in colorectal cancer (CRC). EMT has been identified as a dominant molecular characteristic of a subset of CRC tumors and represents a key feature in the developing colorectal taxonomy. The purpose of this study was to compare protein expression of MET with protein/gene expression of EMT markers and other clinicopathological characteristics, and to evaluate its impact on overall survival (OS). Methods: We performed an exploratory analysis of 590 CRC samples using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Fisher-exact test and Pearson’s method was used to determine the relationship between MET protein expression, clinicopathological characteristics and EMT marker protein expression by reverse-phase protein array (RPPA) and EMT-associated gene expression by RNA-sequencing. Regression tree method was applied to find the best cutoff point for MET using patients with available survival data. Overall survival (OS) was estimated non-parametrically using Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test was used to evaluate hazard ratio. Results: MET expression by RPPA did not correlate with traditional clinicopathologic characteristics. MET was overexpressed in 17% of CRC tumors and was significantly associated with OS (HR 2.92; 95% CI: 1.45 - 5.92). Correlation analysis of MET levels with gene expression of EMT markers AXL, CDH1, FGFR1, SNAIL, TWIST1/2, VIM, SLUG, ZEB1/2, FN1 demonstrated that the highest quartile of MET protein expression was associated with a 1.5 fold increase in ZEB1 (p = 0.002), a 1.4 fold increase in AXL (p = 0.005) and ZEB2 (p = 0.008), and a 1.3 fold increase in VIM (p = 0.02). MET expression also correlated strongly with protein expressions of SNAIL (transcription factor for EMT) (r = 0.96) and ERCC1 (r = 0.83) (a marker for oxaliplatin chemo-resistance). Conclusions: Increased MET protein expression is seen in 17% of CRC tumors and strongly correlates with a molecular EMT phenotype and poor survival in patients with CRC. MET protein expression may be a surrogate biomarker for this unique subset of CRC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e21045-e21045
Author(s):  
Emma O'Connor ◽  
Eileen E. Parkes ◽  
Leeona Galligan ◽  
James Bradford ◽  
Shauna Lambe ◽  
...  

e21045 Background: Traditionally gene expression signatures (GES) are used individually to classify patients into subgroups. Signatures targeting the same biology are often developed independently and may not classify identically. We developed the claraT software tool that uses consensus between multiple published GES categorised by the Hallmarks of Cancer (Hanahan & Weinberg, 2011) to classify cancers. As metastatic melanoma represents poor prognostic disease (5-yr survival 15-20%), we applied claraT to the TCGA melanoma dataset to identify targetable biologies, validated in a cohort of melanoma patients treated with Ipilimumab. Methods: TCGA RNA-seq data ( n= 472) was analysed using the claraT platform including GES for immune ( n= 14), angiogenesis ( n= 9) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) ( n= 12) Hallmarks. Samples were clustered for the combined and individual Hallmarks. Median progression-free (PFS) and overall-survival (OS) differences were analysed across identified subgroups. Analysis was validated in an Ipilimumab treated melanoma dataset ( n= 42) (Van Allen, 2015). Results: Clustering the combined Hallmarks identified 4 subgroups in the TCGA cohort: 1) Immune active, 2) Immune-EMT active, 3) EMT-Angiogenesis active, 4) All inactive. Groups 1&2 had significantly improved OS compared to Groups 3&4 (HR = 0.50, p< 0.0001). Clustering using single Hallmarks revealed that immune-positive tumours had significantly improved OS (HR = 0.53, p< 0.0001) compared to immune-negative tumours. Angiogenesis-negative tumours displayed improved PFS (HR = 0.73, p= 0.03) and OS (HR = 0.53, p <0.0001) compared to angiogenesis-negative tumours. Interestingly the EMT Hallmark was not found to be individually prognostic. When validated in the Ipilimumab treated dataset, patients classified as immune-positive had improved OS (HR = 0.357, p= 0.010) when compared to immune-negative. Similar trends were also observed for angiogenesis and EMT Hallmarks. Conclusions: This study demonstrates how simultaneous analysis of multiple GES ( n= 35 in this study) can identify robust biologies through consensus expression. This platform may have value in the identification of reliable biomarkers for clinical trials and could inform how combination therapies targeting key biologies may be used in cancer treatment.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulaziz Asiri ◽  
Teresa Pereira Raposo ◽  
Abdulaziz Alfahed ◽  
Mohammad Ilyas

ABSTRACTCten is a tensin which promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell motility. The precise mechanisms regulating Cten are unknown, although Cten could be regulated by several cytokines and growth factors. Since Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) regulates integrin function and promotes EMT / cell motility, we investigated whether this happens through Cten signalling in colorectal cancer (CRC).TGF-β1 signalling was modulated by either stimulation or knockdown in the CRC cell lines SW620 and HCT116. The effect of this modulation on expression of Cten, EMT markers and cellular function was tested. Cten role as a direct mediator of TGF-β1 signalling was investigated in a CRC cell line with a deleted Cten gene (SW620ΔCten).When TGF-β1 was stimulated or inhibited, this resulted in, respectively, upregulation and downregulation of Cten expression and EMT markers. Cell migration and invasion were significantly increased following TGF-β1 stimulation and lost by TGF-β1 knockdown. TGF-β1 stimulation in SW620ΔCten resulted in selective loss of the effect of TGF-β1 signalling on EMT and cell motility whilst the stimulatory effect on cell proliferation was retained.These data suggested Cten may play an essential role in mediating TGF-β1-induced EMT and cell motility and may play a role in metastasis in CRC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenhua Shao ◽  
Natsumi Fujiwara ◽  
Yasuhiro Mouri ◽  
Satoru Kisoda ◽  
Kayo Yoshida ◽  
...  

Abstract The ability of cancer cells to undergo partial-epithelial mesenchymal transition (p-EMT), rather than complete EMT, poses a higher metastatic risk. Although Fusobacterium nucleatum mainly inhabits in oral cavity, attention has been focused on the F. nucleatum involvement in colorectal cancer development. Here we examined the p-EMT regulation by F. nucleatum in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells. We cultured OSCC cells with epithelial, p-EMT or EMT phenotype with live or heat-inactivated F. nucleatum. Expression of the genes involved in epithelial differentiation, p-EMT and EMT were examined in OSCC cells after co-culture with F. nucleatum by qPCR. Cell growth and invasion of OSCC cells were also examined. Both live and heat-inactivated F. nucleatum upregulated the expression of p-EMT-related genes in OSCC cells with epithelial phenotype, but not with p-EMT or EMT phenotype. Moreover, F. nucleatum promoted invasion of OSCC cells with epithelial phenotype. Co-culture with other strains of bacteria other than Porphyromonas gingivalis did not alter p-EMT-related genes in OSCC cells with epithelial phenotype. F. nucleatum infection may convert epithelial to p-EMT phenotype via altering gene expression in OSCC. Oral hygiene managements against F. nucleatum infection may contribute to reduce the risk for an increase in metastatic ability of OSCC.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosep Chong ◽  
Nishant Thakur ◽  
Kwang Yeol Paik ◽  
Eun Jung Lee ◽  
Chang Suk Kang

Abstract Background: Periampullary cancers (PAC) including pancreatic, ampulla of Vater (AOV), and common bile duct (CBD) cancers are highly aggressive with a lack of useful prognostic markers beyond T stage. However, T staging can be biased due to the anatomic complexity of this region. Recently, several markers related to cancer stem cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) such as octamer transcription factor-4 (Oct4) and fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) respectively, have been proposed as new promising markers in other solid cancers. The aim of this study was to assess the expression and prognostic significance of stem cell/EMT markers in PACs. Methods : Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues of surgically excised PACs from the laboratory archives from 1998 to 2014 were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining for stem cell/EMT markers using tissue microarray. The clinicopathologic parameters were documented and statistically analyzed with the immunohistochemical findings. Survival and recurrence data were collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 126 PAC cases were evaluated. The average age was 63 years, with 76 male and 50 female patient samples. Age less than 74 years, AOV cancers, lower T & N stage, lower tumor size, no lymphatic, vascular, perineural invasion and histologic well differentiation, intestinal type, no fibrosis, severe inflammation were significantly associated with the better overall survival High expression levels of FGFR1 as well as CK20, CDX2, and VEGF were significantly related to better overall survival, while other stem cell markers were not related. Similar findings were observed for tumor recurrence using disease-free survival. Conclusions: In addition to other clinicopathologic parameters, severe fibrosis was related to frequent tumor recurrence, and high FGFR1 expression was associated with better overall survival. Histologic changes such as extensive fibrosis need to be investigated further in relation to EMT of PACs.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aline Simoneti Fonseca ◽  
Anelisa Ramão ◽  
Matheus Carvalho Bürger ◽  
Jorge Estefano Santana de Souza ◽  
Dalila Lucíola Zanette ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide; it is the fourth leading cause of death in the world and the third in Brazil. Mutations in the APC, DCC, KRAS and TP53 genes have been associated with the progression of sporadic CRC, occurring at defined pathological stages of the tumor progression and consequently modulating several genes in the corresponding signaling pathways. Therefore, the identification of gene signatures that occur at each stage during the CRC progression is critical and can present an impact on the diagnosis and prognosis of the patient. In this study, our main goal was to determine these signatures, by evaluating the gene expression of paired colorectal adenoma and adenocarcinoma samples to identify novel genetic markers in association to the adenoma-adenocarcinoma stage transition. Methods Ten paired adenoma and adenocarcinoma colorectal samples were subjected to microarray gene expression analysis. In addition, mutations in APC, KRAS and TP53 genes were investigated by DNA sequencing in paired samples of adenoma, adenocarcinoma, normal tissue, and peripheral blood from ten patients. Results Gene expression analysis revealed a signature of 689 differentially expressed genes (DEG) (fold-change> 2, p< 0.05), between the adenoma and adenocarcinoma paired samples analyzed. Gene pathway analysis using the 689 DEG identified important cancer pathways such as remodeling of the extracellular matrix and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Among these DEG, the ETV4 stood out as one of the most expressed in the adenocarcinoma samples, further confirmed in the adenocarcinoma set of samples from the TCGA database. Subsequent in vitro siRNA assays against ETV4 resulted in the decrease of cell proliferation, colony formation and cell migration in the HT29 and SW480 colorectal cell lines. DNA sequencing analysis revealed KRAS and TP53 gene pathogenic mutations, exclusively in the adenocarcinomas samples. Conclusion Our study identified a set of genes with high potential to be used as biomarkers in CRC, with a special emphasis on the ETV4 gene, which demonstrated involvement in proliferation and migration.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosep Chong ◽  
Nishant Thakur ◽  
Kwang Yeol Paik ◽  
Eun Jung Lee ◽  
Chang Suk Kang

Abstract Background: Periampullary cancers (PAC) including pancreatic, ampulla of Vater (AOV), and common bile duct (CBD) cancers are highly aggressive with a lack of useful prognostic markers beyond T stage. However, T staging can be biased due to the anatomic complexity of this region. Recently, several markers related to cancer stem cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) such as octamer transcription factor-4 (Oct4) and fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) respectively, have been proposed as new promising markers in other solid cancers. The aim of this study was to assess the expression and prognostic significance of stem cell/EMT markers in PACs. Methods : Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues of surgically excised PACs from the laboratory archives from 1998 to 2014 were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining for stem cell/EMT markers using tissue microarray. The clinicopathologic parameters were documented and statistically analyzed with the immunohistochemical findings. Survival and recurrence data were collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 126 PAC cases were evaluated. The average age was 63 years, with 76 male and 50 female patient samples. Age less than 74 years, AOV cancers, lower T & N stage, lower tumor size, no lymphatic, vascular, perineural invasion and histologic well differentiation, intestinal type, no fibrosis, severe inflammation were significantly associated with the better overall survival High expression levels of FGFR1 as well as CK20, CDX2, and VEGF were significantly related to better overall survival, while other stem cell markers were not related. Similar findings were observed for tumor recurrence using disease-free survival. Conclusions: In addition to other clinicopathologic parameters, severe fibrosis was related to frequent tumor recurrence, and high FGFR1 expression was associated with better overall survival. Histologic changes such as extensive fibrosis need to be investigated further in relation to EMT of PACs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danfeng Li ◽  
Xiaosheng Lin ◽  
Binlie Chen ◽  
Zhiyan Ma ◽  
Yongming Zeng ◽  
...  

Background: This study aimed to explore the biological functions and prognostic role of Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (Epithelial-mesenchymal transition)-related lncRNAs in colorectal cancer (CRC).Methods: The Cancer Genome Atlas database was applied to retrieve gene expression data and clinical information. An EMT-related lncRNA risk signature was constructed relying on univariate Cox regression, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selector Operation (LASSO) and multivariate Cox regression analysis of the EMT-related lncRNA expression data and clinical information. Then, an individualized prognostic prediction model based on the nomogram was developed and the predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomogram were determined by the receiver operating characteristic curve and calibration curve. Finally, a series of analyses, such as functional analysis and unsupervised cluster analysis, were conducted to explore the influence of independent lncRNAs on CRC.Results: A total of 581 patients were enrolled and an eleven-EMT-related lncRNA risk signature was identified relying on the comprehensive analysis of the EMT-related lncRNA expression data and clinical information in the training cohort. Then, risk scores were calculated to divide patients into high and low-risk groups, and the Kaplan-Meier curve analysis showed that low-risk patients tended to have better overall survival (OS). Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that the EMT-related lncRNA signature was significantly associated with prognosis. The results were subsequently confirmed in the validation dataset. Then, we constructed and validated a predictive nomogram for overall survival based on the clinical factors and risk signature. Functional characterization confirmed this signature could predict immune-related phenotype and was associated with immune cell infiltration (i.e., macrophages M0, M1, Tregs, CD4 memory resting cells, and neutrophils), tumor mutation burden (TMB).Conclusions: Our study highlighted the value of the 11-EMT-lncRNA signature as a predictor of prognosis and immunotherapeutic response in CRC.


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