Capturing quantitative features of protein expression fromin situfluorescence microscopic images of cancer cell populations

Author(s):  
Joana Figueiredo ◽  
Ana Ribeiro ◽  
Tânia Mestre ◽  
Sofia Esménio ◽  
Martina Fonseca ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Joana Figueiredo ◽  
Ana Sofia Ribeiro ◽  
Tânia Mestre ◽  
Sofia Esménio ◽  
Martina Fonseca ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca E.A. Stace ◽  
Thomas Stiehl ◽  
Mark A.J. Chaplain ◽  
Anna Marciniak-Czochra ◽  
Tommaso Lorenzi

We present a stochastic individual-based model for the phenotypic evolution of cancer cell populations under chemotherapy. In particular, we consider the case of combination cancer therapy whereby a chemotherapeutic agent is administered as the primary treatment and an epigenetic drug is used as an adjuvant treatment. The cell population is structured by the expression level of a gene that controls cell proliferation and chemoresistance. In order to obtain an analytical description of evolutionary dynamics, we formally derive a deterministic continuum counterpart of this discrete model, which is given by a nonlocal parabolic equation for the cell population density function. Integrating computational simulations of the individual-based model with analysis of the corresponding continuum model, we perform a complete exploration of the model parameter space. We show that harsher environmental conditions and higher probabilities of spontaneous epimutation can lead to more effective chemotherapy, and we demonstrate the existence of an inverse relationship between the efficacy of the epigenetic drug and the probability of spontaneous epimutation. Taken together, the outcomes of the model provide theoretical ground for the development of anticancer protocols that use lower concentrations of chemotherapeutic agents in combination with epigenetic drugs capable of promoting the re-expression of epigenetically regulated genes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. e002549
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Katayama ◽  
Makoto Kobayashi ◽  
Ehsan Irajizad ◽  
Alejandro Sevillarno ◽  
Nikul Patel ◽  
...  

BackgroundCitrulline post-translational modification of proteins is mediated by protein arginine deiminase (PADI) family members and has been associated with autoimmune diseases. The role of PADI-citrullinome in immune response in cancer has not been evaluated. We hypothesized that PADI-mediated citrullinome is a source of neoantigens in cancer that induces immune response.MethodsProtein expression of PADI family members was evaluated in 196 cancer cell lines by means of indepth proteomic profiling. Gene expression was assessed using messenger RNA data sets from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Immunohistochemical analysis of PADI2 and peptidyl-citrulline was performed using breast cancer tissue sections. Citrullinated 12–34-mer peptides in the putative Major Histocompatibility Complex-II (MHC-II) binding range were profiled in breast cancer cell lines to investigate the relationship between protein citrullination and antigen presentation. We further evaluated immunoglobulin-bound citrullinome by mass spectrometry using 156 patients with breast cancer and 113 cancer-free controls.ResultsProteomic and gene expression analyses revealed PADI2 to be highly expressed in several cancer types including breast cancer. Immunohistochemical analysis of 422 breast tumor tissues revealed increased expression of PADI2 in ER− tumors (p<0.0001); PADI2 protein expression was positively correlated (p<0.0001) with peptidyl-citrulline staining. PADI2 expression exhibited strong positive correlations with a B cell immune signature and with MHC-II-bound citrullinated peptides. Increased circulating citrullinated antigen–antibody complexes occurred among newly diagnosed breast cancer cases relative to controls (p=0.0012).ConclusionsAn immune response associated with citrullinome is a rich source of neoantigens in breast cancer with a potential for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5382
Author(s):  
Pei-Yi Chu ◽  
Hsing-Ju Wu ◽  
Shin-Mae Wang ◽  
Po-Ming Chen ◽  
Feng-Yao Tang ◽  
...  

(1) Background: methionine cycle is not only essential for cancer cell proliferation but is also critical for metabolic reprogramming, a cancer hallmark. Hepatic and extrahepatic tissues methionine adenosyltransferases (MATs) are products of two genes, MAT1A and MAT2A that catalyze the formation of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), the principal biological methyl donor. Glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT) further utilizes SAM for sarcosine formation, thus it regulates the ratio of SAM:S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH). (2) Methods: by analyzing the TCGA/GTEx datasets available within GEPIA2, we discovered that breast cancer patients with higher MAT2A had worse survival rate (p = 0.0057). Protein expression pattern of MAT1AA, MAT2A and GNMT were investigated in the tissue microarray in our own cohort (n = 252) by immunohistochemistry. MAT2A C/N expression ratio and cell invasion activity were further investigated in a panel of breast cancer cell lines. (3) Results: GNMT and MAT1A were detected in the cytoplasm, whereas MAT2A showed both cytoplasmic and nuclear immunoreactivity. Neither GNMT nor MAT1A protein expression was associated with patient survival rate in our cohort. Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that a higher cytoplasmic/nuclear (C/N) MAT2A protein expression ratio correlated with poor overall survival (5 year survival rate: 93.7% vs. 83.3%, C/N ratio ≥ 1.0 vs. C/N ratio < 1.0, log-rank p = 0.004). Accordingly, a MAT2A C/N expression ratio ≥ 1.0 was determined as an independent risk factor by Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio = 2.771, p = 0.018, n = 252). In vitro studies found that breast cancer cell lines with a higher MAT2A C/N ratio were more invasive. (4) Conclusions: the subcellular localization of MAT2A may affect its functions, and elevated MAT2A C/N ratio in breast cancer cells is associated with increased invasiveness. MAT2A C/N expression ratio determined by IHC staining could serve as a novel independent prognostic marker for breast cancer.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 1099-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanca D. Lopez‐Ayllon ◽  
Veronica Moncho‐Amor ◽  
Ander Abarrategi ◽  
Inmaculada Ibañez Cáceres ◽  
Javier Castro‐Carpeño ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 253-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshinori TAOKA ◽  
Kazumasa MATSUMOTO ◽  
Kazuya OHASHI ◽  
Satoru MINAMIDA ◽  
Masahiro HAGIWARA ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma C. Bourton ◽  
Sheba Adam-Zahir ◽  
Piers N. Plowman ◽  
Hussein Nahidh Al-Ali ◽  
Helen A. Foster ◽  
...  

Abstract Bacground: Drugs that induce DNA interstrand crosslinks form the mainstay of anticancer treatments for different cancers. These drugs are used to treat ovarian cancer which is the most prevalent gynaecological cancer. Five-year survival rates are approximately 40% and the development of drug resistant disease is an important factor in treatment failure. Methods: In this study a comprehensive evaluation of the expression and function of the site-specific endonuclease MUS81 was conducted. Using quantitative real time PCR analysis and imaging flow cytometry we determined the mRNA and protein expression of MUS81 in three ovarian cancer cell lines and two immortalised human fibroblast cell lines which had been made resistant to cisplatin by chronic exposure. siRNA knockdown of MUS81 was employed to determine the effect on overall cell survival which was assessed using clonogenic assays. Results: In the five cisplatin-resistant cell lines we observed increased MUS81 mRNA expression. In addition MUS81 protein expression in the form of discrete nuclear foci in cells was observed in all cell lines following cisplatin exposure, there being significantly more foci in cisplatin resistant cell lines. siRNA knockdown of MUS81 significantly reduced both mRNA and protein levels in two cell lines (SK-OV-3 and MRC5-SV1 – wild-type and resistant) and critically re-sensitised cisplatin resistant cells to wild-type level, determined by clonogenic assay.Conclusion: MUS81 is central to the development of cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer cell lines. Inhibition of MUS81 restored drug sensitivity to the cells. MUS81 may be a useful therapeutic target to overcome drug resistance in ovarian and other cancers.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2661
Author(s):  
Matti Ullah ◽  
Warda Aoudjeghout ◽  
Cynthia Pimpie ◽  
Marc Pocard ◽  
Massoud Mirshahi

Cancer is a result of “aggressive” division and uncontrolled proliferation of the abnormal cells that survive attack by immune cells. We investigated the expression of HLA-G and PD-L1 with the different stages of cancer cell division along with their role in the interaction of immune cells in vitro. Ovarian cancer (OVCAR-3) and chronic myeloid leukemia cell line (K-562) are used for this study. The correlation of protein expression with percentage of cells in each phase (G1, S and G2 phase) was evaluated through FACS. Cells were synchronized in G1, G2 and mitotic phase to evaluate gene (RT-qPCR) and protein expression (FACS). Real-time immune cell attack (RTICA) analysis with PBMCs (peripheral blood mono-nuclear cells) and cancer cells were performed. We found that cells expressing higher levels of HLA-G and PD-L1 are mainly in G2 phase and those expressing lower levels are mainly in G1 phase. Evidently, the higher expression of the two proteins was observed when synchronized in mitotic phase as compared to low expression when synchronized in G1 phase. RTICA analysis showed the presence of HLA-G delayed the lysis of the cells. In conclusion, the cancer cell can escape from immune cells in division stage that suggests the impact of mitosis index for cancer immunotherapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 541-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuezheng Zhang ◽  
Yawei Li ◽  
Tao Li ◽  
Xu Shen ◽  
Tianqi Zhu ◽  
...  

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