scholarly journals Upwelling-level acidification and pH variability moderate effects of ocean acidification on brain gene expression in black surfperch (Embiotoca jacksoni), a temperate fish with no pelagic larval stage

Author(s):  
Jason Toy ◽  
Kristy Kroeker ◽  
Cheryl Logan ◽  
Yuichiro Takeshita ◽  
Giacomo Bernardi

Acidification-induced changes in cognitive function and behavior have recently been documented in tropical marine fishes, raising concerns about related shifts in species interactions. Here, we investigate whether similar patterns of broad neurological impacts are observed in a temperate Pacific fish that experiences regular and often large shifts in environmental pH due to upwelling events and other natural phenomena. In two manipulative laboratory experiments, we tested the effect of acidification, as well as pH variability, on gene expression in the brain tissue of a common temperate kelp forest/estuarine fish, Embiotoca jacksoni. We found that patterns of global gene expression in brain tissue differed significantly across pH level treatments. Additionally, differential gene expression analysis and gene set enrichment analysis identified significant differential expression of specific genes and gene sets both in comparisons of static pH level treatments as well as in static vs. variable pH treatment comparisons where mean pH was consistent. Enriched gene sets included those related to ion transport, signaling pathways, mRNA processing and splicing, and epigenetic regulation of gene expression, among others. Importantly, we found that pH variability decreased the number of differentially expressed genes detected between high and low pH treatments, and that the inter-individual variability in gene expression was significantly greater in variable pH treatments than static treatments of the same mean pH. By demonstrating a broad shift in brain gene expression, these results provide important confirmation of neurological impacts of acidification in a temperate fish species, which are likely to translate to shifts in behavior. This study also provides critical insight into the potential of natural environmental variability to mediate the impacts of ocean acidification.

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-83
Author(s):  
Tzu-Hung Hsiao ◽  
Yu-Chiao Chiu ◽  
Yu-Heng Chen ◽  
Yu-Ching Hsu ◽  
Hung-I Harry Chen ◽  
...  

Aim and Objective: The number of anticancer drugs available currently is limited, and some of them have low treatment response rates. Moreover, developing a new drug for cancer therapy is labor intensive and sometimes cost prohibitive. Therefore, “repositioning” of known cancer treatment compounds can speed up the development time and potentially increase the response rate of cancer therapy. This study proposes a systems biology method for identifying new compound candidates for cancer treatment in two separate procedures. Materials and Methods: First, a “gene set–compound” network was constructed by conducting gene set enrichment analysis on the expression profile of responses to a compound. Second, survival analyses were applied to gene expression profiles derived from four breast cancer patient cohorts to identify gene sets that are associated with cancer survival. A “cancer–functional gene set– compound” network was constructed, and candidate anticancer compounds were identified. Through the use of breast cancer as an example, 162 breast cancer survival-associated gene sets and 172 putative compounds were obtained. Results: We demonstrated how to utilize the clinical relevance of previous studies through gene sets and then connect it to candidate compounds by using gene expression data from the Connectivity Map. Specifically, we chose a gene set derived from a stem cell study to demonstrate its association with breast cancer prognosis and discussed six new compounds that can increase the expression of the gene set after the treatment. Conclusion: Our method can effectively identify compounds with a potential to be “repositioned” for cancer treatment according to their active mechanisms and their association with patients’ survival time.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shen Pan ◽  
Yunhong Zhan ◽  
Xiaonan Chen ◽  
Bin Wu ◽  
Bitian Liu

Abstract Background T1G3 shows a higher chance of recurrence and progression among early bladder cancer types and the available treatment option is controversial. High recurrence and progression are the problems that need to be explored and solved. Changes in the internal signals of bladder cancer cells and differential genes may be the root cause of these problems. Methods GSE120736, GSE19915, GSE19423, GSE32548 and GSE37815 datasets were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO ) to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Bladder cancer transcript data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were clustered into different cell-specific gene sets according to weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Multiple sets of databases were used for gene expression comparison, functional enrichment, and protein interaction analysis, including The Human Protein Atlas, Cancer Dependency Map, Metascape, Gene set enrichment analysis, and DisNor. Results DEGs were obtained through GEO data comparison and intersection. After WGCNA was proven to recognise cell-specific gene sets, candidate DEGs were selected and shown to be specifically expressed in cancer cells. Candidate DEGs were related to mitosis and cell cycle. Further, 12 functional candidate markers were identified from the sequencing data of 30 bladder cancer cell lines. These genes were all up-regulated and previously shown to be closely related to bladder cancer progression. Conclusions Twelve functional genes with specific differential expression in bladder cancer cells were identified. WGCNA can identify the relatively specific expression sets of different cells in bladder cancer with greater tumour heterogeneity, which provides new perspectives for future cancer research.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 317-317
Author(s):  
Xiao J. Yan ◽  
Wentian Li ◽  
Sophia Yancopoulos ◽  
Igor Dozmorov ◽  
Carlo Calissano ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 317 By using reciprocal densities of surface membrane CXCR4 and CD5, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) B cells can be divided into 3 fractions indicating time since last division (proliferative, intermediate, and resting). It has been suggested that cells in these fractions represent a continuum from resting to intermediate to proliferative. In this study, we made intraclonal gene expression profile (GEP) comparisons of these fractions from 17 CLL patients to try to confirm this notion and interclonal comparisons between U-CLL and M-CLL patients to determine if pathways involved in the actions of these fractions differed between patient subgroups. PBMCs from 8 U-CLL and 9 M-CLL patients were sorted into 3 fractions (CD19+CD3−CD5hiCXCR4lo, PROLIF), (CD19+CD3−CD5intCXCR4int, INTERM), and (CD19+CD3−CD5loCXCR4hi, REST); RNA was purified from each, and gene expression microarrays using Illumina HumanHT12 beadchips performed. To determine differentially expressed genes in intraclonal comparisons, expression value ratios for fractions from each patient were computed, log-transformed, and Student t-test performed using R (www.r-project.org); for interclonal comparisons, raw GEP data between subpopulations were compared: U-PROLIF and M-PROLIF, and U-REST and M-REST. Sets of significant genes (≥1.5 fold change and P<0.01) were analyzed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Upon plotting intraclonal average log ratios of PROLIF/INTERM vs INTERM/REST, it was clear that gene expression levels changed in the same direction, i.e. PROLIF>INTERM>REST, or PROLIF<INTERM<REST, consistent with a continuum between the 3 fractions. Within this pattern, 36 genes were significant for both plotted ratios. Of these, 29 were overexpressed, along with CD5; CD68, ITGAX, CCND2, CRIP1 and LGALS1 were the highest. Functional analysis using IPA showed these genes to be related to NFkB signaling and cell trafficking. Seven genes (ADARB1, BACH2, CNTNAP2, HRK, RHPN2, PRPML, and RXPA) were significantly downregulated, along with CXCR4. Next we characterized GEP differences between the PROLIF and REST fractions, identifying 390 genes up-regulated in PROLIF and 244 in REST. The top 5 upregulated PROLIF genes were CD68, LY96, ITGAX, CCND2 and CRIP1, and the top 5 REST genes were BACH2, CXCR4, ADARB1, RHPN2 and HRK. Functionally, the upregulated PROLIF genes were related to BCR signaling, cytokines (IFNa, IL12), NFkB, and Akt, whereas the upregulated REST genes related to BCL2, cell death and cell movement. By GSEA, 813/881 gene sets, defined by expression neighborhoods centered on cancer associated genes, were upregulated in the PROLIF with 436 gene sets significant at a false discovery rate (FDR) <10%; 206 sets were significantly enriched with p value <0.01. For the REST, 68/881 gene sets were upregulated, with none significant even at FDR <25%. Finally, we examined PROLIF and REST fractions from U-CLL vs M-CLL patients. In this interclonal analysis, 93 genes were significantly different between U-PROLIF and M-PROLIF. The top 5 in U-PROLIF were MSI2, TGFBR3, TP53I3, RGCC and IGSF3, and the top 5 in M-PROLIF were MTSS1, BACE2, BRI3BP, AP3B1 and UBE2G2. Similarly, there were 125 genes that were significantly different between U-REST and M-REST. The top 5 in U-REST were DUSP26, CLEC2B, MDK, and EGR2 and in M-REST were NAPSA, RAB24, TARDBP, KCNN4 and ADD3. Interestingly, U-PROLIF and M-PROLIF differed in pathway assignments, with upregulated genes in U-PROLIF contributing to cell signaling and activation, particularly implicating Akt, ERK and P38MAPK. The intraclonal gene GEP analysis on these 3 fractions confirms that CLL clones contain a spectrum of cells that transition in a sequential manner from PROLIF to INTERM to REST fractions. Functional analyses show that genes upregulated in PROLIF correlate with cell signaling and proliferation, while genes upregulated in REST relate to cell death. Thus the PROLIF fraction is enriched in recently divided cells that likely exit from lymphoid tissue and the REST in older, less vital cells that either traffic to lymphoid tissue or die. The interclonal analysis implies that the stimuli and/or the responses of cells in the PROLIF and REST fractions differ between U-CLL and M-CLL. This last novel finding suggests either distinct cells of origin or distinct activation pathways for the IGHV-defined CLL subsets. Disclosures: Barrientos: gilead and pharmacyclics research funding: Research Funding.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 3882-3882
Author(s):  
Amit K. Mittal ◽  
Yun Liu ◽  
Xiao-Jie Yan ◽  
Barbara A. Sherry ◽  
Nicholas Chiorazzi

Abstract Abstract 3882 CLL and associated stromal cells are exposed to lower oxygen tension in lymph nodes and other lymphoid organs; the impact of this on gene expression profiles (GEPs) and cellular functions is not understood. In this study the effects of low oxygen tension (1%; “hypoxia”) on stromal and CLL cell GEPs and interactions were explored using a co-culture system employing a bone marrow derived human stromal cell line (HS-5) and CLL B cells. HS-5 was grown at 1% O2 for 4 weeks (n ≥ 3 experiments) and at weekly intervals GEPs were analyzed using whole genome expression beadchips (HumanHT-12 v 4, Illumina). Differential GEPs were determined using GenomeStudio and Partek programs, and gene sets/pathways were identified using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) with significance defined as p<0.01, FDR <0.25. The proportion of live, apoptotic, and metabolically active stromal cells was quantified using Neutral Red, APOpercentage apoptosis and MTT assays, respectively. Receptors on CLL cells were investigated by flow cytometry. GEPs obtained under hypoxic vs. normoxic (21% O2) conditions showed that at low O2 tension HS-5 cells underexpress (fold difference ≥2 and p<0.01) a discrete set of proinflammatory chemokines and genes which promote adhesion and overexpress genes associated with cell movement and cytoskeletal (re)organization. Similar gene sets were identified using IPA and GSEA. Specifically, CCL2, CCL5, CCL7and CCL8 were differentially underexpressed under low O2 tensions over the whole course of the study and CCL3, CCL3L1 and CCL3L3 decreased progressively at weekly intervals. In sharp, contrast, the same ligands were overexpressed under normoxia because levels were higher at the outset. Interestingly, co-culture of HS-5 with CLL cells under both hypoxic and normoxic conditions led to enhanced production of CCL3 and CCL3-like mRNAs and a decreased production of CCL2, CCL5, CCL7 and CCL8, although the latter was more striking under normoxia. Similarly, when HS-5 was cultured alone at 1% O2, DLC1, IL24, NQO1, TIMP1 and NRG, genes which promote adhesion, were downregulated; when co-cultured with CLL cells these were upregulated. Interestingly over the course of the entire study, hypoxic stroma upregulated ANGPTL4, ANXA2, BCAR1, BHLHE40, LOX, and SLC2A1 genes associated with cytoskeletal organization and migration. These data suggest hypoxia induced migration for the stroma and CLL induced capacity to retain leukemic cells on the stroma. Stromal-CLL cell interactions were studied by analyzing chemokine and SLAM family receptors on CLL cells. CLL cells from IGHV mutated (M-CLL, n=2) and unmutated (U-CLL, n=2) patients showed downregulation of CCR2 (receptor for CCL2, CCL7, CCL8) and CCR5 (receptor for CCL3, CCL5, CCL8) at one week under hypoxia and/or when co-cultured on stroma. Interestingly, M-CLL clones had higher percentage of CCR1 and CCR5 expressing cells compared to U-CLL samples under normoxia but with minute or no differences under hypoxia or with co-culture, suggesting M-CLL cells display these receptors similar to (bad prognosis) U-CLL cells under hypoxia/co-culture conditions. Moreover, U-CLL cells upregulated SLAM family markers CD48 and CD150 on their surface at hypoxic/co-culture conditions compared to M-CLL cells, implying that hypoxia downregulates lymphocyte recruiting chemokine receptors and upregulates SLAM family receptors on U-CLL cells. Moreover, under hypoxia stromal cells showed a significant decrease in Apoptosis dye staining, increase in neutral red staining for live cells, and decrease in MTT reduction at respective 1, 2 or 3 weeks indicating controlled cell growth under hypoxia. In summary, despite promoting controlled growth characteristics, these findings suggest that, in isolation, hypoxic stroma do not promote inflammatory processes and thus negatively regulate cell recruitment and interactions. However in the presence of CLL cells, stromal cells upregulate selective chemokines and genes controlling adhesion to the stroma; these changes are CLL B-cell induced and enhance the likelihood the leukemic cells and macrophages and potentially other immune/inflammatory cells will be attracted to and retained on the stroma. The latter effects would favor interactions with and survival of CLL cells. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 298-298
Author(s):  
Kathryn M Wilson ◽  
Travis Gerke ◽  
Ericka Ebot ◽  
Jennifer A Sinnott ◽  
Jennifer R. Rider ◽  
...  

298 Background: We previously found that vasectomy was associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, and particularly, risk of lethal prostate cancer in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS). However, the possible biological basis for this finding is unclear. In this study, we explored possible biological mechanisms by assessing differences in gene expression in the prostate tissue of men with and without a history of vasectomy prostate cancer diagnosis. Methods: Within the HPFS, vasectomy data and gene expression data (20,254 genes) was available from archival tumor tissue from 263 cases, 124 of whom also had data for adjacent normal tissue. To relate expression of individual genes to vasectomy we used linear regression adjusting for age and year at diagnosis. We ran gene set enrichment analysis to identify pathways of genes associated with vasectomy. Results: Among 263 cases, 67 (25%) reported a vasectomy prior to cancer diagnosis. Mean age at diagnosis was 66 years among men without and 65 years among men with vasectomy. Median time between vasectomy and prostate cancer diagnosis was 25 years. Gene expression in tumor tissue was not associated with vasectomy status. In adjacent normal tissue, three individual genes were associated with vasectomy with Bonferroni-corrected p-values of < 0.10: RAPGEF6, OR4C3, and SLC35F4. Gene set enrichment analysis found five pathways upregulated and seven pathways downregulated in men with vasectomy compared to those without in normal prostate tissue with a FDR < 0.05. Upregulated pathways included several immune-related gene sets and G-protein-coupled receptor gene sets. Conclusions: We identified significant differences in gene expression profiles in normal prostate tissue according to vasectomy status among men treated for prostate cancer. The fact that such differences existed several decades after vasectomy provides support for the idea that vasectomy may play a role in the etiology of prostate cancer.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 558-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sangmin Lee ◽  
Benjamin Garrett Vincent ◽  
Autumn Jackson McRee ◽  
Hanna Kelly Sanoff

558 Background: Different immune cell infiltrates into colorectal cancer (CRC) tumors are associated with different prognoses. Tumor-associated macrophages contribute to immune evasion and accelerated tumor progression. Conversely, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes at the invasive margin of CRC liver metastases are associated with improved outcomes with chemotherapy. Cetuximab is an IgG1 monoclonal antibody against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and stimulates antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) in vitro. However, it is unclear in humans if response to cetuximab is modulated by the immune response. We hypothesized that different immune patterns detected in gene expression profiles of CRC metastases are associated with different responses to cetuximab. Methods: We retrieved gene expression data from biopsies of metastases from 80 refractory CRC patients treated with cetuximab monotherapy (GEO GSE5851). Samples were dichotomized by cetuximab response as having either disease control (DC) or progressive disease (PD). We performed gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) with GenePattern 3.9.4 using gene sets of immunologic signatures obtained from the Molecular Signatures Database v5.0. Results: Among the 68 patients with response annotated, 25 had DC and 43 had PD. In the PD cohort, 59/1910 immunologic gene sets had false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.1. Notably, multiple gene sets upregulated in monocyte signatures were associated with PD. Also, gene sets consistent with PD1-ligated T cells compared to control activated T cells (FDR = 0.052) or IL4-treated CD4 T cells compared to controls (FDR = 0.087) were associated with PD. Conclusions: Cetuximab-resistant patients tended to have baseline increased expression of gene signatures reflective of monocytic infiltrates, consistent with also having increased expression of the IL4-treated T-cell signature. Cetuximab resistance was also associated with increased expression of the PD1-ligated T cell signature. These preliminary findings support further evaluation of the effect of differential immune infiltrates in prognosis of metastatic CRC treated with cetuximab.


2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Neubauer ◽  
Surendran Sabapathy ◽  
Kevin J. Ashton ◽  
Ben Desbrow ◽  
Jonathan M. Peake ◽  
...  

Reprogramming of gene expression is fundamental for skeletal muscle adaptations in response to endurance exercise. This study investigated the time course-dependent changes in the muscular transcriptome after an endurance exercise trial consisting of 1 h of intense cycling immediately followed by 1 h of intense running. Skeletal muscle samples were taken at baseline, 3 h, 48 h, and 96 h postexercise from eight healthy, endurance-trained men. RNA was extracted from muscle. Differential gene expression was evaluated using Illumina microarrays and validated with qPCR. Gene set enrichment analysis identified enriched molecular signatures chosen from the Molecular Signatures Database. Three hours postexercise, 102 gene sets were upregulated [family wise error rate (FWER), P < 0.05], including groups of genes related with leukocyte migration, immune and chaperone activation, and cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) 1 signaling. Forty-eight hours postexercise, among 19 enriched gene sets (FWER, P < 0.05), two gene sets related to actin cytoskeleton remodeling were upregulated. Ninety-six hours postexercise, 83 gene sets were enriched (FWER, P < 0.05), 80 of which were upregulated, including gene groups related to chemokine signaling, cell stress management, and extracellular matrix remodeling. These data provide comprehensive insights into the molecular pathways involved in acute stress, recovery, and adaptive muscular responses to endurance exercise. The novel 96 h postexercise transcriptome indicates substantial transcriptional activity potentially associated with the prolonged presence of leukocytes in the muscles. This suggests that muscular recovery, from a transcriptional perspective, is incomplete 96 h after endurance exercise involving muscle damage.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomei Lei ◽  
Zhijun Feng ◽  
Xiaojun Wang ◽  
Xiaodong He

Abstract Background. Exploring alterations in the host transcriptome following SARS-CoV-2 infection is not only highly warranted to help us understand molecular mechanisms of the disease, but also provide new prospective for screening effective antiviral drugs, finding new therapeutic targets, and evaluating the risk of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) early.Methods. We downloaded three gene expression matrix files from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and extracted the gene expression data of the SARS-CoV-2 infection and non-infection in human samples and different cell line samples, and then performed gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), respectively. Thereafter, we integrated the results of GSEA and obtained co-enriched gene sets and co-core genes in three various microarray data. Finally, we also constructed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and molecular modules for co-core genes and performed Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis for the genes from modules to clarify their possible biological processes and underlying signaling pathway. Results. A total of 11 co-enriched gene sets were identified from the three various microarray data. Among them, 10 gene sets were activated, and involved in immune response and inflammatory reaction. 1 gene set was suppressed, and participated in cell cycle. The analysis of molecular modules showed that 2 modules might play a vital role in the pathogenic process of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The KEGG enrichment analysis showed that genes from module one enriched in signaling pathways related to inflammation, but genes from module two enriched in signaling of cell cycle and DNA replication. Particularly, necroptosis signaling, a newly identified type of programmed cell death that differed from apoptosis, was also determined in our findings. Additionally, for patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, genes from module one showed a relatively high-level expression while genes from module two showed low-level. Conclusions. We identified two molecular modules were used to assess severity and predict the prognosis of the patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition, these results provide a unique opportunity to explore more molecular pathways as new potential targets on therapy in COVID 19.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Kumar Mathur ◽  
Anshul Kumar ◽  
Pradeep tiwari ◽  
aditya Saxena

Abstract Introduction: Asian Indians show “thin fat phenotype” characterized by higher visceral adipose tissue(VAT) and lower subcutaneous adipose tissue(SAT) mass and their higher cardio-metabolic risk has been attributed to this fat distribution. However, the underlying molecular pathology and role of these adipose depots in the pathogenesis of T2D in them remains unknown.Hypothesis: The comparison of transcription profiles of abdominal VAT and SAT and their correlation with diabetes related intermediate phenotypic traits could shed some light on their role in the pathophysiology of diabetes.MethodologySubjects: 19 diabetics (M: F ratio, 8:11) and 16 age and BMI matched controls (M: F ratio 5:11) undergoing abdominal surgery (non-malignant and non-infective conditions).Clinical Parameters: Anthropometry, Serum glucose, insulin, HOMA-R, HbA1c, lipid profile, FFA, adipocytokines. Abdominal VAT, SAT and liver fat were estimated by MRI.Adipose tissue biopsy: SAT and VAT samples were taken during surgery. Genome-wide gene expression profiling of these biopsies was performed using Affymetrix GeneChipPrimeView® arrays. The data was submitted to NCBI-GEO (Accession # GSE78721). Selected genes were validated by qPCR. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) for functional and Weighted Gene Correlation Analysis (WGCNA) for statistical comparison was done.Results:Diabetics had higher waist circumference (p=0.05), HOMA-R (p=0.0002), Visceral fat content (p=0.02) and adipocyte size (p=0.02)GSEA: diabetics vs. controls: In VAT 16 gene sets were upregulated (FDR &lt; 25%) enriching various immune system and inflammation-related pathways. In SAT too, various inflammatory genes were upregulated however they were statistically non-significant (FDR &gt; 25%). Moreover, 12 out of 16 significantly enriched pathways in VAT were among the top 20 pathways in SAT. GSEA in diabetics: VAT vs SAT: None of the gene sets were found significant at FDR &lt; 25% which substantiated our hypothesis that overall pathophysioloigcal alteration in both depots are similar. WGCNA for statistical comparison of VAT and SAT depots The correlation between measures of average gene expression and overall connectivity between both depots was significantly positive. Several modules of co-expressed genes in both VAT and SAT showed positive as well as negative correlation with various intermediate phenotypic traits of diabetes. In both depots they enriched several pathways otherwise known to be associated with pathological adipose tissue like inflammation, adipogenesis etc. Conclusions In Asian Indians, diabetes pathology inflicts similar molecular alternations in VAT and SAT, which are more intense in the former. The role of both adipose depots in the pathophysiology of diabetes is along similar lines and they enrich several molecular pathways which are otherwise known to be implicated in pathological adipose tissue.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e15654-e15654
Author(s):  
Jefferson Parker ◽  
Dena Grayson ◽  
Reinhard W. Von Roemeling

e15654 Background: Fimepinostat (F), a small molecule dual inhibitor of PI3K α, β, and δ isoforms and Class I and II histone deacetylases (HDACs), is currently under investigation for the treatment of aggressive hematological cancers. Preclinical studies demonstrated that F both decreases transcription of myc and MYC-targeted genes (via HDAC inhibition) and increases destruction of MYC protein (via PI3K inhibition). This study sought to identify differences in transcript-level signatures of gene networks in pre-treatment tumor samples associated with future clinical response to F. Methods: Among 105 patients (pts) with relapsed or refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated in phase 1/2 clinical trials of F (± rituximab), 33 pts had pre-treatment tumor biopsy samples available for molecular testing. All pts had measurable disease at baseline and had at least 1 post-baseline tumor assessment. To be included in the analysis set, pts must have been on study for ≥42 days. RNA libraries were created and sequenced on the Illumina HiSeq platform. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA; Subramanian et al., 2005) was used to study changes in transcript expression patterns that correlate with responder (complete/partial response) or non-responder (progressive disease) pt populations. ~20,000 genes were rank-ordered by log2-fold change and tested against the MSigDB (Liberzon et al., 2011) collection of gene expression signatures. Results: > 1500 Gene Sets with False Discovery Rate (FDR) < = 0.05 and Normalized Enrichment Score (NES) > 1.3 for genes upregulated in the F-responder population were identified. These Gene Sets represent transcriptional activity associated with well characterized biological pathways or gene expression signatures determined empirically. The top 20 signatures by NES were associated with general transcription functions (E2F, RNA polymerase), chromosomal structure (meiotic recombination, telomere maintenance) and specifically, MYC transcription targets (NES: 2.7; FDR q-val: 0). Additional signatures consistent with PI3K (GSK3b) and HDAC activity in the responder population were also identified, as would be expected for a dual inhibitor of PI3Ks and HDACs. Conclusions: GSEA analysis of genes upregulated in the F-treated responder DLBCL pts are consistent with preclinical data showing that F functions to suppress MYC in tumor cells. F is currently undergoing active clinical study in combination with venetoclax for the treatment of R/R DLBCL or high grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBL): NCT01742988.


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