Citations

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of human malignancies and the leading cause of cancer-related death. Patients with surgically resectable early stage lung cancer are more likely curable, but currently only a small population of patients can be diagnosed at such a stage, partly due to our incomplete understanding of the biology of lung cancer and the lack of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Recent studies have shown that NOTCH1 is a critical regulator of human carcinogenesis and has been implicated in multiple steps of cancer development and progression. Herein, we review recent findings about the role of NOTCH1 in lung cancer and discuss its potential usefulness as both a therapeutic target and a biomarker for lung cancer.

Abstract Background: A recent association study identified a common variant (rs9790517) at 4q24 to be associated with breast cancer risk. Independent association signals and potential functional variants in this locus have not been explored. Methods: We conducted a fine-mapping analysis in 55,540 breast cancer cases and 51,168 controls from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Results: Conditional analyses identified two independent association signals among women of European ancestry, represented by rs9790517 [conditional P = 2.51 × 10−4; OR, 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02–1.07] and rs77928427 (P = 1.86 × 10−4; OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02–1.07). Functional annotation using data from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project revealed two putative functional variants, rs62331150 and rs73838678 in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with rs9790517 (r2 ≥ 0.90) residing in the active promoter or enhancer, respectively, of the nearest gene, TET2. Both variants are located in DNase I hypersensitivity and transcription factor–binding sites. Using data from both The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC), we showed that rs62331150 was associated with level of expression of TET2 in breast normal and tumor tissue. Conclusion: Our study identified two independent association signals at 4q24 in relation to breast cancer risk and suggested that observed association in this locus may be mediated through the regulation of TET2. Impact: Fine-mapping study with large sample size warranted for identification of independent loci for breast cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(11); 1680–91. ©2015 AACR.

AbstractMicroRNA‐200 (miR‐200) has emerged as a regulator of the PI3K/AKT pathway and cancer cell growth. It was reported that miR‐200 can activate PI3K/AKT by targeting FOG2 (friend of GATA 2), which directly binds to the p85α regulatory subunit of PI3K. We found that miR‐200 was elevated in early stage lung adenocarcinomas when compared with normal lung tissues, and the expression of miR‐200 promoted the tumor spheroid growth of lung adenocarcinoma cells. We show that AKT activation was essential for such oncogenic action of miR‐200. However, depletion of FOG2 had little effect on AKT activation. By performing a reverse‐phase protein array, we found that miR‐200 not only activated AKT but also concomitantly inactivated S6K and increased IRS‐1, an S6K substrate that is increased on S6K inactivation. Depletion of IRS‐1 partially inhibited the miR‐200‐dependent AKT activation. Taken together, our results suggest that miR‐200 may activate AKT in lung adenocarcinoma cells through a FOG2‐independent mechanism involving IRS‐1. Our findings also provide evidence that increased miR‐200 expression may contribute to early lung tumorigenesis and that AKT inhibitors may be useful for the treatment of miR‐200‐dependent tumor cell growth. © 2015 IUBMB Life, 67(9):720–725, 2015

The nuclear DNA content was measured in formalin‐fixed and deparaffined specimens of 296 oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas from patients in whom the clinical outcome was known. One hundred ninety (64%) contained cells with abnormal DNA (DNA aneuploid or tetra/polypoid). Only 32% (60 of 190) of the patients with DNA nondiploid cancers survived 5 years, compared with 49% (52 of 106) of the patients with DNA diploid cancers. When the findings were controlled for clinical stage, patients whose tumors were DNA diploid had a survival advantage at each stage. Histologic grading showed less correlation, because only patients with well‐differentiated carcinomas had a survival advantage if their tumors were DNA diploid. These data showed that determination of DNA content in cancers of the head and neck can offer prognostic information not provided by other means and enhance the diagnosis of cancer.

Abstract Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (HSPC) and chemotherapy for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) are considered standard of care. However, there are no clinical tests or factors that can reliably predict treatment responses for the advanced prostate cancer patients. Examination of tumor component in circulation, also known as liquid biopsy, has shown promise for predicting treatment outcomes and survival. To capture the tumor-derived genomic alterations and decrease the surrogacy of using PSA measurements as is currently performed, we propose a Plasma Genomic Abnormality (PGA) score and Treatment Efficacy (TEff) index based on copy number variations as estimated by cell free DNA (cfDNA) in plasma. We first performed whole genome and targeted sequencing (NimbleGen comprehensive cancer panel) to examine plasma cfDNA for tumor-associated genetic and genomic aberrations in 10 HSPC patients receiving ADT and 10 CRPC patients receiving chemotherapy. For each patient, we tested plasma from two time points: pre-treatment and 4 months post-treatment. We then calculated the PGA score by summing the most significant genomic abnormalities with higher PGA score indicating greater tumor DNA content in cfDNA. TEff index was derived from comparison of PGA score difference between treatments with higher TEff index reflecting a better treatment response. The sequencing-based copy number analysis revealed locus-specific gains or losses including those previously reported in prostate cancers, such as 8q gains, AR amplifications, PTEN losses and TMPRSS2-ERG fusions. We found that overall PGA score was significantly higher in CRPC patients than in HSPC patients (p<0.0005), possibly reflecting increased tumor burden during the disease progression. Patients with low TEff index often demonstrated poor response to treatments, and patients with high initial PGA score or low TEff index tended to have poor overall survival. As examples of the PGA-based TEff associations with outcome we presented three CRPC patients including two with neuro-endocrine origin (small cell carcinoma). Comparison of mutational profiles between pre- and post-treatments showed that treatments caused more diverse gene mutations, in particular, in the genes involving androgen biosynthesis, AR activation, DNA repair and chemotherapy resistance, suggesting subclonal evolution of heterogeneous tumor genomes in response to these treatments. Our results strongly support the feasibility of using non-invasive liquid biopsy as a potential powerful tool to study biological mechanisms underlying therapy-specific resistance and monitor disease progression in the advanced prostate cancer. Further studies are needed to develop and validate the genomics-based PGA score and TEff index for clinical applications. Citation Format: Liang Wang, Shu Xia, Meijun Du, Rachel Ditmar, Tiezheng Yuan, Yongchen Guo, Yuan Wang, Adam Lee, Michael Tschannen, Elizabeth Worthey, Howard Jacobs, Chiang-Ching Huang, Manish Kohli. Plasma genetic and genomic abnormalities predict treatment response and clinical outcome in advanced prostate cancer. [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 5231. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5231

ObjectiveAn extensive analysis of white matter plaques in a large sample of multiple sclerosis (MS) autopsies provides insights into the dynamic nature of MS pathology.MethodsOne hundred twenty MS cases (1,220 tissue blocks) were included. Plaque types were classified according to demyelinating activity based on stringent criteria. Early active, late active, smoldering, inactive, and shadow plaques were distinguished. A total of 2,476 MS white matter plaques were identified. Plaque type distribution was analyzed in relation to clinical data.ResultsActive plaques were most often found in early disease, whereas at later stages, smoldering, inactive, and shadow plaques predominated. The presence of early active plaques rapidly declined with disease duration. Plaque type distribution differed significantly by clinical course. The majority of plaques in acute monophasic and relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS) were active. Among secondary progressive MS (SPMS) cases with attacks, all plaque types could be distinguished including active plaques, in contrast to SPMS without attacks, in which inactive plaques predominated. Smoldering plaques were frequently and almost exclusively found in progressive MS. At 47 years of age, an equilibrium was observed between active and inactive plaques, whereas smoldering plaques began to peak. Men displayed a higher proportion of smoldering plaques.InterpretationDisease duration, clinical course, age, and gender contribute to the dynamic nature of white matter MS pathology. Active MS plaques predominate in acute and early RRMS and are the likely substrate of clinical attacks. Progressive MS transitions to an accumulation of smoldering plaques characterized by microglial activation and slow expansion of pre‐existing plaques. Whether current MS therapeutics impact this pathological driver of disease progression remains uncertain. Ann Neurol 2015;78:Ann Neurol 2015;78:679–696

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) in humans is a severe inflammatory liver disease characterized by interface hepatitis, the presence of circulating autoantibodies, and hyper‐gammaglobulinemia. There are two types of AIH, type 1 (AIH‐1) and type 2 (AIH‐2), characterized by distinct autoimmune serology. Patients with AIH‐1 are positive for anti–smooth muscle and/or antinuclear autoantibodies, whereas patients with AIH‐2 have anti–liver kidney microsomal type 1 and/or anti–liver cytosol type 1 autoantibodies. Cytochrome P4502D6 is the antigenic target of anti–liver kidney microsomal type 1, and formiminotransferase cyclodeaminase is the antigenic target of anti–liver cytosol type 1. It is known that AIH, both types 1 and 2, is strongly linked to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles ‐DR3, ‐DR4, and ‐DR7. However, direct evidence of the association of HLA with AIH is lacking. We developed a novel mouse model of AIH using the HLA‐DR3 transgenic mouse on the nonobese‐diabetic background by immunization of HLA‐DR3– and HLA‐DR3+ nonobese‐diabetic mice with a DNA plasmid, coding for human cytochrome P4502D6/formiminotransferase cyclodeaminase fusion protein. Immunization with cytochrome P4502D6/formiminotransferase cyclodeaminase leads to a sustained elevation of alanine aminotransferase, development of antinuclear autoantibodies and anti–liver kidney microsomal type 1/anti–liver cytosol type 1 autoantibodies, chronic immune cell infiltration, and parenchymal fibrosis on liver histology in HLA‐DR3+ mice. Immunized mice also showed an enhanced T helper 1 immune response and paucity of the frequency of regulatory T cells in the liver. Moreover, HLA‐DR3+ mice with exacerbated AIH showed reduced diversity and total load of gut bacteria. Conclusion: Our humanized animal model has provided a novel experimental tool to further elucidate the pathogenesis of AIH and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of immunoregulatory therapeutic interventions in vivo. (Hepatology 2015;62:1536–1550)