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Identification of Novel Fusion Transcripts in High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer.

ABSTRACT: Fusion genes are structural chromosomal rearrangements resulting in the exchange of DNA sequences between genes. This results in the formation of a new combined gene. They have been implicated in carcinogenesis in a number of different cancers, though they have been understudied in high grade serous ovarian cancer. This study used high throughput tools to compare the transcriptome of high grade serous ovarian cancer and normal fallopian tubes in the interest of identifying unique fusion transcripts within each group. Indeed, we found that there were significantly more fusion transcripts in the cancer samples relative to the normal fallopian tubes. Following this, the role of fusion transcripts in chemo-response and overall survival was investigated. This led to the identification of fusion transcripts significantly associated with overall survival. Validation was performed with different analytical platforms and different algorithms to find fusion transcripts.

SUBMITTER: Newtson A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8125626 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Identification of Novel Fusion Transcripts in High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer.

Newtson Andreea A Reyes Henry H Devor Eric J EJ Goodheart Michael J MJ Bosquet Jesus Gonzalez JG

International journal of molecular sciences 20210430 9

Fusion genes are structural chromosomal rearrangements resulting in the exchange of DNA sequences between genes. This results in the formation of a new combined gene. They have been implicated in carcinogenesis in a number of different cancers, though they have been understudied in high grade serous ovarian cancer. This study used high throughput tools to compare the transcriptome of high grade serous ovarian cancer and normal fallopian tubes in the interest of identifying unique fusion transcri ...[more]

PMID: 33946483

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Project description:Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women. Almost 70% of ovarian cancer deaths are due to the high-grade serous subtype, which is typically detected only after it has metastasized. Characterization of high-grade serous cancer is further complicated by the significant heterogeneity and genome instability displayed by this cancer. Other than mutations in TP53, which is common to many cancers, highly recurrent recombinant events specific to this cancer have yet to be identified. Using high-throughput transcriptome sequencing of seven patient samples combined with experimental validation at DNA, RNA and protein levels, we identified a cancer-specific and inter-chromosomal fusion gene CDKN2D-WDFY2 that occurs at a frequency of 20% among sixty high-grade serous cancer samples but is absent in non-cancerous ovary and fallopian tube samples. This is the most frequent recombinant event identified so far in high-grade serous cancer implying a major cellular lineage in this highly heterogeneous cancer. In addition, the same fusion transcript was also detected in OV-90, an established high-grade serous type cell line. The genomic breakpoint was identified in intron 1 of CDKN2D and intron 2 of WDFY2 in patient tumor, providing direct evidence that this is a fusion gene. The parental gene, CDKN2D, is a cell-cycle modulator that is also involved in DNA repair, while WDFY2 is known to modulate AKT interactions with its substrates. Transfection of cloned fusion construct led to loss of wildtype CDKN2D and wildtype WDFY2 protein expression, and a gain of a short WDFY2 protein isoform that is presumably under the control of the CDKN2D promoter. The expression of short WDFY2 protein in transfected cells appears to alter the PI3K/AKT pathway that is known to play a role in oncogenesis. CDKN2D-WDFY2 fusion could be an important molecular signature for understanding and classifying sub-lineages among heterogeneous high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas.

Project description:Evidence indicates that high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma arises from the fallopian tube, rather than ovarian surface epithelium. This is termed the 'tubal origin' theory. The aim of the present study was to compare the immunophenotype and gene expression profiling among high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC), fallopian tube epithelium (FTE) and ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) based on tubal origin theory, and identify the differential genes associated with ovarian carcinogenesis. A total of 61 cases of fresh tissue samples including 21 cases of HGSOC, 20 cases of OSE, and 20 cases of FTE were obtained following surgical resection. Immunostaining was performed to detect the expression of PAX8, which has been considered as a potential immunophenotype marker of Müllerian origin. Illumina BeadChip was applied for gene expression profiling. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed to confirm the differential expression of candidate genes between HGSOC and FTE. The results of the present study demonstrated that PAX8 was highly expressed in HGSOC (19/21, 90.4%) and FTE (20/20, 100%), but not in OSE (3/20, 14.3%). A dendrogram generated by cluster analysis indicated a higher similarity of gene expression profile between HGSOC and FTE than OSE. A total of 2,412 differentially expressed genes were identified (absolute fold change >2) between HGSOC and FTE, including 822 upregulated genes in cancer and 1,590 downregulated genes. S100 calcium binding protein P, Ras-interacting protein 1, Wnt family member 5A, tumor-associated calcium signal transducer 2, Dickkopf Wnt signaling pathway inhibitor 3 and tumor suppressor candidate 3 genes were identified as candidate markers, of which the differential gene expression in HGSOC and FTE was confirmed by RT-qPCR (P<0.05). The results indicate the presence of a greater similarity in the immunophenotype and gene expression profile of HGSOC and FTE, when compared with OSE, which was consistent with the tubal origin theory of HGSOC.

Project description:High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) is the most frequent histological type of ovarian cancer and the one with worst prognosis. Unfortunately, the majority of established ovarian cancer cell lines which are used in the research have unclear histological origin and probably do not represent HGSOC. Thus, new and reliable models of HGSOC are needed. Ascitic fluid from a patient with recurrent HGSOC was used to establish a stable cancer cell line. Cells were characterized by cytogenetic karyotyping and short tandem repeat (STR) profiling. New generation sequencing was applied to test for hot-spot mutations in 50 cancer-associated genes and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis was used to check for TP53 status. Cells were analyzed for expression of several marker genes/proteins by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), and immunocytochemistry (ICC). Functional tests were performed to compare OVPA8 cells with five commercially available and frequently used ovarian cancer cell lines: SKOV3, A2780, OVCAR3, ES2, and OAW42. Our newly-established OVPA8 cell line shows morphologic and genetic features consistent with HGSOC, such as epithelial morphology, multiple chromosomal aberrations, TP53 mutation, BRCA1 mutation, and loss of one copy of BRCA2. The OVPA8 line has a stable STR profile. Cells are positive for EpCAM, CK19, and CD44; they have relatively low plating efficiency/ability to form spheroids, a low migration rate, and intermediate invasiveness in matrigel, as compared to other ovarian cancer lines. OVPA8 is sensitive to paclitaxel and resistant to cisplatin. We also tested two FGFR inhibitors; OVPA8 cells were resistant to AZD4547 (AstraZeneca, London, UK), but sensitive to the new inhibitor CPL304-110-01 (Celon Pharma, ?omianki/Kie?pin, Poland). We have established and characterized a novel cell line, OVPA8, which can be a valuable preclinical model for studies on high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

Dataset Information

Identification of Novel Fusion Transcripts in High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer.

Publications

Identification of Novel Fusion Transcripts in High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer.

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