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Transcription profiling by array of 17 human breast cancer samples

ABSTRACT: Cancer evolves dynamically, as clonal expansions supersede or overlap one another, driven by shifting selective pressures, mutational processes and disrupted cancer genes. These processes mark the genome, such that a cancer's life history is encrypted in the timing, ploidy, clonality and patterns of somatic mutation. We developed bioinformatic algorithms to decipher this narrative, and applied them to 21 breast cancer genomes. We find that mutational processes evolve across the lifespan of a breast tumor, with cancer-specific signatures of point mutations and chromosomal instability often emerging late but contributing extensive genetic variation. Subclonal diversification is prominent, providing insight into the dynamics of clonal expansion in breast cancer. Most point mutations are found in just a fraction of tumor cells, together with frequent variegation in chromosomal copy number. Every tumor studied here has a dominant subclonal lineage, representing more than 50% of tumor cells. Minimal expansion of these subclones occurs until many hundreds to thousands of mutations have accumulated, implying the existence of long-lived, quiescent lineages of cells that are capable of substantial proliferation upon acquisition of enabling genomic changes. Expansion of the dominant subclone to an appreciable mass may therefore represent the final rate-limiting step in a breast cancer's development, triggering diagnosis.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

SUBMITTER: McLaren Stuart

PROVIDER: S-ECPF-MTAB-1088 | biostudies-other |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:Tumorigenic breast cancer cells characterized by CD44 expression and low or undetectable CD24 levels (CD44+/CD24-/low) may be resistant to chemotherapy and therefore responsible for cancer relapse. Paired breast cancer core biopsies before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy or lapatinib were obtained and as single cell suspensions stained using antibodies against CD24, CD44, and lineage markers, and then analyzed by flow cytometry. Mammosphere (MS) formation in culture was compared before and after treatment. Global gene expression differences between cancer cells bearing CD44+/CD24-/low cells and all other sorted cells, and between cancer MS and the primary bulk invasive cancers were analyzed. We report that CD44+/CD24-/low tumorigenic breast cancer cells were intrinsically chemoresistant - chemotherapy led to increased CD44+/CD24-/low cells, increased self-renewal capacity on MS assays, and enhanced tumorigeneicity in immunocompromised SCID/Beige mice. Conversely, in patients with HER2 overexpressing tumors, the EGFR/HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, lapatinib decreased CD44+/CD24-/low cells, with the majority of these patients after conventional therapy achieving pathologic complete response, a validated surrogate marker for long-term survival. Gene transcription pathways that underlie chemoresistant, MS-forming CD44+/CD24-/low cells involve genes belonging to stem cell self-renewal, Wnt signaling, and early development pathways. Experiment Overall Design: Cells from human breast tumors were grown as mammospheres (MS). Experiment Overall Design: Isolated single cell suspensions from primary breast cancers were plated onto non-adherent (polyhema-coated) plastic, counted with a hematocytometer, and 20,000 cells were then seeded into a 6-well ultra-low attachment plate supplemented with 2mL MEGM, with the addition of 2 mL of freshly unfrozen MEGM every 3-4 days. Gene expression profiles were taken of both MS and primary bulk tumors and compared with each other.

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Transcription profiling by array of 17 human breast cancer samples

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