Project description:Interventions: Group 1: Quantitative Expression Analysis of the proteom and gene Expression of Primary Tumor, normal tissue, and metastases
Primary outcome(s): Disease associated Proteins and Genes
Study Design: Allocation: ; Masking: ; Control: ; Assignment: ; Study design purpose: basic science
Project description:RATIONALE: Studying the genes expressed in samples of tissue from patients with cancer may help doctors identify biomarkers related to cancer.
PURPOSE: This laboratory study is using gene expression profiling to evaluate normal tissue and tumor tissue from patients with colon cancer that has spread to the liver, lungs, or peritoneum.
Project description:The interplay between multiple transcription factors precisely regulates eukaryotic transcription. Here, we report that the protein methyltransferases, MLL2 and PRMT1, interact directly and act collectively to regulate gene expression. PRMT1 binds to the N-terminal region of MLL2, considered an intrinsically disordered region, and methylates multiple arginine residues within its RGG/RG motifs. Notably, overexpression of PRMT1 decreased poly-ubiquitylation of MLL2, whereas mutations on methylation sites in MLL2 increased MLL2 poly-ubiquitylation, suggesting that PRMT1-mediated methylation stabilizes MLL2. MLL2 and PRMT1 cooperatively stimulated the expression of a chromosomal reporter gene in a PRMT1-mediated, MLL2-methylation–dependent manner. RNA-seq analysis found that MLL2 and PRMT1 jointly regulate the expression of genes involved in cell membrane and extracellular matrix functions, and depletion of either resulted in impaired cell migration and invasion. Our study provides evidence that PRMT1-mediated MLL2 methylation regulates MLL2 protein stability and the expression of their target genes.
Project description:MYC is an oncoprotein transcription factor that is overexpressed in the majority cancers. Although MYC itself is considered undruggable, it may be possible to inhibit MYC by targeting the co-factors it uses to drive oncogenic gene expression patterns. Here, we use loss- and gain- of function approaches to interrogate how one MYC co-factor—Host Cell Factor (HCF)-1—contributes to MYC activity in a Burkitt lymphoma setting. We identify high-confidence direct targets of the MYC–HCF-1 interaction that are regulated through a recruitment-independent mechanism, including genes that control mitochondrial function and rate-limiting steps for ribosome biogenesis and translation. We describe how these gene expression events impact cell growth and metabolism, and demonstrate that the MYC–HCF-1 interaction is essential for tumor maintenance in vivo. This work highlights the MYC–HCF-1 interaction as a focal point for development of novel anti-cancer therapies.
Project description:RATIONALE: Studying samples of tumor tissue from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about changes that occur in DNA and identify biomarkers related to cancer. It may also help doctors understand how patients respond to treatment.
PURPOSE: This laboratory study is looking at gene expression in patients with advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer receiving bevacizumab.
Project description:1.1 To collect pathological tumor specimens of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer in a prospective fashion for correlative studies of response to an oxaliplatin based chemotherapy regimen.
1.2 To determine a gene expression profile that predicts response to an oxaliplatin based chemotherapy regimen in this cohort of patients.