Circulating Tumor Cells Clustering Triggers DNA Methylation Changes to Enable Metastasis Seeding
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE111065 | GEO | 2019/01/11
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Clusters of circulating tumor cells (CTC-clusters) are present in the blood of patients with cancer but their contribution to metastasis is not well defined. Here, we first use mouse models to demonstrate that breast cancer cells injected intravascularly as clusters are more prone to survive and colonize the lungs than single cells. Primary mammary tumors comprised of tagged cells give rise to oligoclonal CTC-clusters, with 50-fold increased metastatic potential, compared with single CTCs. Using intravital imaging and in vivo flow cytometry, CTC-clusters are visualized in the tumor circulation, and they demonstrate rapid clearance in peripheral vessels. In patients with breast cancer, presence of CTC-clusters is correlated with decreased progression-free survival. RNA sequencing identifies the cell junction protein plakoglobin as most differentially expressed between clusters and single human breast CTCs. Expression of plakoglobin is required for efficient CTC-cluster formation and breast cancer metastasis in mice, while its expression is associated with diminished metastasis-free survival in breast cancer patients. Together, these observations suggest that plakoglobin-enriched primary tumor cells break off into the vasculature as CTC-clusters, with greatly enhanced metastasis propensity. RNA-seq from 29 samples (15 pools of single CTCs and 14 CTC-clusters) isolated from 10 breast cancer patients
2014-07-11 | E-GEOD-51827 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Cancer cells metastasize through the bloodstream either as single migratory circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or as multicellular groupings (CTC-clusters). Existing technologies for CTC enrichment are designed primarily to isolate single CTCs, and while CTC-clusters are detectable in some cases, their true prevalence and significance remain to be determined. Here, we developed a microchip technology (Cluster-Chip) specifically designed to capture CTC-clusters independent of tumor-specific markers from unprocessed blood. CTC-clusters are isolated through specialized bifurcating traps under low shear-stress conditions that preserve their integrity and even two-cell clusters are captured efficiently. Highly parallel architecture of the chip allows deterministic screening of clinically relevant volumes of blood samples at slow, and hence, non-damaging flow rates. Using the Cluster-Chip, we identify CTC-clusters in 30-40% of patients with metastatic cancers of the breast, prostate and melanoma. RNA sequencing of CTC-clusters confirms their tumor origin and identifies leukocytes within the clusters as being tissue-derived macrophages. Together, the development of a device for efficient capture of CTC-clusters will enable detailed characterization of their biological properties and role in cancer metastasis. We used the Cluster-Chip to capture CTC-clusters from the blood of a breast cancer patient with high CTC counts, released CTC-clusters in solution, stained them with TexasRed-conjugated antibodies against the leukocyte cell surface markers CD45, CD14 and CD16, and then isolated intact CTC-clusters individually using a micromanipulator. From a single time point, we retrieved 15 CTC-clusters, and each of those clusters was individually subjected to RNA-sequencing analysis using a next generation platform (SOLiD 5500). In addition, two leukocytes were isolated from the blood of a healthy donor were individually subjected to RNA-sequencing analysis using the same platform.
2015-05-17 | E-GEOD-67939 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Self-sufficiency (autonomy) in growth signaling, the earliest recognized hallmark of cancer, is fuelled by the tumor cell’s ability to ‘secrete-and-sense’ growth factors; this translates into cell survival and proliferation that is self-sustained by auto-/paracrine secretion. Using breast cancer cells that are either endowed or impaired in growth signaling autonomy, here we reveal how autonomy impacts cancer progression. Autonomy is associated with enhanced molecular programs for stemness, immune evasiveness, proliferation, and epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP). Autonomy is both necessary and sufficient for anchorage-independent growth factor-restricted proliferation and resistance to anti-cancer drugs and is required for metastatic progression. Transcriptomic and proteomic studies show that autonomy is associated with self-sustained EGFR/ErbB signaling. A gene expression signature is derived (a.k.a., autonomy signature) which revealed that autonomy is induced in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and particularly CTC clusters, the latter of which carry higher metastatic potential. Autonomy in CTCs tracks therapeutic response and prognosticates outcome. Autonomy is preserved during reversible (but not stable) EMT. These data support a role for growth signaling autonomy in multiple processes essential for the blood-borne dissemination of human breast cancer.
2023-06-20 | GSE215822 | GEO
Project description:Cancer cells metastasize through the bloodstream either as single migratory circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or as multicellular groupings (CTC-clusters). Existing technologies for CTC enrichment are designed primarily to isolate single CTCs, and while CTC-clusters are detectable in some cases, their true prevalence and significance remain to be determined. Here, we developed a microchip technology (Cluster-Chip) specifically designed to capture CTC-clusters independent of tumor-specific markers from unprocessed blood. CTC-clusters are isolated through specialized bifurcating traps under low shear-stress conditions that preserve their integrity and even two-cell clusters are captured efficiently. Highly parallel architecture of the chip allows deterministic screening of clinically relevant volumes of blood samples at slow, and hence, non-damaging flow rates. Using the Cluster-Chip, we identify CTC-clusters in 30-40% of patients with metastatic cancers of the breast, prostate and melanoma. RNA sequencing of CTC-clusters confirms their tumor origin and identifies leukocytes within the clusters as being tissue-derived macrophages. Together, the development of a device for efficient capture of CTC-clusters will enable detailed characterization of their biological properties and role in cancer metastasis.
2015-05-17 | GSE67939 | GEO
Project description:Clusters of circulating tumor cells (CTC-clusters) are present in the blood of patients with cancer but their contribution to metastasis is not well defined. Here, we first use mouse models to demonstrate that breast cancer cells injected intravascularly as clusters are more prone to survive and colonize the lungs than single cells. Primary mammary tumors comprised of tagged cells give rise to oligoclonal CTC-clusters, with 50-fold increased metastatic potential, compared with single CTCs. Using intravital imaging and in vivo flow cytometry, CTC-clusters are visualized in the tumor circulation, and they demonstrate rapid clearance in peripheral vessels. In patients with breast cancer, presence of CTC-clusters is correlated with decreased progression-free survival. RNA sequencing identifies the cell junction protein plakoglobin as most differentially expressed between clusters and single human breast CTCs. Expression of plakoglobin is required for efficient CTC-cluster formation and breast cancer metastasis in mice, while its expression is associated with diminished metastasis-free survival in breast cancer patients. Together, these observations suggest that plakoglobin-enriched primary tumor cells break off into the vasculature as CTC-clusters, with greatly enhanced metastasis propensity.
2014-07-11 | GSE51827 | GEO
Project description:<p>Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are recognized as direct seeds of metastasis. However, CTC count may not be the 'best' indicator of metastatic risk because their heterogeneity is generally neglected. In this study, we develop a molecular typing system to predict colorectal cancer metastasis potential based on the metabolic fingerprints of single CTCs. After identification of the metabolites potentially related to metastasis using mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics, setup of a home-built single-cell quantitative mass spectrometric platform for target metabolite analysis in individual CTCs and use of a machine learning method composed of non-negative matrix factorization and logistic regression, CTCs are divided into two subgroups, C1 and C2, based on a 4-metabolite fingerprint. Both <em>in vitro</em> and <em>in vivo</em> experiments demonstrate that CTC count in C2 subgroup is closely associated with metastasis incidence. This is an interesting report on the presence of a specific population of CTCs with distinct metastatic potential at the single-cell metabolite level. </p>
2023-08-21 | MTBLS5028 | MetaboLights
Project description:Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) are shed from primary tumors into the bloodstream, mediating the hematogenous spread of cancer to distant organs. To determine the relevance of ECM protein expression to human disease, CTCs were isolated from the blood of metastatic PDAC patients and subjected to single cell RNA-sequencing. Analysis of 7 pancreatic CTCs from 3 patients revealed that the majority expressed keratins defining their epithelial origin. A total of 13 of 60 extracellular protein genes enriched in mouse CTCs (see GEO GSE51372) were expressed at high levels (>100 rpm) in at least one human pancreatic CTC. Human SPARC was the only gene found at high levels in all human pancreatic CTCs. To achieve a deep RNA sequencing profile of CTCs at the single cell level, we applied a novel inertial focusing-enhanced device, the CTC-iChip, which allows high efficiency negative depletion of normal blood cells, leaving unattached CTCs in solution where they can be selected and analyzed as single cells (Pubmed ID 23552373). CTCs were then subjected to single cell RNA-sequencing (Pubmed ID 20203668).
2014-09-22 | E-GEOD-60407 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Extremely rare circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters are both increasingly appreciated as highly metastatic precursors and virtually unexplored. Technologies are primarily designed to detect single CTCs and often fail to account for the fragility of clusters or to leverage cluster-specific markers for higher sensitivity. Meanwhile, the few technologies targeting CTC clusters lack scalability. Here, we introduce the Cluster-Wells, which combines the speed and practicality of membrane filtration with the sensitive and deterministic screening afforded by microfluidic chips. The >100,000 microwells in the Cluster-Wells physically arrest CTC clusters in unprocessed whole blood, gently isolating virtually all clusters at a throughput of >25 mL/h, and allow viable clusters to be retrieved from the device. Using the Cluster-Wells, we isolated CTC clusters ranging from 2–100+ cells from prostate and ovarian cancer patients and analyzed a subset using RNA sequencing. Routine isolation of CTC clusters will democratize research on their utility in managing cancer.
2022-05-24 | GSE202650 | GEO
Project description:Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are critical in the development of distant organ tumor metastasis, and are associated with advanced cancer stage and poor patient outcome. Here, we present the first genome-wide nucleotide-level characterization of CTCs. Our single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis in patients with melanoma involved: 1) global comparative genomic analysis of CTCs and matched regional metastases, 2) identification of key genomic aberrations in CTCs, 3) verification of these target genes in aggressive distant tumor metastases, and 4) evidence of selective expression and functional consequence of CTC-associated genes in melanomas. We report 131 aberrant loci in CTCs that are potentially pro-metastatic, and show that such expression of a 5-marker gene panel (CSMD2, CNTNAP5, FLJ14051, ADAM6, TRPM2) in melanomas confers prognostic utility. Successful treatment of melanoma requires understanding of the metastatic process and identification of patients with tumors most likely to develop aggressive metastatic disease. Melanomas are heterogeneous, and CTCs have long been recognized as vehicles for cancer spread, representing particularly aggressive tumor clones that can evolve into successful clinical metastases. Elucidation of genomic aberrations in CTCs will aid in the development of prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic strategies to target CTCs to prevent or control distant cancer spread. This study provides the first detailed genomic confirmation of the close relation between CTCs and tumor metastases, and illustrates how CTCs can be utilized as a novel approach and rational source for identification of pro-metastatic genes in cancer research. Three individual patient cohorts were utilized in the study. CNV and LOH loci were evaluated initially in metastatic melanoma patients (n=13) in a discovery cohort. SNP loci that harbored CNV/LOH in CTCs were then separately verified for: (a) presence in distant organ metastasis (AJCC Stage IV melanoma) (n=27), and (b) relevance to prognosis in regional melanoma metastasis (AJCC Stage III melanoma) (n=35). The first discovery patient cohort group was utilized for capture of CTCs, and consisted of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) and tumor specimens from metastatic melanoma patients (n=13). CTC-related loci were verified in a second cohort of patients with Stage IV distant organ metastases (n=27), including 15 brain, 4 lung, and 8 gastrointestinal (bowel, liver) metastases. The third patient cohort consisted of early passage (<12) established melanoma cell lines derived from 35 regional melanoma metastases (Stage III) for evaluation of the prognostic utility of the CTC-associated aberrant loci.
2014-07-01 | E-GEOD-43934 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are shed from solid cancers in the form of single or clustered cells, with the latter displaying an extraordinary ability to initiate metastasis. Yet, the biological phenomena that trigger the intravasation of CTC clusters are largely unknown. Here, we compare gene expression of hypoxic and normoxic CTC clusters to identify genes that are not only upregulated as a consequence to hypoxia, but that may also play a pivotal role in promoting CTC clusters generation and metastasis.
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