Project description:In this study, a series of 102 cartilage tumors was used to uncover the molecular diversity of chondrosarcomas through the profiling of mRNA, miRNA, DNA methylation, DNA copy number aberrations and point mutations. An integrated classification using multiple molecular dimensions revealed three major molecular features unraveling the diversity in clinical outcome of chondrosarcoma: a high mitotic state, regional 14q32 loss of expression and IDH mutations leading to genome-wide hypermethylation. These three robust and simple molecular features classify chondrosarcoma in subtypes with superior clinical value as compared to the current grading system.
Project description:We generated large-scale proteome data for 65 human breast tumors and 53 paired adjacent non-cancerous tissue and performed an integrated proteotranscriptomic characterization. To our best knowledge, the study is one of the largest quantitative proteomic study of human breast tissues, including the analysis of 118 tissue samples from 65 patients with long-term survival outcomes. Our data show that protein expression describes a tumor biology that is only partly captured by the transcriptome, with mRNA abundance incompletely predicting protein abundance in tumors, and even less so in non-cancerous tissue. Furthermore, the tumor proteome described disease pathways and subgroups that were only partially captured by the tumor transcriptome.
Project description:Directed differentiation of stem cells toward chondrogenesis in vitro and in situ to regenerate cartilage suffers from off-target differentiation and hypertrophic tendency. Here, we generated a cartilaginous organoid system from human expanded pluripotent stem cells (hEPSCs) carrying a COL2A1mCherry and COL10A1eGFP double reporter, enabling real-time monitoring of chondrogenesis and hypertrophy. After screening 2,040 FDA-approved drugs, we found that α-adrenergic receptor (α-AR) antagonists, especially phentolamine, stimulated chondrogenesis but repressed hypertrophy, while α2-AR agonists reduced chondrogenesis and induced hypertrophy. Phentolamine prevented cartilage degeneration in hEPSC cartilaginous organoid and human cartilage explant models and stimulated microfracture-activated endogenous skeletal stem cells toward hyaline-like cartilage regeneration without fibrotic degeneration in situ. Mechanistically, α2-AR signaling induced hypertrophic degeneration via cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) production. SLPI-deleted cartilaginous organoid was degeneration resistant, facilitating large cartilage defect healing. Ultimately, targeting α2-AR/SLPI was a promising and clinically feasible strategy to regenerate cartilage via promoting chondrogenesis and repressing hypertrophy.
Project description:Directed differentiation of stem cells toward chondrogenesis in vitro and in situ to regenerate cartilage suffers from off-target differentiation and hypertrophic tendency. Here, we generated a cartilaginous organoid system from human expanded pluripotent stem cells (hEPSCs) carrying a COL2A1mCherry and COL10A1eGFP double reporter, enabling real-time monitoring of chondrogenesis and hypertrophy. After screening 2,040 FDA-approved drugs, we found that α-adrenergic receptor (α-AR) antagonists, especially phentolamine, stimulated chondrogenesis but repressed hypertrophy, while α2-AR agonists reduced chondrogenesis and induced hypertrophy. Phentolamine prevented cartilage degeneration in hEPSC cartilaginous organoid and human cartilage explant models and stimulated microfracture-activated endogenous skeletal stem cells toward hyaline-like cartilage regeneration without fibrotic degeneration in situ. Mechanistically, α2-AR signaling induced hypertrophic degeneration via cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) production. SLPI-deleted cartilaginous organoid was degeneration resistant, facilitating large cartilage defect healing. Ultimately, targeting α2-AR/SLPI was a promising and clinically feasible strategy to regenerate cartilage via promoting chondrogenesis and repressing hypertrophy.
Project description:In this study, a series of 102 cartilage tumors was used to uncover the molecular diversity of chondrosarcomas through the profiling of mRNA, miRNA, DNA methylation, DNA copy number aberrations and point mutations. An integrated classification using multiple molecular dimensions revealed three major molecular features unraveling the diversity in clinical outcome of chondrosarcoma: a high mitotic state, regional 14q32 loss of expression and IDH mutations leading to genome-wide hypermethylation. These three robust and simple molecular features classify chondrosarcoma in subtypes with superior clinical value as compared to the current grading system.
Project description:Personalized cancer immunotherapy targeting patient-specific cancer/testis (CTA) antigens and neoantigens may benefit from large-scale tumor HLA peptidome (immunopeptidome) analysis, which aims to accurately identify antigens presented by tumor cells. While significant efforts have been invested in analyzing the HLA peptidomes of fresh tumors, it is often impossible to obtain sufficient volumes of tumor tissues for comprehensive HLA peptidome characterization. This work attempted to overcome some of these obstacles by using patient-derived xenograft tumors (PDX) in mice as the tissue sources for HLA peptidome analysis. PDX tumor provide a proxy for expansion of the patient tumor by re-grafting them through several passages to immune compromised mice. The HLA peptidomes of human biopsies were compared to those derived from PDX tumors. Larger HLA peptidomes were obtained from the significantly larger PDX tumors as compared to the patient biopsies. The HLA peptidomes of different PDX tumors derived from the same source tumor biopsy were very reproducible, even following subsequent passages to new naïve mice. A large number of CTA-derived HLA peptides were discovered, as well as several neoantigens. Taken together, use of PDX tumors for HLA peptidome analysis serves as a highly expandable and stable source of reproducible and authentic peptidomes, opening up new opportunities for defining large HLA peptidomes when only small tumor biopsies are available. This approach provides a large source for tumor antigens identification potentially useful for personalized immunotherapy.
Project description:Understanding the effects of biomechanical loading on human growth plate cartilage, which are unknown so far, could uncover diagnostic and therapeutic avenues. To address this, we used rare human growth plate biopsies obtained from children undergoing epiphysiodesis. These biopsies were exposed to a precisely controlled mechanical loading application using a microloading device. Subsequently, the biopsies were cultured for 24 hours post-mechanical loading, followed by RNA-sequencing analyses to decipher the molecular responses.