Project description:The mTOR (mammalian Target of Rapamycin) pathway is constitutively activated in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). mTOR inhibition has been shown to have clinical activity in patients with DLBCL, although overall response rates remain low. We therefore evaluated differences in the transcriptome between DLBCL cell lines with differential sensitivity to the mTOR inhibitor Rapamycin, to (A) identify gene-expression patterns(GEP) capable of identifying sensitivity to Rapamycin, (B) understand the underlying mechanisms of resistance to Rapamycin in DLBCL and (C) identify bioactive molecules likely to synergize with mTOR inhibitors. Using Affymetrix HuGene ST 1.0 microarrays, we were able to identify a gene expression signature capable of accurately predicting sensitivity and resistance to Rapamycin in DLBCL cell lines. Pathway analysis identified the serine/threonine kinase Akt as central to the differentially-expressed gene network. Connectivity mapping of our datasets identified compounds targeting the AKT pathway with a high likelihood of reversing the GEP associated with resistance to Rapamycin. Specifically, we evaluated the HIV protease inhibitor (PI) Nelfinavir, which is known to have anti-cancer and Akt-inhibitory properties, as well as the small molecule Akt inhibitor MK-2206, for their potential to synergize with to Rapamycin in DLBCL. Nelfinavir and MK-2206 caused profound inhibition of cell viability in combination with Rapamycin in DLBCL cell lines. Low nanomolar concentrations of Rapamycin inhibited phosphorylation of Akt and also downstream targets of activated mTOR when used in combination with these Akt inhibitors. These findings have the potential to significantly improve patient selection for mTOR inhibitor therapy, and to improve rates and depths of response. More broadly, they support the use of global RNA expression and connectivity mapping to improve patient selection and identify synergistic drug combinations for cancer therapy. DLBCL cell lines were tested for Rapamycin sensitivity and classified as "sensitive" or "resistant." Genome-wide analysis of all cell lines were performed using the Affymetrix HuGene ST 1.0 Array Platform. Genes with differential expression between sensitive and resistant cell lines were analyzed using Statistical Analysis of Microarrays (SAM) software, and a signature of genes determnined. This signature was found to accurately predict sensitivity or resistance of other DLBCL cell lines, and to identify the protein kinase Akt as central to resistance.
Project description:The mTOR (mammalian Target of Rapamycin) pathway is constitutively activated in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). mTOR inhibition has been shown to have clinical activity in patients with DLBCL, although overall response rates remain low. We therefore evaluated differences in the transcriptome between DLBCL cell lines with differential sensitivity to the mTOR inhibitor Rapamycin, to (A) identify gene-expression patterns(GEP) capable of identifying sensitivity to Rapamycin, (B) understand the underlying mechanisms of resistance to Rapamycin in DLBCL and (C) identify bioactive molecules likely to synergize with mTOR inhibitors. Using Affymetrix HuGene ST 1.0 microarrays, we were able to identify a gene expression signature capable of accurately predicting sensitivity and resistance to Rapamycin in DLBCL cell lines. Pathway analysis identified the serine/threonine kinase Akt as central to the differentially-expressed gene network. Connectivity mapping of our datasets identified compounds targeting the AKT pathway with a high likelihood of reversing the GEP associated with resistance to Rapamycin. Specifically, we evaluated the HIV protease inhibitor (PI) Nelfinavir, which is known to have anti-cancer and Akt-inhibitory properties, as well as the small molecule Akt inhibitor MK-2206, for their potential to synergize with to Rapamycin in DLBCL. Nelfinavir and MK-2206 caused profound inhibition of cell viability in combination with Rapamycin in DLBCL cell lines. Low nanomolar concentrations of Rapamycin inhibited phosphorylation of Akt and also downstream targets of activated mTOR when used in combination with these Akt inhibitors. These findings have the potential to significantly improve patient selection for mTOR inhibitor therapy, and to improve rates and depths of response. More broadly, they support the use of global RNA expression and connectivity mapping to improve patient selection and identify synergistic drug combinations for cancer therapy.
Project description:Lck-MyrAkt2 mice develop spontaneous thymic lymphomas at approximately 100-200 days of age, driven in part by a consitutatively-active AKT (due to myristoylation). mTOR Knock Down mice were crossed with Lck-MyrAkt postive mice to model the affects of decreasing mTOR activity on tumors with an activated PI3K/AKT/MTOR pathway. Lck-Akt/mTOR KD mice had prolonged survival compared to the Lck-Akt/mTOR WT mice. We used microarrays to compare the transcriptome in thymic lymphomas between Lck-Akt positive, mTOR WT and Lck-Akt positive, mTOR KD mice. Four thymic lymphomas from Lck-Akt/mTOR WT mice were compared to three thymic lymphomas from Lck-Akt/mTOR KD mice.
Project description:We have sequenced miRNA libraries from human embryonic, neural and foetal mesenchymal stem cells. We report that the majority of miRNA genes encode mature isomers that vary in size by one or more bases at the 3’ and/or 5’ end of the miRNA. Northern blotting for individual miRNAs showed that the proportions of isomiRs expressed by a single miRNA gene often differ between cell and tissue types. IsomiRs were readily co-immunoprecipitated with Argonaute proteins in vivo and were active in luciferase assays, indicating that they are functional. Bioinformatics analysis predicts substantial differences in targeting between miRNAs with minor 5’ differences and in support of this we report that a 5’ isomiR-9-1 gained the ability to inhibit the expression of DNMT3B and NCAM2 but lost the ability to inhibit CDH1 in vitro. This result was confirmed by the use of isomiR-specific sponges. Our analysis of the miRGator database indicates that a small percentage of human miRNA genes express isomiRs as the dominant transcript in certain cell types and analysis of miRBase shows that 5’ isomiRs have replaced canonical miRNAs many times during evolution. This strongly indicates that isomiRs are of functional importance and have contributed to the evolution of miRNA genes
Project description:Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a heterogeneous diagnostic category that can be stratified in molecular subtypes based on gene expression profiles and genetic alterations. As roughly one-third of DLBCL patients do not sustainably respond to the current standard chemo-immunotherapy, novel treatment options targeting oncogenic pathways might improve their outcome. Chronic B-cell receptor signaling or PTEN deficiency drive the constitutive activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K). Since pan-PI3K inhibitors cause severe side effects, we investigated the anti-lymphoma efficacy of the specific PI3Kβ/δ inhibitor AZD8186. We identified a subset of DLBCL models within activated B cell-like (ABC) and germinal center B cell-like (GCB) DLBCL that were sensitive to AZD8186 treatment. On the molecular level, PI3Kβ/δ inhibition decreased the pro-survival nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) and activator protein 1 (AP-1) activity or led to downregulation of the oncogenic transcription factor MYC. In AZD8186-resistant models, we detected a feedback activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway following PI3Kβ/δ inhibition. The combined treatment with AZD8186 and the mTOR inhibitor AZD2014 overcame resistance to PI3Kβ/δ inhibition and completely prevented outgrowth of lymphoma cells in vivo in cell line- and patient-derived xenograft mouse models. Collectively, our study reveals that subsets of DLBCLs are addicted to PI3Kβ/δ signaling and thus identifies a previously unappreciated role of the PI3Kβ isoform in DLBCL survival. Furthermore, our data demonstrate that combined targeting of PI3Kβ/δ and mTOR is effective in all major DLBCL subtypes supporting the evaluation of this strategy in a clinical trial setting.
Project description:Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography. Kinetic characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals classic Michaelis-Menten behavior, with a Km of 28.3 +/- 1.9 microM and a specific activity of 1.75 micromol min-1 mg-1 for 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine. Crystals of recombinant kynureninase that diffracted to 2.0 A were obtained, and the atomic structure of the PLP-bound holoenzyme was determined by molecular replacement using the Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase structure (PDB entry 1qz9) as the phasing model. A structural superposition with the P. fluorescens kynureninase revealed that these two structures resemble the "open" and "closed" conformations of aspartate aminotransferase. The comparison illustrates the dynamic nature of these proteins' small domains and reveals a role for Arg-434 similar to its role in other AAT alpha-family members. Docking of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine into the human kynureninase active site suggests that Asn-333 and His-102 are involved in substrate binding and molecular discrimination between inducible and constitutive kynureninase substrates.
Project description:As the evolution of miRNA genes has been found to be one of the important factors in formation of the modern type of man, we performed a comparative analysis of the evolution of miRNA genes in two archaic hominines, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens denisova, and elucidated the expression of their target mRNAs in bain.A comparative analysis of the genomes of primates, including species in the genus Homo, identified a group of miRNA genes having fixed substitutions with important implications for the evolution of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens denisova. The mRNAs targeted by miRNAs with mutations specific for Homo sapiens denisova exhibited enhanced expression during postnatal brain development in modern humans. By contrast, the expression of mRNAs targeted by miRNAs bearing variations specific for Homo sapiens neanderthalensis was shown to be enhanced in prenatal brain development.Our results highlight the importance of changes in miRNA gene sequences in the course of Homo sapiens denisova and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis evolution. The genetic alterations of miRNAs regulating the spatiotemporal expression of multiple genes in the prenatal and postnatal brain may contribute to the progressive evolution of brain function, which is consistent with the observations of fine technical and typological properties of tools and decorative items reported from archaeological Denisovan sites. The data also suggest that differential spatial-temporal regulation of gene products promoted by the subspecies-specific mutations in the miRNA genes might have occurred in the brains of Homo sapiens denisova and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, potentially contributing to the cultural differences between these two archaic hominines.
Project description:PurposeWe investigated the evidence of recent positive selection in the human phototransduction system at single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and gene level.MethodsSNP genotyping data from the International HapMap Project for European, Eastern Asian, and African populations was used to discover differences in haplotype length and allele frequency between these populations. Numeric selection metrics were computed for each SNP and aggregated into gene-level metrics to measure evidence of recent positive selection. The level of recent positive selection in phototransduction genes was evaluated and compared to a set of genes shown previously to be under recent selection, and a set of highly conserved genes as positive and negative controls, respectively.ResultsSix of 20 phototransduction genes evaluated had gene-level selection metrics above the 90th percentile: RGS9, GNB1, RHO, PDE6G, GNAT1, and SLC24A1. The selection signal across these genes was found to be of similar magnitude to the positive control genes and much greater than the negative control genes.ConclusionsThere is evidence for selective pressure in the genes involved in retinal phototransduction, and traces of this selective pressure can be demonstrated using SNP-level and gene-level metrics of allelic variation. We hypothesize that the selective pressure on these genes was related to their role in low light vision and retinal adaptation to ambient light changes. Uncovering the underlying genetics of evolutionary adaptations in phototransduction not only allows greater understanding of vision and visual diseases, but also the development of patient-specific diagnostic and intervention strategies.