Project description:Chromosomal structural mutations play an important role in determining the transcriptional landscape of human breast cancers. To assess the nature of these structural mutations, we analyzed a representative sampling of the major types of breast tumor samples for detailed structural mutations using paired-end tag sequencing of long-insert genomic DNA (DNA-PET) with matched transcriptome ascertainment by RNA-seq. Compared with other structural mutations, tandem duplications are enriched around partners of fusion transcripts and demarcate regions of high gene expression. Moreover tandem duplications appear to be early events in tumor evolution by facilitating subsequent downstream amplification and deletion of important adjacent cancer associated genes. In a detailed reconstruction of events in chr17, we found large unpaired-inversions connect a duplicated ERBB2 with neighboring 17q21.3 amplicons while simultaneously deleting the intervening BRCA1 tumor suppressor locus. Using siRNAs in breast cancer cell lines, we showed that the 17q21.3 amplicon harbored a significant number of weak oncogenes that appeared consistently co-amplified in primary tumors. Down-regulation of BRCA1 expression augmented the cell proliferation in human normal mammary epithelial cells. Finally, using in silico approaches, we determined that genes whose expression in breast tumors are associated with either poor or good clinical prognosis appear clustered together in segments of frequent amplification or deletion, suggesting that structural abnormalities induce the loss or gain of blocks of adjacent genes with oncogenic or growth suppressor function. These analyses suggest that structural mutations efficiently orchestrate the gain and loss of cancer gene cassettes that engage many oncogenic pathways simultaneously. RNA sequencing of four primary breast cancer RNA samples (SOLiD, Applied Biosystems).
Project description:Chromosomal structural mutations play an important role in determining the transcriptional landscape of human breast cancers. We determined that pro-oncogenic and anti-oncogenic genes are clustered throughout the genome and that these clusters coincide with regions of segmental amplification and deletion. We constructed detailed structural mutation maps of representative breast cancers and found that tandem duplications appear to nucleate regions for amplification. Subsequent rearrangements link distant pro-oncogenic elements for co-amplification, and are associated with loss of tumor suppressors. We show that genes engaged in co-amplifications or conjoint deletions on 17q and 8q have pro-growth effects that are additive in nature. Our results suggest structural mutations efficiently orchestrate the gain and loss of cancer gene cassettes that engage many oncogenic pathways simultaneously. Affymetrix SNP arrays were performed according to the manufacturer's directions on DNA extracted from fresh-frozen breast tumors with >80% tumor cell content and their paired peripheral blood samples. Copy number analysis of the SNP arrays was done using the copy number pipeline implemented into Partek software version 6.5
Project description:Chromosomal structural mutations play an important role in determining the transcriptional landscape of human breast cancers. We determined that pro-oncogenic and anti-oncogenic genes are clustered throughout the genome and that these clusters coincide with regions of segmental amplification and deletion. We constructed detailed structural mutation maps of representative breast cancers and found that tandem duplications appear to nucleate regions for amplification. Subsequent rearrangements link distant pro-oncogenic elements for co-amplification, and are associated with loss of tumor suppressors. We show that genes engaged in co-amplifications or conjoint deletions on 17q and 8q have pro-growth effects that are additive in nature. Our results suggest structural mutations efficiently orchestrate the gain and loss of cancer gene cassettes that engage many oncogenic pathways simultaneously.
Project description:Chromosomal structural mutations play an important role in determining the transcriptional landscape of human breast cancers. To assess the nature of these structural mutations, we analyzed a representative sampling of the major types of breast tumor samples for detailed structural mutations using paired-end tag sequencing of long-insert genomic DNA (DNA-PET) with matched transcriptome ascertainment by RNA-seq. Compared with other structural mutations, tandem duplications are enriched around partners of fusion transcripts and demarcate regions of high gene expression. Moreover tandem duplications appear to be early events in tumor evolution by facilitating subsequent downstream amplification and deletion of important adjacent cancer associated genes. In a detailed reconstruction of events in chr17, we found large unpaired-inversions connect a duplicated ERBB2 with neighboring 17q21.3 amplicons while simultaneously deleting the intervening BRCA1 tumor suppressor locus. Using siRNAs in breast cancer cell lines, we showed that the 17q21.3 amplicon harbored a significant number of weak oncogenes that appeared consistently co-amplified in primary tumors. Down-regulation of BRCA1 expression augmented the cell proliferation in human normal mammary epithelial cells. Finally, using in silico approaches, we determined that genes whose expression in breast tumors are associated with either poor or good clinical prognosis appear clustered together in segments of frequent amplification or deletion, suggesting that structural abnormalities induce the loss or gain of blocks of adjacent genes with oncogenic or growth suppressor function. These analyses suggest that structural mutations efficiently orchestrate the gain and loss of cancer gene cassettes that engage many oncogenic pathways simultaneously.
Project description:Purpose: Study the changes in cell transcriptome in breast cancer with respect to normal breast tissue in association with somatic mutations Methods: RNA was extracted from frozen normal breast tissues and PDXs cells Results: We found over-expression of oncogenic pathways associated with oncogenic mutations in PDXs
Project description:Sustained expression of the estrogen receptor-α (ESR1) drives two-thirds of breast cancer and defines the ESR1-positive subtype. ESR1 engages enhancers upon estrogen stimulation to establish an oncogenic expression program1. Somatic copy number alterations involving the ESR1 gene occur in approximately 1 % of ESR1-positive breast cancers2â5, suggesting that other mechanisms underlie the persistent expression of ESR1. We report significant enrichment of somatic mutations within the set of regulatory elements (SRE) regulating ESR1 in 7% of ESR1-positive breast cancers. These mutations regulate ESR1 expression by modulating transcription factor binding to the DNA. The SRE includes a recurrently mutated enhancer whose activity is also affected by rs9383590, a functional inherited single-nucleotide variant (SNV) that accounts for several breast cancer riskâassociated loci. Our work highlights the importance of considering the combinatorial activity of regulatory elements as a single unit to delineate the impact of noncoding genetic alterations on single genes in cancer. RNA-Seq was performed in HCC1419 cells heterozygous for the functional SNV, rs9383590, to determine which genes displayed an allelic imbalance within a 1MB window.
Project description:Cancer genomes are characterized by accumulation of small-scale somatic mutations as well as large-scale chromosomal deletions, amplifications, and complex structural rearrangements. This characteristic is at least partially dependent on the ability of cancer cells to undergo recurrent chromosome breakage. In order to address to what extent chromosomal structural rearrangement breakpoints correlate with recurrent DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), we simultaneously mapped chromosome structural variation breakpoints by whole genome DNA-seq and spontaneous DSB formation by Break-seq in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and a non-cancer control cell line MCF-10A. We identified concurrent DSBs and structural variation breakpoints almost exclusively in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 16q in MCF-7 cells. We fine-tuned the identification of copy number variation breakpoints on 16q. In addition, we detected recurrent DSBs that occurred in both MCF-7 and MCF-10A. We propose a model for DSB-driven chromosome rearrangements that led to the translocation of 16q, likely with 10q, and the eventual 16q loss that does not involve the pericentromere of 16q. We present evidence from RNA-seq data that select genes, including SHCBP1, ORC6 and MYLK3, which are immediately downstream from the 16q pericentromere show heightened expression in MCF-7 cell line compared to the control. Data published by The Cancer Genome Atlas showed that all three genes have increased expression in breast tumor samples. We suggest that these genes are potential oncogenes for breast cancer progression. The search for tumor suppressor loss that accompanies the 16q loss ought to be augmented by the identification of potential oncogenes that gained expression during chromosomal rearrangements.
Project description:Cancer genomes are characterized by accumulation of small-scale somatic mutations as well as large-scale chromosomal deletions, amplifications, and complex structural rearrangements. This characteristic is at least partially dependent on the ability of cancer cells to undergo recurrent chromosome breakage. In order to address to what extent chromosomal structural rearrangement breakpoints correlate with recurrent DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), we simultaneously mapped chromosome structural variation breakpoints by whole genome DNA-seq and spontaneous DSB formation by Break-seq in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and a non-cancer control cell line MCF-10A. We identified concurrent DSBs and structural variation breakpoints almost exclusively in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 16q in MCF-7 cells. We fine-tuned the identification of copy number variation breakpoints on 16q. In addition, we detected recurrent DSBs that occurred in both MCF-7 and MCF-10A. We propose a model for DSB-driven chromosome rearrangements that led to the translocation of 16q, likely with 10q, and the eventual 16q loss that does not involve the pericentromere of 16q. We present evidence from RNA-seq data that select genes, including SHCBP1, ORC6 and MYLK3, which are immediately downstream from the 16q pericentromere show heightened expression in MCF-7 cell line compared to the control. Data published by The Cancer Genome Atlas showed that all three genes have increased expression in breast tumor samples. We suggest that these genes are potential oncogenes for breast cancer progression. The search for tumor suppressor loss that accompanies the 16q loss ought to be augmented by the identification of potential oncogenes that gained expression during chromosomal rearrangements.
Project description:Cancer genomes are characterized by accumulation of small-scale somatic mutations as well as large-scale chromosomal deletions, amplifications, and complex structural rearrangements. This characteristic is at least partially dependent on the ability of cancer cells to undergo recurrent chromosome breakage. In order to address to what extent chromosomal structural rearrangement breakpoints correlate with recurrent DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), we simultaneously mapped chromosome structural variation breakpoints by whole genome DNA-seq and spontaneous DSB formation by Break-seq in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and a non-cancer control cell line MCF-10A. We identified concurrent DSBs and structural variation breakpoints almost exclusively in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 16q in MCF-7 cells. We fine-tuned the identification of copy number variation breakpoints on 16q. In addition, we detected recurrent DSBs that occurred in both MCF-7 and MCF-10A. We propose a model for DSB-driven chromosome rearrangements that led to the translocation of 16q, likely with 10q, and the eventual 16q loss that does not involve the pericentromere of 16q. We present evidence from RNA-seq data that select genes, including SHCBP1, ORC6 and MYLK3, which are immediately downstream from the 16q pericentromere show heightened expression in MCF-7 cell line compared to the control. Data published by The Cancer Genome Atlas showed that all three genes have increased expression in breast tumor samples. We suggest that these genes are potential oncogenes for breast cancer progression. The search for tumor suppressor loss that accompanies the 16q loss ought to be augmented by the identification of potential oncogenes that gained expression during chromosomal rearrangements.