Project description:The underlying biology through which established breast cancer risk factors contribute to disease risk is not well characterized. One key risk factor for breast cancer is age, and age-related DNA methylation alterations may contribute to increased risk of disease. Here we assessed normal breast tissues and tested the relation of DNA methylation with known breast cancer risk factors. Cancer-free women donated breast tissue biopsy specimens through the Susan G. Komen Foundation and provided detailed risk factor data (n=100). Bisulfite modified DNA was profiled for DNA methylation genome-wide using the Infinium 450K DNA methylation array. We tested the relation of known breast cancer risk factors such as age, BMI, parity, and family history of disease with DNA methylation adjusted for variation in cell type proportions using a novel cellular mixture deconvolution algorithm. We identified 787 CpGs that exhibited significant (FDR adjusted, q-value < 0.01) differential DNA methylation associated with subject age, but not with other breast cancer risk factors. We observed an enrichment among the risk factor-related CpGs for Polycomb group target genes (Fisher’s Exact test, P = 1.74E-06), and breast myoepithelial cell enhancer regions (H3K4me1; Fisher’s Exact test, P = 7.1E-20). We validated our risk factor-related findings in two independent populations of normal breast tissue (n=18 and n=97). In addition, age-related CpGs were further deregulated in both pre-invasive (DCIS, n=40) and invasive breast cancers (TCGA, n=731). Overall, our results suggest that the breast cancer risk factor age contributes to epigenetic dysregulation in normal breast tissue that exhibit progressive changes in cancer.
Project description:Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation are important regulators of gene expression and are frequently dysregulated early in breast carcinogenesis. The relationship between DNA methylation aberrations in normal breast tissue and breast cancer risk remains unclear. Disease-free breast tissue cores donated by high-risk (Tyrer-Cuzick lifetime risk ≥20%) and 78 average-risk women were obtained from the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank and processed for whole methylome and whole transcriptome profiling. We identified 1355 CpGs that were differentially methylated between high- and average-risk breast tissues (ΔZ>0.5, FDR<0.05). Hypomethylated CpGs were overrepresented in high-risk tissue and were found predominantly (68%) in non-coding regions. Hypermethylated CpG sites were found equally in the gene body and non-coding regions. Transcriptomic analysis identified 67 differentially expressed genes (fold change≥2, FDR<0.05, 17 down 50 up), involved in chemokines signaling, metabolism and estrogen biosynthesis. Methylation-expression correlations revealed 6 epigenetically regulated genes in high-risk breast. This is the first gene expression/DNA methylation analysis of normal breasts from women at either high or average risk of breast cancer. Our discovery of epigenetically regulated genes associated with breast cancer risk using a unique resource of normal breast samples opens the doors to a deeper understanding of the process of cancer initiation and provides an opportunity to mechanistically dissect breast cancer susceptibility and risk-associated molecular alterations.
Project description:Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation are important regulators of gene expression and are frequently dysregulated early in breast carcinogenesis. The relationship between DNA methylation aberrations in normal breast tissue and breast cancer risk remains unclear. Disease-free breast tissue cores donated by high-risk (Tyrer-Cuzick lifetime risk ≥20%) and 78 average-risk women were obtained from the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank and processed for whole methylome and whole transcriptome profiling. We identified 1355 CpGs that were differentially methylated between high- and average-risk breast tissues (ΔZ>0.5, FDR<0.05). Hypomethylated CpGs were overrepresented in high-risk tissue and were found predominantly (68%) in non-coding regions. Hypermethylated CpG sites were found equally in the gene body and non-coding regions. Transcriptomic analysis identified 67 differentially expressed genes (fold change≥2, FDR<0.05, 17 down 50 up), involved in chemokines signaling, metabolism and estrogen biosynthesis. Methylation-expression correlations revealed 6 epigenetically regulated genes in high-risk breast. This is the first gene expression/DNA methylation analysis of normal breasts from women at either high or average risk of breast cancer. Our discovery of epigenetically regulated genes associated with breast cancer risk using a unique resource of normal breast samples opens the doors to a deeper understanding of the process of cancer initiation and provides an opportunity to mechanistically dissect breast cancer susceptibility and risk-associated molecular alterations.
Project description:Prior candidate gene studies have shown tumor suppressor DNA methylation in breast milk related with history of breast biopsy, an established risk factor for breast cancer. To further establish the utility of breast milk as a tissue-specific biospecimen for investigations of breast carcinogenesis we measured genome-wide DNA methylation in breast milk from women with and without a diagnosis of breast cancer in two independent cohorts. In epigenome-wide analyses we identified 58 differentially methylated CpG sites associated with breast cancer diagnosis in the prospectively collected milk samples from the breast that would develop cancer compared with women without a diagnosis of breast cancer (q-value < 0.05), using linear mixed effects models adjusted for history of breast biopsy, age, age of the baby, cell type proportion estimates, array chip, and subject as random effect. Nearly all sites associated with breast cancer diagnosis were hypomethylated in cases compared with controls, and CpG sites were enriched for CpG islands. In addition, inferred repeat element methylation was lower in breast milk DNA from cases compared to controls, and cases exhibited increased estimated epigenetic mitotic tick rate as well as DNA methylation age compared with controls. Breast milk has promise as a biospecimen for prospective assessment of disease risk, and for understanding the underlying molecular basis of breast cancer risk factors and improving primary and secondary prevention of breast cancer.
Project description:The underlying biological mechanisms through which epidemiologically defined breast cancer risk factors contribute to disease risk remain poorly understood. Here we investigated the impact cancer risk factors have on the normal breast epigenome by analyzing DNA methylation genome-wide (Infinium 450K array) in cancer-free women. We tested the relation of established breast cancer risk factors with DNA methylation adjusting for potential variation in cell-type proportions.
Project description:Detection of breast cancer (BC) in young women is challenging because mammography, the most common tool for detecting BC, is not effective on the dense breast tissue characteristic of young women. In addition to the limited means for detecting their BC, young women face a transient increased risk of pregnancy-associated BC. As a consequence, reproductively active women could benefit significantly from a tool that provides them with accurate risk assessment and early detection of BC. One potential method for detection of BC is biochemical monitoring of proteins and other molecules in bodily fluids such as serum, nipple aspirate, ductal lavage, tear, urine, saliva and breast milk. Of all these fluids, only breast milk provides access to a large volume of breast tissue, in the form of exfoliated epithelial cells, and to the local breast environment, in the form of molecules in the milk. Thus, analysis of breast milk is a non-invasive method with significant potential for assessing BC risk. Here we analyzed human breast milk by mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics to build a biomarker signature for early detection of BC. Ten milk samples from 8 women provided 5 paired-groups (cancer versus control) for analysis of differentially expressed proteins: 2 within woman comparisons (milk from a diseased breast versus a healthy breast of the same woman) and 3 across women comparisons (milk from a woman with cancer versus a woman without cancer). Despite a wide range in the time between milk donation and cancer diagnosis (cancer diagnosis occurred from 1 month before to 24 months after milk donation), the levels of some proteins differed significantly between cancer and control in several of the 5 comparison groups. These pilot data are supportive of the idea that molecular analysis of breast milk will identify proteins informative for early detection and accurate assessment of BC risk, and warrant further research.
Project description:Epigenetics may help understanding the molecular mechanisms of atherosclerosis as genetic predisposition explains only part of cardiovascular disease risk. In particular, DNA methylation, a reversible and highly regulative DNA modification could contribute to disease onset and progression as it functions as effector for environmental impacts, including dietary and life-style, similarly to risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. We addressed this issue by performing whole-genome shotgun bisulfite sequencing and high-resolution DNAmethylation array analysis of healthy and diseased donor-matched atherosclerotic DNA methylomes. Sequencing of bisulfite converted DNA and array based analysis of atherosclerotic lesions and normal carotid tissue.
Project description:Epigenetics may help understanding the molecular mechanisms of atherosclerosis as genetic predisposition explains only part of cardiovascular disease risk. In particular, DNA methylation, a reversible and highly regulative DNA modification could contribute to disease onset and progression as it functions as effector for environmental impacts, including dietary and life-style, similarly to risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. We addressed this issue by performing whole-genome shotgun bisulfite sequencing and high-resolution DNAmethylation array analysis of healthy and diseased donor-matched atherosclerotic DNA methylomes. Sequencing of bisulfite converted DNA and array based analysis of atherosclerotic lesions and normal carotid tissue.
Project description:Five years of tamoxifen reduces breast cancer risk by nearly 50% but is associated with significant side-effects and toxicities. A better understanding of the direct and indirect effects of tamoxifen in benign breast tissue could elucidate new mechanisms of breast carcinogenesis, suggest novel chemoprevention targets, and provide relevant early response biomarkers for Phase II prevention trials. Seventy-three women at increased risk for breast cancer were randomized to tamoxifen (20 mg daily) or placebo for three months. Blood and breast tissue samples were collected at baseline and post-treatment. Sixty-nine women completed all study activities (37 tamoxifen and 32 placebo). The selected biomarkers focused on estradiol and IGFs in the blood, DNA methylation and cytology in random periareolar fine needle aspirates, and tissue morphometry, proliferation, apoptosis, and gene expression (microarray and RT-PCR) in the tissue core samples. Tamoxifen downregulated ets-oncogene family members ETV4 and ETV5 and reduced breast epithelial cell proliferation independent of CYP2D6 genotypes or effects on estradiol, ESR1 or IGFs. Reduction in proliferation was correlated with downregulation of ETV4 and DNAJC12. Tamoxifen also modulated expression of RAB GTPases, and several genes involved in epithelial-stromal interaction, and reduced tumor suppressor gene methylation. Three months of tamoxifen did not affect breast tissue composition, cytological atypia, preneoplasia or apoptosis. Tamoxifen may durably reduce breast cancer risk through downregulation of ETV4 and ETV5 which could deplete mammary progenitor populations. This pathway has the potential to provide novel targets and early response biomarkers for phase II prevention trials. Randomized prospective double blinded placebo-controlled trial of tamoxifen (20 mg daily) versus placeo in women at increased risk for breast cancer. Gene expression was assessed in whole breast tissue cores obtained at baseline and after three months of treatment for 35 women. Core biopsies were obtained in the late luteal phase (day 28 +/- 2) for premenopausal women (N = 19). Breast lobules from the baseline and post-treatment cores were microdissected for 5 tamoxifen subjects.
Project description:Five years of tamoxifen reduces breast cancer risk by nearly 50% but is associated with significant side-effects and toxicities. A better understanding of the direct and indirect effects of tamoxifen in benign breast tissue could elucidate new mechanisms of breast carcinogenesis, suggest novel chemoprevention targets, and provide relevant early response biomarkers for Phase II prevention trials. Seventy-three women at increased risk for breast cancer were randomized to tamoxifen (20 mg daily) or placebo for three months. Blood and breast tissue samples were collected at baseline and post-treatment. Sixty-nine women completed all study activities (37 tamoxifen and 32 placebo). The selected biomarkers focused on estradiol and IGFs in the blood, DNA methylation and cytology in random periareolar fine needle aspirates, and tissue morphometry, proliferation, apoptosis, and gene expression (microarray and RT-PCR) in the tissue core samples. Tamoxifen downregulated ets-oncogene family members ETV4 and ETV5 and reduced breast epithelial cell proliferation independent of CYP2D6 genotypes or effects on estradiol, ESR1 or IGFs. Reduction in proliferation was correlated with downregulation of ETV4 and DNAJC12. Tamoxifen also modulated expression of RAB GTPases, and several genes involved in epithelial-stromal interaction, and reduced tumor suppressor gene methylation. Three months of tamoxifen did not affect breast tissue composition, cytological atypia, preneoplasia or apoptosis. Tamoxifen may durably reduce breast cancer risk through downregulation of ETV4 and ETV5 which could deplete mammary progenitor populations. This pathway has the potential to provide novel targets and early response biomarkers for phase II prevention trials.