Project description:Patients diagnosed with estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer have a prolonged risk of distal metastatic recurrence to vital organs. Metastatic disease is incurable at present due to the development of treatment resistant cell populations. Here we used single-cell RNA sequencing to evaluate the transcriptome heterogeneity of ER+ breast cancer patient-derived xenografts (PDX) tropic for three common breast cancer metastatic sites – bone, brain, and liver – compared to primary tumors grown in the mammary fat pad. Metastatic cell populations at each location were phenotypically distinct from primary tumor cells with unique transcriptional programs indicative of signaling programs driven by specific transcription factors. Cells that metastasized to brain and liver tissue adopted gene expression programs indicative of the target organ microenvironments. Discerning the organ-specific phenotypic adaptations of metastatic ER+ breast cancer cells may help tailor appropriate therapies for individual patients and to each metastatic site.
Project description:We report that the cell of origin plays an important role in this metastatic tropism. Following injection into the arterial circulation of mice, each of the identically transformed cell types gave rise to different metastatic patterns. Using gene expression analysis, we identified the chemokine receptor CXCR4 as being instrumental in determining the distinct metastatic patterns between skeletal muscle precursor cells and skeletal myoblasts.
Project description:We report that the cell of origin plays an important role in this metastatic tropism. Following injection into the arterial circulation of mice, each of the identically transformed cell types gave rise to different metastatic patterns. Using gene expression analysis, we identified the chemokine receptor CXCR4 as being instrumental in determining the distinct metastatic patterns between skeletal muscle precursor cells and skeletal myoblasts. 3 independent cell lines of primary human skeletal myoblasts, primary skeletal muscle cell precursors, and each of these cell lines transformed with hTERT, the early region of SV40 encoding T-Ag and t-Ag, and RasG12V analysis of primary human skeletal myoblasts, primary skeletal muscle cell precursors, and each of these cell lines transformed with hTERT, the early region of SV40 encoding T-Ag and t-Ag, and RasG12V
Project description:Hormones and growth factors accelerate cell proliferation of breast cancer cells, and these molecules are well investigated targets for drug development and application. The mechanisms of cell proliferation of breast cancers lacking estrogen receptor (ER) and HER2 have not been fully understood. The purpose of the present study is to find genes that are differentially expressed in breast cancers and that might significantly contribute to cell proliferation in these cancers. Forty tumor samples, consisting of ten each of immunohistochemically ER(+)/HER2(-), ER(+)/HER2(+), ER(-)/HER2(+), and ER(-)/HER2(-) cancer were analyzed using oligonucleotide microarrays. Both genes and tumor samples were subjected to hierarchical clustering. ER(+)/HER2(-) breast cancers and ER(-)/HER2(-) cancers tended to form a tumor cluster, but HER2 positive breast cancers were split into different tumor clusters. Significant differential expression between IHC-ER(-)/HER2(-) and other tumors was defined as having an expression level at least 2-fold higher or 2-fold lower, and analyzed by multi-step two-way ANOVA. Genes overexpressed differently in IHC-ER(-)/HER2(-) breast cancers compared to other all three types were 8 genes (FABP7, GABRP, GAL, CXCL13, CDC42EP4, C2F, FOXM1, CSDA), and underexpressed genes were nine including ITGB5, KIAA0310, MAGED2, PRSS11, SORL1, TGFB3, KRT18, CPE, BCAS1. No gene was directly related to cell proliferation such as cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinase, p53, p16, and the pRb and p21 families. We had a particular focus on a transcriptional factor E2F-5 from a list of genes overexpressed in ER negative breast cancers compared to ER positive breast cancers, and further examined. Gene amplification of E2F-5 was detected in 5/57 (8.8%) in breast cancers by FISH. No point mutation was found at the binding domain with DNA or dimerization partner of E2F-5. Immunohistochemically E2F-5 positive cancers were more frequent in ER(-)/HER2(-) cancer (14/27, 51.9%) than in other types of cancer (5/30, 16.7%) (p=0.05). E2F-5 positive cancers had higher Ki-67 labeling index (59.5%) than E2F-5 negative cancers (36.3%). E2F-5 positive cancers showed higher histological grade including metaplastic carcinoma, and worse clinical outcome with shorter disease free survival in node negative patients. In conclusion, we demonstrated that there is a population of breast cancer with overexpression of a cell cycle related transcriptional factor E2F-5. E2F-5 positive breast cancers were frequent in ER(-)/HER2(-) group with high Ki-67 labeling index, high histological grade and worse clinical outcome. Keywords: immunohistochemical phenotype
Project description:Extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19 have gained attention, not only due to their links to clinical outcomes, but also due to their potential long-term sequelae1. Recent evidence has shown multi-organ tropism of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), including heart, kidney and liver2. Previous studies have shown that close to 20% of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 develop liver injury, showing an association to disease severity3. Here, we identified a high frequency of liver enzyme alterations at admission in COVID-19 patients who required hospitalization. Then, we characterized SARS-CoV-2 liver tropism in autopsy samples, based on the expression of cell-entry facilitators in parenchymal cells, clinical polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positivity, subgenomic SARS-CoV-2 identification using RNA sequencing, and viral RNA detection by in situ hybridization. Next, we unraveled the transcriptomic and proteomic landscape of SARS-CoV-2 liver tropism, revealing significant increases in interferon alpha and gamma signaling and compensatory liver-specific metabolic regulation. While these results reflect changes in tissues from patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, these profound molecular alterations raise questions about the potential long-term consequences of COVID-19 infection.
Project description:Viruses are the second leading cause of cancer worldwide, and human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated head and neck cancers are increasing in incidence in the United States. HPV preferentially infects the crypts of the tonsils rather than the surface epithelium. The present study sought to characterize the unique microenvironment within the crypts to better understand the host tropism of HPV to a lymphoid rich organ. Laser-capture microdissection of distinct anatomic areas (crypts, surface epithelium, and germinal centers) of the tonsil coupled with transcriptional analysis and multi-parameter immunofluorescence staining was performed and demonstrated that the tonsillar crypts are enriched with myeloid populations which co-express multiple canonical and non-canonical immune checkpoints, including PD-L1, CTLA-4, HAVCR2 (TIM-3), ADORA2A, IDO1, BTLA, LGALS3, CDH1, CEACAM1, PVR, and C10orf54 (VISTA). The resident monocytes may foster a permissive microenvironment that facilitates HPV infection and persistence. Furthermore, the myeloid populations within HPV-associated tonsil cancers co-express the same immune checkpoints, providing insight into potential novel immunotherapeutic targets for HPV-associated head and neck cancers. The associated paper "Myeloid cells are enriched in tonsillar crypts providing insight into the host tropism of HPV", Austin K. Mattox, Jessica Roelands, Talia Saal, Yang Cheng, Darawan Rinchai, Wouter Hendrickx, Geoffrey D. Young, Thomas J. Diefenbach, Alan E. Berger, William H. Westra, Justin A. Bishop, William C. Faquin, Francesco M. Marincola, Mikael J. Pittet, Davide Bedognetti, and Sara I. Pai; The American Journal of Pathology, Online ahead of print DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpath.2021.06.012
Project description:In this study we investigated the gene expression profiling in three HCC cell lines with different organ-tropism.The parent cell line has low metastasis ability in nude mice model. Subclone 1 has higher metastasis ability specific to lung, and subclone 2 has dual metastasis ability to lung and celiac lymph node. We aimed to explore differentially expressed genes involved in process of HCC metastasis and organ-specific metastasis, and identify their biological functions. Examination of different gene expression among the 3 cell types.