Project description:Notch intracellular domain (NICD) is the active form of the Notch receptor. In this mouse model, NICD is inserted in the Rosa26 locus downstream of a loxP-STOP-LoxP (lsl) sequence and therefore NICD expression is dependant on Cre recombinase expression (Mono transgenic control Rosa26-lsl-NICD) . These mice are crossed with the AFP-Cre strain that expresses Cre in hepatoblasts due to its regulation by the AFP promoter and albumin enhancer (Double transgenic mutant AFP-Cre/Rosa26-lsl-NICD). Newborn mice at day 0 and day 2 are sacrificed and liver RNA samples from control monotransgenic Rosa26-lsl-NICD and from bitransgenic AFP-Cre/Rosa26-lsl-NICD (AFP-NICD) are obtained. Whole genome expression profiling of these samples is submitted.
Project description:Increased α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels have been reported to predict a poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We assessed the mechanism of AFP involvement in the progression of HCC and determined whether AFP could be a molecular target. We used human HCC cell lines to assess proliferation and apoptosis response to exogenous AFP. We introduced AFP small interfering RNA (siRNA) into HCC cell lines to examine whether it could inhibit cell proliferation and anti-apoptotic properties. The effects of systemically introduced AFP siRNA were assessed using a tumor xenotransplantation model. The effects of AFP on gene expression in HCC cell lines and human HCC specimens were examined. Exogenous AFP induced cell proliferation dose-dependently and inhibited apoptosis induced by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in all cell lines examined. AFP siRNA inhibited the proliferation of AFP-producing HCC cell lines and induced apoptosis in co-cultures with 5-FU. Tumor sizes in mice treated with AFP siRNA were significantly smaller than those in controls. AFP siRNA administration in mice induced a low proliferation index and a high apoptosis index in tumors. cDNA microarray analysis, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and Western blot using HepG2 and HLE cells with AFP showed that AFP reduced expression of genes related to apoptosis (DFFB) and tumor suppression (NDRG2). Expression of these molecules was also suppressed in human HCC tissues that overexpress AFP. AFP is not only a passive tumor marker, but also an active tumor stimulator through several mechanisms. AFP siRNA introduction may be of possible therapeutic use for HCC. Keywords: Genetic modification
Project description:Notch intracellular domain (NICD) is the active form of the Notch receptor. In this mouse model, NICD is inserted in the Rosa26 locus downstream of a loxP-STOP-LoxP (lsl) sequence and therefore NICD expression is dependant on Cre recombinase expression (Mono transgenic control Rosa26-lsl-NICD) . These mice are crossed with the AFP-Cre strain that expresses Cre in hepatoblasts due to its regulation by the AFP promoter and albumin enhancer (Double transgenic mutant AFP-Cre/Rosa26-lsl-NICD). Newborn mice at day 0 and day 2 are sacrificed and liver RNA samples from control monotransgenic Rosa26-lsl-NICD and from bitransgenic AFP-Cre/Rosa26-lsl-NICD (AFP-NICD) are obtained. Whole genome expression profiling of these samples is submitted. Five liver samples from Control mice and six liver samples from Mutant mice are analyzed using the Agilent Whole Mouse Genome Oligo Microarray G4122A platform. Array data was preprocessed and analyzed using GenePattern software and R.
Project description:Globally, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 70-85% of primary liver cancers and ranks second in the leading cause of male cancer death. Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), normally highly expressed in the liver only during fetal development, is reactivated in 60% of HCC tumors and associated with poor patient outcome. We hypothesize that AFP+ and AFP- tumors differ biologically. Using microarray-based global microRNA profiling in 223 HCC patients, we found that members of the miR-29 family were the most significantly (p<0.001) down-regulated miRNAs in AFP+ tumors. Consistent with miR-29's role in targeting DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A), a key enzyme regulating DNA methylation, we found a significant inverse correlation (p<0.001) between miR-29 and DNMT3A gene expression suggesting that they might be functionally antagonistic. Moreover, global DNA methylation array profiling reveals that AFP+ and AFP- HCC tumors have distinct global DNA methylation patterns and that increased DNA methylation is associated with AFP+ HCC. Interestingly, miR-29 family physiological expression is low in mouse embryonic livers but gradually increases after birth. This is in contrary to AFP expression, which dramatically decreases after birth. Experimentally, we demonstrated that increased AFP expression, or conditioned media from AFP expressing HCC cells, inhibits miR-29a expression in AFP- HCC cells. AFP also inhibited transcription of the miR-29a/b-1 locus and this effect is mediated through c-MYC binding to the miR-29a/b-1 promoter. Our findings indicate that tumor biology differs considerably between AFP+ HCC and AFP- HCC and that AFP is a functional antagonist of miR-29, which may contribute to global epigenetic alterations and poor prognosis in HCC.
Project description:Increased ?-fetoprotein (AFP) levels have been reported to predict a poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We assessed the mechanism of AFP involvement in the progression of HCC and determined whether AFP could be a molecular target. We used human HCC cell lines to assess proliferation and apoptosis response to exogenous AFP. We introduced AFP small interfering RNA (siRNA) into HCC cell lines to examine whether it could inhibit cell proliferation and anti-apoptotic properties. The effects of systemically introduced AFP siRNA were assessed using a tumor xenotransplantation model. The effects of AFP on gene expression in HCC cell lines and human HCC specimens were examined. Exogenous AFP induced cell proliferation dose-dependently and inhibited apoptosis induced by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in all cell lines examined. AFP siRNA inhibited the proliferation of AFP-producing HCC cell lines and induced apoptosis in co-cultures with 5-FU. Tumor sizes in mice treated with AFP siRNA were significantly smaller than those in controls. AFP siRNA administration in mice induced a low proliferation index and a high apoptosis index in tumors. cDNA microarray analysis, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and Western blot using HepG2 and HLE cells with AFP showed that AFP reduced expression of genes related to apoptosis (DFFB) and tumor suppression (NDRG2). Expression of these molecules was also suppressed in human HCC tissues that overexpress AFP. AFP is not only a passive tumor marker, but also an active tumor stimulator through several mechanisms. AFP siRNA introduction may be of possible therapeutic use for HCC. Keywords: Genetic modification Two-condition experiment, Control vs. AFP-stimulated cells.
Project description:Globally, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 70-85% of primary liver cancers and ranks second in the leading cause of male cancer death. Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), normally highly expressed in the liver only during fetal development, is reactivated in 60% of HCC tumors and associated with poor patient outcome. We hypothesize that AFP+ and AFP- tumors differ biologically. Using microarray-based global microRNA profiling in 223 HCC patients, we found that members of the miR-29 family were the most significantly (p<0.001) down-regulated miRNAs in AFP+ tumors. Consistent with miR-29's role in targeting DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A), a key enzyme regulating DNA methylation, we found a significant inverse correlation (p<0.001) between miR-29 and DNMT3A gene expression suggesting that they might be functionally antagonistic. Moreover, global DNA methylation array profiling reveals that AFP+ and AFP- HCC tumors have distinct global DNA methylation patterns and that increased DNA methylation is associated with AFP+ HCC. Interestingly, miR-29 family physiological expression is low in mouse embryonic livers but gradually increases after birth. This is in contrary to AFP expression, which dramatically decreases after birth. Experimentally, we demonstrated that increased AFP expression, or conditioned media from AFP expressing HCC cells, inhibits miR-29a expression in AFP- HCC cells. AFP also inhibited transcription of the miR-29a/b-1 locus and this effect is mediated through c-MYC binding to the miR-29a/b-1 promoter. Our findings indicate that tumor biology differs considerably between AFP+ HCC and AFP- HCC and that AFP is a functional antagonist of miR-29, which may contribute to global epigenetic alterations and poor prognosis in HCC. Illumina Human BeadChip Methylation microarrays were completed on 48 tumor HCC tissues.
Project description:Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) is a circulating cancer biomarker implicated in multiple neoplastic malignancies, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). AFP glycoforms with core fucosylation structure (AFP-L3) are used clinically as a biomarker, to predict risk of developing HCC and to monitor its recurrence. Mature AFP has a single glycosylation site, while there is a high degree of structural variation in AFP-glycan modifications. Because AFP has single glycosylation site, masses of intact AFP proteoforms can be used to differentiate and identify PTM in their native states. We developed a method for intact AFP glycoform analysis that utilizes AFP-specific immune-enrichment, followed by LC-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) analysis to differentiate and quantitate the relative abundance of AFP glycoforms and evaluated the method’s performance.
Project description:Glycosylation is an important post-translational modification (PTM) mechanism of proteins, that modulates protein function. Measurement of clinically adopted cancer protein biomarkers is commonly performed using affinity-based techniques, which often suffer from poor specificity and inability to distinguish between closely related proteoforms. Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) is a circulating cancer biomarker implicated in multiple neoplastic malignancies, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). AFP glycoforms with core fucosylation structure (AFP-L3) are used clinically as a biomarker, to predict risk of developing HCC and to monitor its recurrence. Mature AFP has a single glycosylation site, while there is a high degree of structural variation in AFP-glycan modifications. Because AFP has single glycosylation site, masses of intact AFP proteoforms can be used to differentiate and identify PTM in their native states. We developed a method for intact AFP glycoform analysis that utilizes AFP-specific immune-enrichment, followed by LC-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) analysis to differentiate and quantitate the relative abundance of AFP glycoforms and evaluated the method’s performance.
Project description:We attempted to identify a specific gene expression signature by performing microarray analysis on the livers of patients with chronic hepatitis C and AFP elevation. Distinct hepatic gene expression patterns were demonstrated between patients with elevated AFP (≥10ng/mL) and normal AFP (<10ng/mL). Among the 30,150 valid genes, 627 were identified as differentially expressed genes with a minimal fold change of 2.0. Using these 627 genes, PCA and HCA were used to successfully distinguish samples according to their AFP status. Of the 627 differently expressed genes, AKR1B10 was most abundantly expressed in patients with elevated AFP. AKR1B10 expression was validated by Real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemical study. Furthermore, a proportional correlation between AKR1B10 expression and serum AFP was demonstrated by regression analysis. A matched case-control study indicated that AKR1B10 up-regulation was an independent risk factor for HCC development.