Project description:To study the differentially regulated genes in cachectic mice, we RNA sequenced the TA muscles of different mouse models of cachexia and their respective controls
Project description:Experment1: To study the difference between the parental KPC line and the KPCML1 metastatic cell line Experiment2: To study the differentially regulated genes in cachectic mice, we RNA sequenced the TA muscles of different mouse models of cachexia and their respective controls
Project description:Cachexia is a systemic wasting syndrome that develops in many cancers and increases mortality. Despite its importance, it is largely unknown how cachexia progressively and differentially induces tissue wasting. Although cachexia occurs also in pediatric patients, little is known on the underlying mechanisms. Here, we have used pediatric melanoma xenografts to determine the progression and tissue-specific impact of juvenile cachexia on skeletal muscles, heart, white and brown adipose, liver, and brain. We find that the heart and muscles undergo wasting at early stages and are the tissues most strongly impacted transcriptionally. Beyond wasting, we identify general and organ-specific transcriptional changes that likely indicate derangement of organ/tissue function by cachexia. Moreover, also the transcriptome of tissues that do not undergo wasting, such as the brain, is profoundly remodeled by cachexia. Altogether, this study provides insight into the progression of melanoma-induced pediatric cachexia and its differential impact on distinct organ systems.
Project description:Cancer cachexia, highly prevalent in lung cancer, is a debilitating syndrome characterized by involuntary loss of skeletal muscle mass, and is associated with poor clinical outcome, decreased survival and negative impact on tumor therapy. Various lung tumor-bearing animal models have been used to explore underlying mechanisms of cancer cachexia. However, these models do not simulate anatomical and immunological features key to lung cancer and associated muscle wasting. Overcoming these shortcomings is essential to translate experimental findings into the clinic. We therefore evaluated whether a syngeneic, orthotopic lung cancer cachexia (OLCC) mouse model replicates systemic and muscle-specific alterations associated with human lung cancer cachexia. Immune competent, 11 weeks old male 129S2/Sv mice, were randomly allocated to either (1) sham control group or (2) tumor-bearing (OLCC) group. Syngeneic lung epithelium-derived adenocarcinoma cells (K-rasG12D; p53R172HΔG) were inoculated intrapulmonary into the left lung lobe of the mice. Body weight and food intake were measured daily. At baseline and weekly after surgery, grip strength was measured and tumor growth and muscle volume were assessed using micro cone beam CT imaging. After reaching predefined surrogate survival endpoint, animals were euthanized and skeletal muscles of the lower hind limbs were collected forRNA sequencing. RNA sequencing was performed on the Illumina NovasSeq 6000.
Project description:To investigate the role of the circadian clock gene Bmal1 in skeletal muscle, we compared the circadian transcriptomes of fast tibialis anterior (TA) and slow soleus (SOL) skeletal muscles from muscle-specific Bmal1 KO (mKO) and their control Cre- littermates (Ctrl). Keyword: Circadian Transcriptome, time course 72 samples were analyzed, comprised of 4 experimental groups (Ctrl SOL, mKO SOL, Ctrl TA, mKO TA), with 3 biological replicates for each time point sampled every 4 hours for 24 hours. SOL and TA muscles were collected from the same animals, as indicated by Source Animal ID data column
Project description:Cachexia is a wasting syndrome characterized by pronounced skeletal muscle loss. In cancer, cachexia associates with increased morbidity and mortality and decreased treatment tolerance. Although advances have been made in understanding the mechanisms of cachexia, translating these advances to the clinic has been challenging. One reason for this shortcoming may be the current animal models that fail to fully recapitulate the etiology of human cancer-induced tissue wasting. Because pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) presents with a high incidence of cachexia, we engineered a mouse model of PDA, that we named KPP. KPP mice, similar to PDA patients, progressively lose skeletal and adipose mass as a consequence of their tumors. In addition, KPP muscles exhibit a similar gene ontology to cachectic patients. We envision the KPP model will be a useful resource for advancing our mechanistic understanding and ability to treat cancer cachexia.
Project description:Cachexia is a wasting syndrome characterized by pronounced skeletal muscle loss. In cancer, cachexia associates with increased morbidity and mortality and decreased treatment tolerance. Although advances have been made in understanding the mechanisms of cachexia, translating these advances to the clinic has been challenging. One reason for this shortcoming may be the current animal models that fail to fully recapitulate the etiology of human cancer-induced tissue wasting. Because pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) presents with a high incidence of cachexia, we engineered a mouse model of PDA, that we named KPP. KPP mice, similar to PDA patients, progressively lose skeletal and adipose mass as a consequence of their tumors. In addition, KPP muscles exhibit a similar gene ontology to cachectic patients. We envision the KPP model will be a useful resource for advancing our mechanistic understanding and ability to treat cancer cachexia.
Project description:Background: Cancer cachexia is a life-threatening metabolic syndrome that causes significant loss of skeletal muscle mass and significantly increases mortality in cancer patients. Currently, there is an urgent need for better understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of this disease, so that effective therapies can be developed. Almost all pre-clinical studies evaluating skeletal muscle’s response to cancer have focused on one or two pre-clinical models, and almost all have focused specifically on limb muscles. In the current study, we reveal key differences in the histology and transcriptomic signatures of a limb muscle and a respiratory muscle in orthotopic pancreatic cancer patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mice. Methods: To create the four cohorts of PDX mice evaluated in this study, tumors resected from four pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients were portioned and attached to the pancreas of immunodeficient NSG mice. Results: Body weight, muscle mass, and fat mass were significantly decreased in each PDX line. Histological assessment of cryosections taken from the tibialis anterior (TA) and diaphragm (DIA) revealed differential effects of tumor-burden on their morphology. Subsequent genome-wide microarray analysis on TA and DIA revealed key differences between their transcriptomes in response to cancer as well. Indeed, upregulated genes in the diaphragm were enriched for extracellular matrix (ECM) protein-encoding genes and genes related to the inflammatory response, and downregulated genes were enriched for mitochondria related protein-encoding genes. Conversely, the TA showed upregulation of canonical atrophy-associated pathways such as ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation and apoptosis and enrichment of downregulated genes encoding ECM proteins. Conclusions: These data suggest that distinct biological processes account for wasting in different skeletal muscles in response to the same tumor burden. Further investigation into these differences will be critical for the future development of effective clinical strategies to counter cancer cachexia.
Project description:Background: Cancer cachexia is a life-threatening metabolic syndrome that causes significant loss of skeletal muscle mass and significantly increases mortality in cancer patients. Currently, there is an urgent need for better understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of this disease, so that effective therapies can be developed. Almost all pre-clinical studies evaluating skeletal muscle’s response to cancer have focused on one or two pre-clinical models, and almost all have focused specifically on limb muscles. In the current study, we reveal key differences in the histology and transcriptomic signatures of a limb muscle and a respiratory muscle in orthotopic pancreatic cancer patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mice. Methods: To create the four cohorts of PDX mice evaluated in this study, tumors resected from four pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients were portioned and attached to the pancreas of immunodeficient NSG mice. Results: Body weight, muscle mass, and fat mass were significantly decreased in each PDX line. Histological assessment of cryosections taken from the tibialis anterior (TA) and diaphragm (DIA) revealed differential effects of tumor-burden on their morphology. Subsequent genome-wide microarray analysis on TA and DIA revealed key differences between their transcriptomes in response to cancer as well. Indeed, upregulated genes in the diaphragm were enriched for extracellular matrix (ECM) protein-encoding genes and genes related to the inflammatory response, and downregulated genes were enriched for mitochondria related protein-encoding genes. Conversely, the TA showed upregulation of canonical atrophy-associated pathways such as ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation and apoptosis and enrichment of downregulated genes encoding ECM proteins. Conclusions: These data suggest that distinct biological processes account for wasting in different skeletal muscles in response to the same tumor burden. Further investigation into these differences will be critical for the future development of effective clinical strategies to counter cancer cachexia.
Project description:Cachexia is a devastating muscle wasting syndrome that occurs in patients suffering from chronic diseases, most commonly observed in 80% of advanced cancer patients. One of the primary causes of cachexia-associated morbidity and mortality is involuntary muscle wasting. And while many cachexia patients show hypermetabolism, its causative role in muscles had remained unclear. To understand the molecular basis of this muscle wasting, accurate models of cachexia are necessary. Using transcriptomics and cytokine profiling of human muscle stem cell-based models and human cancer-induced cachexia models in mice, we found that cachectic cancer cells secreted many inflammatory factors which rapidly led to higher levels of fatty acid metabolism and the activation of a p38 stress response signature, before the cachectic muscle wasting is manifested. Metabolomics profiling revealed that factors secreted by cachectic cancer cells rapidly induce excessive fatty acid oxidation in human myotubes, leading to oxidative stress, p38 activation, and impaired muscle growth. Pharmacological blockade of fatty acid oxidation not only rescued human myotubes, but also significantly improved muscle mass and total weight in cancer cachexia models in vivo. Therefore, fatty acid-induced oxidative stress could be targeted to prevent cancer cachexia.