Project description:Twenty-four triple-negative breast cancer and 14 adjacent normal tissues were collected from breast cancer patients during surgeries at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH, Taipei, Taiwan). All triple-negative breast cancer samples were invasive ductal carcinomas (IDC) and were negative in immunohistochemical statuses of ER, PR, and HER2 receptors, as confirmed by professional pathologists. Treatment procedure of all patients followed the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guideline. All samples were neoadjuvant-free and were collected before systemic chemotherapy treatments. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients who participated in this study. Using human tissues for research in this study was approved by the institutional review board at NTUH. A novel set of 25-miRNA signature identified in this study was able to effectively distinguish between triple-negative breast cancer and adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, we documented the first evidence of seven polycistronic miRNA clusters preferentially harboring deregulated miRNA genes in triple-negative breast cancer.
Project description:Birds and other reptiles possess a diversity of feather and scale-like skin appendages. Feathers are commonly assumed to have originated from ancestral scales in theropod dinosaurs. However, most birds also have scaled feet, indicating birds evolved the capacity to grow both ancestral and derived morphologies. This suggests a more complex evolutionary history than a simple linear transition between feathers and scales. We set out to investigate the evolution of feathers via the comparison of transcriptomes assembled from diverse skin appendages in chicken, emu, and alligator. Our data reveal that feathers and the overlapping ‘scutate’ scales of birds share more similar gene expression to each other, and to two types of alligator scales, than they do to the tuberculate ‘reticulate’ scales on bird footpads. Accordingly, we propose a history of skin appendage diversification, in which feathers and bird scutate scales arose from ancestral archosaur body scales, whereas reticulate scales arose earlier in tetrapod evolution. We also show that many “feather-specific genes” are also expressed in alligator scales. In-situ hybridization results in feather buds suggest that these genes represent ancestral scale genes that acquired novel roles in feather morphogenesis and were repressed in bird scales. Our findings suggest that the differential reuse, in feathers, and suppression, in bird scales, of genes ancestrally expressed in archosaur scales has been a key factor in the origin of feathers – and may represent an important mechanism for the origin of evolutionary novelties.
Project description:Low grade flat ductal intraepithelial neoplasia (DIN1a, flat epithelial atypia) is one of the earliest morphologically recognizable neoplastic lesions of the breast. Frequently, it occurs in association with lobular intraepithelial neoplasia (LIN). The aim of this study was to elucidate chromosomal aberrations in these early neoplastic breast lesions using array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis. Laser capture microdissection of 12 archival formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens harbouring both foci of DIN1a as well as LIN was performed. All analyzed cases of DIN1a and LIN showed chromosomal gains and losses. The aberration encountered most often was loss on 16q in 7 DIN1a (70%) and 10 LIN (91%) cases. Regarding changes in chromosome 1, four DIN1a (40%) and 7 LIN (64%) cases showed a gain on 1q. The results of our study show concurrent chromosomal aberrations of 1q gains and 16q losses in several cases with coexisting LIN and low grade flat DIN. These aberrations are known to be common in low grade invasive ductal carcinomas as well as more advanced (conventional) types of low grade DIN (low grade ductal carcinoma in-situ). Our results raise the possibility of similar molecular-genetic pathways in most of the cases with coexisting LIN and low grade flat DIN.
Project description:By comprehensive quantitative proteome analysis we characterize the three growth forms elementary body (EB), reticulate body (RB) and aberrant reticulate body (ARB) of Chlamydia trachomatis genital strain D/UW-3/CX
Project description:Background & aim: Flat adenomas form a specific phenotype of colorectal adenomas that has been associated with more severe molecular changes and consequently a more aggressive clinical behavior compared to their polypoid counterparts. In the present study we set out to compare one of the molecular changes most explicitly associated with adenoma to carcinoma progression, i.e. chromosomal instability, between flat and polypoid colorectal adenomas. Methods: Consecutive series of 83 flat and 35 polypoid adenomas were analyzed for DNA copy number changes using a high resolution arrayCGH platform as well as for mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene. Gene ontology on the genes located on the significantly different regions was performed. Results: Overall, flat adenomas show similar DNA copy number changes as polypoid adenomas. Patterns of DNA copy number changes differed between the two phenotypes with significantly more frequently loss of 5q14.3 and 5q15-q23.3 in flat adenomas, while loss of 1p36.32-p35.3, 10q25.2-q25.3, 17p12 and chromosome 18 were more frequent in polypoid adenomas. The 5q15-q23.3 region harbors the APC locus, therefore mutation status of APC was investigated, showing significantly less mutations in flat adenomas. Pathway analysis and datamining linked the 5q region to inflammation. Conclusion: These results provide evidence that flat and polypoid adenomas have partly overlapping DNA copy number changes, while alterations more specific to flat adenomas have associations with inflammation. Loss of 5q has been associated with aggressive behavior and this could serve as an explanation for a more aggressive clinical behavior of flat lesions.
Project description:Twenty-four triple-negative breast cancer and 14 adjacent normal tissues were collected from breast cancer patients during surgeries at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH, Taipei, Taiwan). All triple-negative breast cancer samples were invasive ductal carcinomas (IDC) and were negative in immunohistochemical statuses of ER, PR, and HER2 receptors, as confirmed by professional pathologists. Treatment procedure of all patients followed the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guideline. All samples were neoadjuvant-free and were collected before systemic chemotherapy treatments. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients who participated in this study. Using human tissues for research in this study was approved by the institutional review board at NTUH. A novel set of 25-miRNA signature identified in this study was able to effectively distinguish between triple-negative breast cancer and adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, we documented the first evidence of seven polycistronic miRNA clusters preferentially harboring deregulated miRNA genes in triple-negative breast cancer. In the present study, a panel of 24 triple-negative breast cancer and 14 adjacent normal tissue samples were examined for the presence of deregulated miRNA genes using the high-throughput sequencing technology. Total RNA was extracted from the triple-negative breast cancer and adjacent normal samples for preparation of small RNA libraries. Each small RNA library was constructed from total RNA of each sample using the SOLiD Total RNA-Seq Kit (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA). Upon completion of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, small RNA libraries were purified using the SOLiD Library Micro Column Purification Kit (Applied Biosystems) and hybridized to the template beads using the SOLiD EZ bead system (Applied Biosystems). The template beads were amplified and deposited onto subtract for ligation sequencing by SOLiD 4 System (Applied Biosystems).