Sorafenib leads to a survival benefit in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma but its use is hampered by the occurrence of drug resistance. To investigate the molecular mechanisms involved we developed five resistant human liver cell lines in which we studied morphology, gene expression and invasive potential. The cells changed their appearance, lost E-cadherin and KRT19 and showed high expression of vimentin, indicating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Resistant cells showed reduced adherent growth, became more invasive and lost liver-specific gene expression. Furthermore, following withdrawal of sorafenib, the resistant cells showed rebound growth, a phenomenon also found in patients. This cell model was further used to investigate strategies for restoration of sensitivity to sorafenib.
Long-term exposure to sorafenib of liver cancer cells induces resistance with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, increased invasion and risk of rebound growth.
Cell line
View SamplesHere we characterize the changes in the forebrain transcriptome resulting from the deletion of the transcription factor Lhx6, generated by RNA-seq technology with biologic replication. Lhx6 is an essential regulatory gene in the development of cortical interneurons generated in the medial ganglionic eminences of the embryonic brain. This data contains insights into gene networks important for the development of medial ganglionic eminence derived interneurons. Overall design: Forebrain total RNA profiles of 15-day old Lhx6 heterozygote (Het) and Lhx6 null mice were generated by deep sequencing, using Illumina GAIIx. Mutant allele used was Lhx6tm2Vpa (MGI:3702518). Each individual sample was comprised of two animals. Four samples for Lhx6 Het and three samples for Lhx6 null mice were generated and analysed in parallel.
Modulation of Apoptosis Controls Inhibitory Interneuron Number in the Cortex.
Cell line, Subject
View SamplesNeuroblastoma cell lines can differentiate upon retinoic acid (RA) treatment, a finding that provided the basis for the clinical use of RA to treat neuroblastoma. However, resistance to RA is often observed, which limits its clinical utility. Using a gain-of-function genetic screen we identify the transcriptional coactivator Mastermind-like 3 (MAML3) as a gene whose ectopic expression confers resistance to RA. We find that MAML3 expression leads to loss of activation of a subset of RA target genes, which hampers RA-induced differentiation. The regulatory DNA elements of this subset of RA target genes show overlap in binding of MAML3 and the retinoic acid receptor, suggesting a role for MAML3 in the regulation of these genes. In addition, MAML3 has RA independent functions, including the activation of IGF1R and downstream AKT signaling via upregulation of IGF2, resulting in increased proliferation. Our results indicate an important role for MAML3 in differentiation and proliferation of neuroblastomas. Overall design: RNA-seq of SK-N-SH control and MAML3 overexpressing (SD3.23) cells, either untreated (UT) or treated with 1 µM RA (RA).
Mastermind-Like 3 Controls Proliferation and Differentiation in Neuroblastoma.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesBackground: We have previously shown that the Gene expression Grade Index (GGI) was able to identify two subtypes of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors that were associated with statistically distinct clinical outcomes in both untreated and tamoxifen-treated patients. Here, we aim to investigate the ability of the GGI to predict relapses in postmenopausal women who were treated with tamoxifen (T) or letrozole (L) within the BIG 1-98 trial.
The Gene expression Grade Index: a potential predictor of relapse for endocrine-treated breast cancer patients in the BIG 1-98 trial.
Age, Specimen part, Disease stage, Treatment
View SamplesThe hematological malignancies classified as Mixed Lineage leukemias (MLL) harbor fusions of the MLL1 gene to partners that are members of transcriptional elongation complexes. MLL-rearranged leukemias are associated with extremely poor prognosis and response to conventional therapies and efforts to identify molecular targets are urgently needed. Using mouse models of MLL-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML), here we show that genetic inactivation or small molecule inhibition of the protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT5 exhibit anti-tumoral activity in MLL-fusion protein driven transformation. Genome wide transcriptional analysis revealed that inhibition of PRMT5 methyltransferase activity overrides the differentiation block in leukemia cells without affecting the expression of MLL-fusion direct oncogenic targets. Furthermore, we find that this differentiation block is mediated by transcriptional silencing of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 (CDKN1a) gene in leukemia cells. Our study provides pre-clinical rationale for targeting PRMT5 using small molecule inhibitors in the treatment of leukemias harboring MLL-rearrangements. Overall design: RNA-seq data from 72h-treated DMSO and EPZ 015666 (PRMT5i) MLL-ENL/NrasG12D leukemia cells, three independent replicates.
Genetic deletion or small-molecule inhibition of the arginine methyltransferase PRMT5 exhibit anti-tumoral activity in mouse models of MLL-rearranged AML.
Specimen part, Treatment, Subject
View SamplesTo ask whether MANF contributes to the rejuvenating effects of heterochronic parabiosis, we generated heterochronic pairs in which 20 month old WT mice were combined with either 4 month old MANFHet (O-YgHet) or WT (O-YgWT) littermates, and maintained for 5 weeks before analysis. Control pairs in which old WT mice were combined together (O-O) were used. Livers were collected from each animal in the pair and RNA was sequenced for 5 independent animals/condition. Overall design: RNA was extracted and sequenced for 5 animals/condition
MANF regulates metabolic and immune homeostasis in ageing and protects against liver damage.
Age, Subject
View SamplesHuman cytomegalovirus (hCMV) is a highly prevalent pathogen that, upon primary infection, establishes life-long persistence in all infected individuals. Acute hCMV infections cause a variety of diseases in humans with developmental or acquired immune deficits. In addition, persistent hCMV infection may contribute to various chronic disease conditions even in immunologically normal people. The pathogenesis of hCMV disease has been frequently linked to inflammatory host immune responses triggered by virus-infected cells. Moreover, hCMV infection activates numerous host genes many of which encode pro-inflammatory proteins. However, little is known about the relative contributions of individual viral gene products to these changes in cellular transcription. We systematically analyzed the effects of the hCMV 72-kDa immediate-early 1 (IE1) protein, a major transcriptional activator and antagonist of type I interferon (IFN) signaling, on the human transcriptome. Following expression under conditions closely mimicking the situation during productive infection, IE1 elicits a global type II IFN-like host cell response. This response is dominated by the selective up-regulation of immune stimulatory genes normally controlled by IFN-gamma and includes the synthesis and secretion of pro-inflammatory chemokines. IE1-mediated induction of IFN-stimulated genes strictly depends on tyrosine-phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) and correlates with the nuclear accumulation and sequence-specific binding of STAT1 to IFN-gamma-responsive promoters. However, neither synthesis nor secretion of IFN-gamma or other IFNs seems to be required for the IE1-dependent effects on cellular gene expression. Our results demonstrate that a single hCMV protein can trigger a pro-inflammatory host transcriptional response via an unexpected STAT1-dependent but IFN-independent mechanism and identify IE1 as a candidate determinant of hCMV pathogenicity.
Human cytomegalovirus IE1 protein elicits a type II interferon-like host cell response that depends on activated STAT1 but not interferon-γ.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesThe FinHER trial is a multicentre phase 3 randomised adjuvant breast cancer trial that enrolled 1010 patients. The women were randomly assigned to receive three cycles of docetaxel or vinorelbine, followed by three cycles of fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide.
Integrative proteomic and gene expression analysis identify potential biomarkers for adjuvant trastuzumab resistance: analysis from the Fin-her phase III randomized trial.
Age, Disease stage
View SamplesThe Androgen Receptor (AR) is the key-driving transcription factor in prostate cancer, tightly controlled by epigenetic regulation. To date, most epigenetic profiling has been performed in cell lines or limited tissue samples. To comprehensively study the epigenetic landscape, we complemented RNA-seq with ChIP-seq for AR and histone modification marks (H3K27ac, H3K4me3, H3K27me3) in 100 primary prostate carcinomas. Integrative molecular subtyping of the five data streams revealed three major subtypes of which two were clearly TMPRSS2-ERG dictated. Importantly, a third novel subtype was identified, with low AR chromatin binding and activity, even though the receptor was clearly expressed. While positive for neuroendocrine-hallmark genes, these tumors were copy number-neutral with low mutation burden, significantly depleted for genes characteristic of poor-outcome associated luminal B-subtype. We present a rich novel resource on transcriptional and epigenetic control in prostate cancer, revealing a tight control of gene regulation differentially dictated by AR over the three subtypes. Overall design: RNA-seq data for primary prostate carcinomas
Integrative epigenetic taxonomy of primary prostate cancer.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesLymph node involvement is the most important prognostic factor in breast cancer, but little is known about the underlying molecular changes. First, to identify a molecular signature associated with nodal metastasis, gene expression analysis was performed on a homogeneous group of 96 primary breast tumors, balanced for lymph node involvement. Each tumor was diagnosed as a poorly differentiated, estrogen positive, her2-neu negative invasive ductal cancer. (Affymetrix Human U133 Plus 2.0 microarray chips). A model, including 241 genes was built and validated on an internal and external dataset performed with Affymetrix technology. All samples used for validation had the same characteristics as the initial tumors. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the internal dataset was 0.646 and 0.651 for the external datasets. Thus, the molecular profile of a breast tumor reveals information about lymph node involvement, even in a homogeneous group of tumors. However, an AUC of 0.65 indicates only a weak correlation. Our model includes multiple kinases, apoptosis related and zinc ion binding genes. Pathway analysis using the Molecular Signatures Database revealed relevant gene sets (BAF57, Van 't Veer). Next, miRNA profiling was performed on 82/96 tumors using Human MiRNA microarray chips (Illumina). Eight miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed according to lymph node status at a significance level of 0.05, without correcting for multiple testing. The analysis of the inverse correlation between a miRNA and its computationally predicted targets point to general deregulation of the miRNA machinery potentially responsible for lymph node invasion. In conclusion, our results provide evidence that lymph node involvement in breast cancer is not a random process.
Prediction of lymph node involvement in breast cancer from primary tumor tissue using gene expression profiling and miRNAs.
Disease, Disease stage
View Samples