Neuroblastoma is a pediatric tumor of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system with a highly variable prognosis. Activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway in neuroblastoma is correlated with poor patient prognosis, but the precise downstream effectors mediating this effect have not been determined. Here, we identify the forkhead transcription factor FOXO3a as a key target of the PI3K/AKT pathway in neuroblastoma. FOXO3a expression was elevated in low stage neuroblastoma tumors and normal embryonal neuroblasts, but reduced in late stage neuroblastoma. Inactivation of FOXO3a by AKT was essential for neuroblastoma cell survival. Treatment of neuroblastoma cells with the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor PI-103 activated FOXO3a and triggered apoptosis. This effect was rescued by FOXO3a silencing. Conversely, apoptosis induced by PI-103 or the AKT inhibitor MK-2206 was potentiated by FOXO3a overexpression. Further, levels of total or phosphorylated FOXO3a correlated closely with apoptotic sensitivity to MK-2206. In clinical specimens, there was an inverse relationship between gene expression signatures regulated by PI3K signaling and FOXO3a transcriptional activity. Moreover, high PI3K activity and low FOXO3a activity were each associated with an extremely poor prognosis. Our work indicates that expression of FOXO3a and its targets offer useful prognostic markers as well as biomarkers for PI3K/AKT inhibitor efficacy in neuroblastoma.
FOXO3a is a major target of inactivation by PI3K/AKT signaling in aggressive neuroblastoma.
Specimen part, Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesTwo genes have a synthetic lethal relationship when silencing or inhibition of one gene is only lethal in the context of a mutation or activation of the second gene. This situation offers an attractive therapeutic strategy, as inhibition of such a gene will only trigger cell death in tumor cells with an activated second oncogene but spare normal cells without activation of the second oncogene. Here we present evidence that CDK2 is synthetic lethal to neuroblastoma cells with MYCN amplification and overexpression. Neuroblastomas are childhood tumors with an often lethal outcome. Twenty percent of the tumors have MYCN amplification and these tumors are ultimately refractory to any therapy. Targeted silencing of CDK2 by three RNA interference techniques induced apoptosis in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cell lines, but not in MYCN single copy cells. Silencing of MYCN abrogated this apoptotic response in MYCN-amplified cells. Inversely, silencing of CDK2 in MYCN single copy cells did not trigger apoptosis, unless a MYCN transgene was activated. The MYCN induced apoptosis after CDK2 silencing was accompanied by nuclear stabilization of P53 and mRNA profiling showed up-regulation of P53 target genes. Silencing of P53 rescued the cells from MYCN-driven apoptosis. The synthetic lethality of CDK2 silencing in MYCN activated neuroblastoma cells can also be triggered by inhibition of CDK2 with a small molecule drug. Treatment of neuroblastoma cells with Roscovitine, a CDK inhibitor, at clinically achievable concentrations induced MYCN-dependent apoptosis. The synthetic lethal relation between CDK2 and MYCN indicates CDK2 inhibitors as potential MYCN-selective cancer therapeutics.
Inactivation of CDK2 is synthetically lethal to MYCN over-expressing cancer cells.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesmRNA profiles of thousands of human tumors are available, but methods to deduce oncogenic signaling networks from these data lag behind. It is especially challenging to identify main-regulatory routes, and to generalize conclusions obtained from experimental models. We designed the bioinformatic platform R2 in parallel with a wet-lab approach of neuroblastoma. Here we demonstrate how R2 facilitates an integrated analysis of our neuroblastoma data. Analysis of the MYCN pathway suggested important regulatory connections to the polyamine synthesis route, the Notch pathway and the BMP/TGF pathway. A network of genes emerged connecting major oncogenes in neuroblastoma. Genes in the network carried strong prognostic values and were essential for tumor cell survival.
Sequencing of neuroblastoma identifies chromothripsis and defects in neuritogenesis genes.
Specimen part
View SamplesMore than two thirds of breast cancers express the estrogen receptor (ER) and depend on estrogen for growth and survival. Therapies targeting ER function including aromatase inhibitors that block the production of estrogens and ER antagonists that alter ER transcriptional activity play a central role in the treatment of ER+ breast cancers of all stages. In contrast to ER- breast cancers, which frequently harbor mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor, ER+ breast cancers are predominantly wild type for p53. Despite harboring wild type p53, ER+ breast cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis in the presence of estrogen. Using genome-wide approaches we have addressed the mechanism by which ER antagonizes the pro-apoptotic function of p53. Interestingly both ER agonists such as estradiol and selective ER modulators (SERM) such as tamoxifen promote p53 antagonism. In contrast the full ER antagonist fulvestrant blocks the ability of ER to inhibit p53-mediated cell death. This suggests an improved strategy for the treatment of ER+ breast cancer utilizing antagonists that completely block ER action together with drugs that activate p53-mediated cell death.
Estrogen receptor prevents p53-dependent apoptosis in breast cancer.
Cell line, Treatment
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Clonal Variation in Drug and Radiation Response among Glioma-Initiating Cells Is Linked to Proneural-Mesenchymal Transition.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesIntra-tumor heterogeneity is a hallmark of glioblastoma multiforme, and thought to negatively affect treatment efficacy. Here we establish libraries of glioma-initiating cell (GIC) clones from patient samples and find extensive molecular and phenotypic variability between clones, including a wide range of responses to radiation and drugs. This widespread variability was observed as a continuum of multitherapy resistance phenotypes linked to a proneural-to-mesenchymal shift in the transcriptome.
Clonal Variation in Drug and Radiation Response among Glioma-Initiating Cells Is Linked to Proneural-Mesenchymal Transition.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesEstrogen has vascular protective effects in premenopausal women and in women under 60 receiving hormone replacement therapy. However, estrogen also increases risks of breast and uterine cancers and of venous thromboses linked to upregulation of coagulation factors in the liver. In mouse models, the vasoprotective effects of estrogen are mediated by the estrogen receptor alpha (ERa) transcription factor. Here, through next generation sequencing approaches, we show that almost all of the genes regulated by 17-b-estradiol (E2) differ between mouse aorta and mouse liver, and that this is associated with a distinct genomewide distribution of ERa on chromatin. Bioinformatic analysis of E2-regulated promoters and ERa binding site sequences identify several transcription factors that may determine the tissue specificity of ERa binding and E2-regulated genes, including the enrichment of NFkB, AML1 and AP-1 sites in the promoters of E2 downregulated inflammatory genes in aorta but not liver. The possible vascular-specific functions of these factors suggests ways in which the protective effects of estrogen could be promoted in the vasculature without incurring negative effects in other tissues. Our results also highlight the likely importance of rapid signaling of membrane-associated ERa to cellular kinases (altering the activities of transcription factors other than ER itself) in determining tissue specific transcriptional responses to estrogen. Overall design: The aortas or liver fragments of wild-type C57/BL6 mice were incubated ex vivo with 10nM E2 or ethanol vehicle for 4 hours before harvesting for RNA collection. Each condition was performed with two biological replicates, and each replicate contained aortas or liver fragments from 4 mice.
Research resource: Aorta- and liver-specific ERα-binding patterns and gene regulation by estrogen.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesSpinal cord injury leads to impaired motor and sensory functions. After spinal cord injury there is a an initial phase of hypo-reflexia followed by a developing hyper-reflexia, often termed spasticity. Previous studies have suggested a relationship between the reappearence of plateau potentials in motor neurons and the development of spasticity after spinalization. To understand the molecular mechanism behind this phenomenon we examined the transcriptional response of the motor neurons after spinal cord injury.
Global gene expression analysis of rodent motor neurons following spinal cord injury associates molecular mechanisms with development of postinjury spasticity.
Sex
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Polo-Like Kinase 3 Appears Dispensable for Normal Retinal Development Despite Robust Embryonic Expression.
Specimen part
View SamplesThese data investigate the transcriptomic differences in the whole retinas of mice resulting from loss of Polo-like Kinase 3 (Plk3) over various stages of development, including adulthood, postnatal day (P)7, and P0.
Polo-Like Kinase 3 Appears Dispensable for Normal Retinal Development Despite Robust Embryonic Expression.
Specimen part
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