Project description:To identify genes implicated in metastatic colonization of the liver in colorectal cancer, we collected pairs of primary tumors and hepatic metastases before chemotherapy in 13 patients. We compared mRNA expression in the pairs of patients to identify genes deregulated during metastatic evolution. We then validated the identified genes using data obtained by different groups. The 33-gene signature was able to classify 87% of hepatic metastases, 98% of primary tumors, 97% of normal colon mucosa, and 95% of normal liver tissues in six datasets obtained using five different microarray platforms. The identified genes are specific to colon cancer and hepatic metastases since other metastatic locations and hepatic metastases originating from breast cancer were not classified by the signature. Gene Ontology term analysis showed that 50% of the genes are implicated in extracellular matrix remodeling, and more precisely in cell adhesion, extracellular matrix organization and angiogenesis. Because of the high efficiency of the signature to classify colon hepatic metastases, the identified genes represent promising targets to develop new therapies that will specifically affect hepatic metastasis microenvironment. 57 samples of patients with stage IV colorectal cancer. We compared using Affymetrix chips gene expression profiles between primary tumors and hepatic metastases
Project description:To identify genes implicated in metastatic colonization of the liver in colorectal cancer, we collected pairs of primary tumors and hepatic metastases before chemotherapy in 13 patients. We compared mRNA expression in the pairs of patients to identify genes deregulated during metastatic evolution. We then validated the identified genes using data obtained by different groups. The 33-gene signature was able to classify 87% of hepatic metastases, 98% of primary tumors, 97% of normal colon mucosa, and 95% of normal liver tissues in six datasets obtained using five different microarray platforms. The identified genes are specific to colon cancer and hepatic metastases since other metastatic locations and hepatic metastases originating from breast cancer were not classified by the signature. Gene Ontology term analysis showed that 50% of the genes are implicated in extracellular matrix remodeling, and more precisely in cell adhesion, extracellular matrix organization and angiogenesis. Because of the high efficiency of the signature to classify colon hepatic metastases, the identified genes represent promising targets to develop new therapies that will specifically affect hepatic metastasis microenvironment. 57 samples of patients with stage IV colorectal cancer. We compared using Affymetrix chips gene expression profiles between primary tumors and hepatic metastases
Project description:To identify genes implicated in metastatic colonization of the liver in colorectal cancer, we collected pairs of primary tumors and hepatic metastases before chemotherapy in 13 patients. We compared mRNA expression in the pairs of patients to identify genes deregulated during metastatic evolution. We then validated the identified genes using data obtained by different groups. The 33-gene signature was able to classify 87% of hepatic metastases, 98% of primary tumors, 97% of normal colon mucosa, and 95% of normal liver tissues in six datasets obtained using five different microarray platforms. The identified genes are specific to colon cancer and hepatic metastases since other metastatic locations and hepatic metastases originating from breast cancer were not classified by the signature. Gene Ontology term analysis showed that 50% of the genes are implicated in extracellular matrix remodeling, and more precisely in cell adhesion, extracellular matrix organization and angiogenesis. Because of the high efficiency of the signature to classify colon hepatic metastases, the identified genes represent promising targets to develop new therapies that will specifically affect hepatic metastasis microenvironment.
Project description:To identify genes implicated in metastatic colonization of the liver in colorectal cancer, we collected pairs of primary tumors and hepatic metastases before chemotherapy in 13 patients. We compared mRNA expression in the pairs of patients to identify genes deregulated during metastatic evolution. We then validated the identified genes using data obtained by different groups. The 33-gene signature was able to classify 87% of hepatic metastases, 98% of primary tumors, 97% of normal colon mucosa, and 95% of normal liver tissues in six datasets obtained using five different microarray platforms. The identified genes are specific to colon cancer and hepatic metastases since other metastatic locations and hepatic metastases originating from breast cancer were not classified by the signature. Gene Ontology term analysis showed that 50% of the genes are implicated in extracellular matrix remodeling, and more precisely in cell adhesion, extracellular matrix organization and angiogenesis. Because of the high efficiency of the signature to classify colon hepatic metastases, the identified genes represent promising targets to develop new therapies that will specifically affect hepatic metastasis microenvironment.
Project description:Dissemination of primary tumors to distant anatomical sites has a substantial negative impact on patient prognosis. The liver is a common site for metastases from colorectal cancer, and patients with hepatic metastases have generally much shorter survival, raising a need to develop and implement novel strategies for targeting metastatic disease. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a meshwork of highly crosslinked, insoluble, high molecular weight proteins maintaining tissue integrity and establishing cell-cell interactions. Emerging evidence identifies the importance of the ECM in cancer cell migration, invasion, intravasation, and metastasis. Here, we isolated the extracellular matrix from MC38 mouse liver metastases using our optimized method of mild detergent solubilization followed by biochemical enrichment. The matrices were subjected to label-free quantitative mass spectrometry analysis, revealing proteins highly abundant in the metastatic matrisome. The resulting list of differentially expressed proteins significantly predicted survival in patients with colorectal cancer but not other cancers with strong involvement of the extracellular matrix component. One of the proteins upregulated in liver metastatic ECM, Annexin A1, was not previously studied in the context of cancer-associated matrisome. Here we show that Annexin A1 was markedly upregulated in colon cancer cell lines compared to cancer cells of other origin, and also overrepresented in human primary colorectal lesions as well as hepatic metastases in comparison with their adjacent healthy tissue counterparts. In conclusion, our study provides a comprehensive ECM characterization of MC38 experimental liver metastases and proposes Annexin A1 as a putative target for this disease.
Project description:Identification of early processes leading to complex tissue pathologies, such as inflammatory bowel diseases, poses a major scientific and clinical challenge that is imperative for improved diagnosis and treatment. Most studies of inflammation onset focus on cellular processes and signaling molecules, while overlooking the environment in which they take place, the continuously remodeled extracellular matrix. In this study, we used colitis models for investigating extracellular-matrix dynamics during disease onset, while treating the matrix as a complete and defined entity. Through the analysis of matrix structure, stiffness and composition, we unexpectedly revealed that even prior to the first clinical symptoms, the colon displays its own unique extracellular-matrix signature and found specific markers of clinical potential, which were also validated in human subjects. We also show that the emergence of this pre-symptomatic matrix is mediated by subclinical infiltration of immune cells bearing remodeling enzymes. Remarkably, whether the inflammation is chronic or acute, its matrix signature converges at pre-symptomatic states. We suggest that the existence of a pre-symptomatic extracellular-matrix is general and relevant to a wide range of diseases.
Project description:In this study we aimed to explore the molecular landscape of hepatic metastases and adjacent tissue in order to delineate a potential molecular signature that may be predictive for clinical benefit of CRCLM resection. Consecutive patients who underwent CRCLM resection between 2008 and 2015 at RMC, and for whom pathological specimen was available were included in the study. Cases were divided into two cohorts based on the interval between resection of liver metastases and disease recurrence- patients with less than 12-month interval were defined as ×´poor prognosis×´ (PP) and patients with more than 12 months as ×´good prognosis×´ (GP). Clinical data was retrieved from the medical records. Proteomic analysis was performed on the pathological bio specimen and correlated to demographics and clinical outcomes. Fifty-eight patients were included in the study. 29 in the GP cohort and 29 in the PP cohort. Proteomic analysis of the two-cohort revealed 99 proteins that were 38 differentially expressed, about a third of them associate with the extracellular matrix (ECM) pathways as the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs).
Project description:Chronic inflammation underlies tumor initiation, progression, invasion, and metastasis. In the colon, long-term exposure to chronic inflammation drives colitis associated colon cancer (CAC) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While the causal and clinical links between chronic inflammation and CAC are well established, our molecular understanding of how chronic inflammation leads to the development of colon cancer is still lacking. Here we deconstruct the evolving microenvironment of CAC, by measuring proteomic changes and extracellular matrix (ECM) organization over time in a genetically modified mouse model of CAC. We detect early changes in ECM structure and composition, and report that the transcriptional regulator heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) plays a crucial role in orchestrating these events. Activated in stromal fibroblasts of the gut, HSF1 promotes ECM remodeling and inflammatory programs which lead to the development of CAC. Loss of HSF1 abrogates ECM assembly by colon fibroblasts in cell culture, prevents inflammation-induced ECM remodeling in mice and significantly inhibits progression to CAC. Establishing the relevance of our experimental findings to human disease, we find high activation of stromal HSF1 in CAC patients, and detect the HSF1-dependent proteomic ECM signature in human colorectal cancer. Thus, HSF1-dependent ECM remodeling plays a crucial role in mediating inflammation-driven colon cancer.
Project description:CDK8 Mediator kinase is amplified and overexpressed in colon cancers; elevated CDK8 expression is associated with shorter patient survival. Nevertheless, CDK8 kinase inhibitors do not generally suppress colon cancer growth. We addressed this paradox by investigating the effects of CDK8 knockdown or a CDK8 kinase inhibitor on tumor growth at primary and metastatic sites. CDK8 knockdown or inhibition had no significant effect on primary tumors but suppressed the growth of hepatic metastases in murine and human colon cancer models. The effect of CDK8 inhibition on liver metastasis is mediated by upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor TIMP3 and downregulation of several MMPs.