Project description:Aberrant DNA methylation is frequently observed in colorectal cancer (CRC), but the underlying mechanisms and pathological consequences are poorly understood. Ten-Eleven Translocation (TET) dioxygenases and Thymine DNA Glycosylase (TDG) are involved in active DNA demethylation by generating and removing novel oxidized cytosine species. TET1 and TDG mutations, and alterations of the levels of oxidized cytosines have been identified in human CRC. To clarify the biological significance of the TET-TDG demethylation axis in intestinal tumorigenesis, we generated ApcMin mice that are devoid of Tet1 and/or Tdg, and characterized the methylome and transcriptome of intestinal adenomas by DREAM and RNA sequencing, respectively. Tet1-deficient and Tet1/Tdg-double heterozygous ApcMin adenomas manifested increased adenoma size and features of erosion or invasion, whereas an increased number (>30) of adenomas was found in Tdg-mutant ApcMin mice. Methylome analysis revealed progressive loss of global DNA hypomethylation in colonic adenomas from Tet1- and Tdg-deficient ApcMin mice, and hypermethylation of CpG islands in Tet1-deficient ApcMin mice. In addition, RNA sequencing showed upregulation of genes in inflammatory, immune and interferon response in Tet1- and Tdg-mutant colonic adenomas compared to control ApcMin adenomas. The corresponding 135-gene inflammatory signature separated human colonic adenocarcinomas into four groups, closely aligned with their microsatellite or chromosomal instability profile, and characterized by different levels of DNA methylation and DNMT1 expression levels that anti-correlated with TET1 expression levels. These findings demonstrate a novel mechanism of epigenetic regulation during intestinal tumorigenesis by which TET1-TDG-mediated active DNA demethylation decreases not only methylation levels, but also inflammatory/interferon/immune response, which impinges on the intrinsic features of genomic instability of the tumors. This study establishes a novel link, via inflammatory response, between epigenomic and genomic instability.
Project description:We compared the microbiota of paired mouse caecal contents and faeces by applying a multi-omic approach, including 16S rDNA sequencing, shotgun metagenomics, and shotgun metaproteomics. The aim of the study was to verify whether faecal samples are a reliable proxy for the mouse colonic luminal microbiota, as well as to identify changes in taxonomy and functional activity between caecal and faecal microbial communities, which have to be carefully considered when using stool as sample for mouse gut microbiota investigations.
Project description:Background: Colorectal cancers are believed to arise predominantly from adenomas. Although these precancerous lesions have been subjected to extensive clinical, pathological, and molecular analyses, little is currently known about the global gene expression changes accompanying their formation. Results: To characterize the molecular processes underlying the transformation of normal colonic epithelium, we compared the transcriptomes of 32 prospectively collected adenomas with those of normal mucosa from the same individuals. Important differences emerged not only between the expression profiles of normal and adenomatous tissues, but also between those of small and large adenomas. A key feature of the transformation process was the remodeling of the Wnt pathway reflected in patent over- and underexpression of 78 known components of this signaling cascade. Conclusions: Our transcriptomic profiles of normal colonic mucosa and colorectal adenomas shed new light on the early stages of colorectal tumorigenesis. Keywords: tissue comparison
Project description:Interventions: Case (colorectal cancer) group:a newly diagnosed colorectal cancer( CRC ) by colonoscopy and pathology;Control group:Clinically healthy volunteers with no symptoms or history of intestinal disease(e.g. colonic adenomatous polyps, CRC or inflammatory bowel disease)
Primary outcome(s): composition of gut microbiota;intestinal microbial phytase activity;16s rRNA metagenomic sequencing;diet surveys;phytic acid intake
Study Design: Case-Control study
Project description:Analysis of Rab25 in human colon samples The adenoma dataset (n=6) contains 6 colonic adenomas for use in comparison to colon adenocarcinoma datasets.
Project description:Background: Colorectal cancers are believed to arise predominantly from adenomas. Although these precancerous lesions have been subjected to extensive clinical, pathological, and molecular analyses, little is currently known about the global gene expression changes accompanying their formation. Results: To characterize the molecular processes underlying the transformation of normal colonic epithelium, we compared the transcriptomes of 32 prospectively collected adenomas with those of normal mucosa from the same individuals. Important differences emerged not only between the expression profiles of normal and adenomatous tissues, but also between those of small and large adenomas. A key feature of the transformation process was the remodeling of the Wnt pathway reflected in patent over- and underexpression of 78 known components of this signaling cascade. Conclusions: Our transcriptomic profiles of normal colonic mucosa and colorectal adenomas shed new light on the early stages of colorectal tumorigenesis. Experiment Overall Design: Pedunculated, sporadic colorectal polyps and corresponding normal mucosa were obtained during colonoscopies. The tissues were collected prospectively with informed patient consent and the approval of the local Human Research Ethics Committee.
Project description:Somatic L1 retrotransposition events have been shown to occur in epithelial cancers1-8. Here, we attempted to determine how early somatic L1 insertions occurred during the development of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Using L1-targeted resequencing (L1-seq), we studied different stages of four colorectal cancers arising from colonic polyps, seven pancreatic carcinomas, as well as seven gastric cancers. Surprisingly, we found somatic L1 insertions not only in all cancer types and metastases, but also in colonic adenomas, well-known cancer precursors. Some insertions were also present in low quantities in normal GI tissues, occasionally caught in the act of being clonally fixed in the adjacent tumors. Insertions in adenomas and cancers numbered in the hundreds and many were present in multiple tumor sections implying clonal distribution. Our results demonstrate that extensive somatic insertional mutagenesis occurs very early during the development of GI tumors, probably before dysplastic growth.
Project description:Mutation of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC gene), an early event in the adenoma-carcinoma sequence, is present in 70-80% of sporadic human colorectal adenomas and carcinomas. To test the hypothesis that mutation of the APC gene alters microbial interactions with host intestinal mucosa prior to the development of polyposis, culture-independent methods (targeted qPCR assays and Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene V1V2 hypervariable region) were used to compare the intestinal microbial composition of 30 six-week old C57BL/6 APCMin/+ and 30 congenic wild type (WT) mice. The results demonstrate that similar to 12-14 week old APCMin/+ mice with intestinal neoplasia, 6 week old APCMin/+ mice with no detectable neoplasia, exhibit an increased relative abundance of Bacteroidetes spp in the colon. Parallel mouse RNA sequence analysis, conducted on a subset of proximal colonic RNA samples (6 APCMin/+, 6 WT) revealed 130 differentially expressed genes (DEGs, fold change ? 2, FDR <0.05). Hierarchical clustering of the DEGs was carried out by using 1-r dissimilarity measurement, where r stands for the Pearson correlation, and Ward minimum variance linkage, in order to reduce the number of input variables. When the cluster centroids (medians) were included along with APC genotype as input variables, analysis of variance and covariance (ANCOVA) with stepwise variable selection, selected two of seven mouse gene clusters, in addition to APC genotype, as significantly associated (p = 0.011 and p = 0.004) with the increased relative abundance of Bacteroidetes spp. One of the two clusters includes several downregulated genes encoding immunoglobulin variable regions and non-protein coding RNAs. These results support the concept that mutation of the APC gene alters colonic-microbial interactions prior to polyposis. It remains to be determined whether interventions directed at ameliorating dysbiosis in APCMin/+mice, such as through probiotics, prebiotics or antibiotics, could reduce tumor formation. Comparing the differential gene expressions in proximal colonic mucosal samples from 6 six-week-old female Apc Min/+ and 6 six-week-old female WT mice
Project description:Sessile serrated adenomas are now recognized as precursor lesions of a substantial subset of colorectal cancers arising via a so-called “serrated pathway”. However, their biological markers remain to be defined. The aim of our study was to identify differentially expressed genes in sessile serrated adenomas, hyperplastic polyps and tubular adenomas. Gene expression analysis demonstrated molecular differences between polyp types. Further studies using QRT-PCR on Cathepsin E demonstrated a significantly (p< 0.05) higher expression in sessile serrated adenomas as compared to both other polyp types. Trefoil Factor 1, showed the same trend of expression for sessile serrated adenomas as compared to hyperplastic polyps, and was significantly higher in both polyps compared to tubular adenomas. Immunohistochemistry for both proteins demonstrated strong cytoplasmic staining of abnormal crypts in all sessile serrated adenomas while staining in tubular adenomas and hyperplastic polyps was weak and focal. BRAF and KRAS mutation analysis were employed to further validate polyp discrimination. The findings demonstrated the positive association of the BRAF mutation, V600E, with sessile serrated adenomas and KRAS mutations with tubular adenomas (P<0.05). This study demonstrates CTSE and TFF1 over-expression in sessile serrated adenomas compared to both hyperplastic polyps and tubular adenomas. Keywords: colonic polyp tissue comparison, linear modelling, SSA