Project description:PURPOSE. The deregulation of CCND1, CCND2 and CCND3 genes represents a common event in multiple myeloma (MM). The recently proposed TC classification grouped MM patients into five classes on the basis of their cyclins D expression profiles and the presence of the main translocations involving the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus (IGH) at 14q32. In this study, we provide a molecular characterization of the identified TC groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS. The gene expression profiles of purified plasma cells from 50 MM cases were used to stratify the samples into the five TC classes and identify their transcriptional fingerprints. The cyclin D expression data were validated by means of real-time quantitative PCR analysis; fluorescence in-situ hybridization was used to investigate the cyclin D loci arrangements, and to detect the main IGH translocations and the chromosome 13q deletion. RESULTS. Class-prediction analysis identified 112 probe sets as characterizing the TC1, TC2, TC4 and TC5 groups, whereas the TC3 samples showed heterogeneous phenotypes and no marker genes. The TC2 group, which showed extra copies of the CCND1 locus and no IGH translocations or the chromosome 13q deletion, was characterized by the overexpression of genes involved in protein biosynthesis at translational level. A meta-analysis of published datasets validated the identified gene expression signatures. CONCLUSIONS. Our data contribute to the understanding of the molecular and biological features of distinct MM subtypes. The identification of a distinctive gene expression pattern in TC2 patients may improve risk stratification and indicate novel therapeutic targets. Experiment Overall Design: This series of microarray experiments contains the gene expression profiles of purified plasma cells (PCs) obtained from 50 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM). PCs were purified from bone marrow specimens, after red blood cell lysis with 0.86% ammonium chloride, using CD138 immunomagnetic microbeads. The purity of the positively selected PCs was assessed by morphology and flow cytometry and was > 90% in all cases. 5 micrograms of total RNA was processed and hybridized to the Affymetrix HG-U133A chip following the manufacturer's instructions.
Project description:Epidemiological data have suggested that African Americans (AA) are twice as likely to be diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) as compared to European Americans (EA). Here, we have analyzed a set of cytogenetic and genomic data derived from AA and EA MM patients. We have compared the frequency of IgH translocations in a series of data from 115 AA patients from three studies and EA patients from the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) studies E4A03 and E9487. We have also interrogated tumors from 45 AA and 196 EA MM patients for somatic copy number abnormalities associated with poor outcome. In addition, 35 AA and 178 EA patients were investigated for a transcriptional profile associated with high-risk disease. Overall, based on this cohort, genetic profiles were similar except for a significantly lower frequency of IgH translocations (40% vs. 52%; p=0.032) in AA patients. Frequency differences of somatic copy number aberrations were not significant after correction for multiple testing. There was also no significant difference in the frequency of high-risk disease based upon gene expression profiling. Our study represents the first comprehensive comparisons of the frequency and distribution of molecular alterations in MM tumors between AA and EA patients. This submission contains 27 of the 45 African American cases analyzed by aCGH. In addition, 196 samples from European American myeloma patients were also analyzed and compared to the 45 African American patients.
Project description:Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by recurrent chromosomal translocations. The multiple myeloma SET domain (MMSET), identified by its fusion to the IgH locus in t(4;14) MM, is universally overexpressed and has been suggested to play an important role in tumorigenicity in t(4;14) MM. In order to identify downstream functional targets of MMSET, we knocked down MMSET expression with shRNAs in KMS11, a t(4;14) MM cell line, and identified differentially expressed genes by gene expression microarray analysis.
Project description:PURPOSE. The deregulation of CCND1, CCND2 and CCND3 genes represents a common event in multiple myeloma (MM). The recently proposed TC classification grouped MM patients into five classes on the basis of their cyclins D expression profiles and the presence of the main translocations involving the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus (IGH) at 14q32. In this study, we provide a molecular characterization of the identified TC groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS. The gene expression profiles of purified plasma cells from 50 MM cases were used to stratify the samples into the five TC classes and identify their transcriptional fingerprints. The cyclin D expression data were validated by means of real-time quantitative PCR analysis; fluorescence in-situ hybridization was used to investigate the cyclin D loci arrangements, and to detect the main IGH translocations and the chromosome 13q deletion. RESULTS. Class-prediction analysis identified 112 probe sets as characterizing the TC1, TC2, TC4 and TC5 groups, whereas the TC3 samples showed heterogeneous phenotypes and no marker genes. The TC2 group, which showed extra copies of the CCND1 locus and no IGH translocations or the chromosome 13q deletion, was characterized by the overexpression of genes involved in protein biosynthesis at translational level. A meta-analysis of published datasets validated the identified gene expression signatures. CONCLUSIONS. Our data contribute to the understanding of the molecular and biological features of distinct MM subtypes. The identification of a distinctive gene expression pattern in TC2 patients may improve risk stratification and indicate novel therapeutic targets. Keywords: other
Project description:MicroRNAs are small RNA species that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally and are aberrantly expressed in many cancers including lymphoma. However, the role of microRNAs in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma (MM) is poorly understood. We therefore elucidated the complete miRNome of purified tumor (CD138+) cells from 33 patients with MM, 5 patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and 9 disease controls. Unsupervised cluster analysis revealed that MM samples have a distinct microRNA expression profile. The majority of microRNAs aberrantly expressed in MM (109/129) were up-regulated. A comparison of these microRNAs with those aberrantly expressed in other B-cell and T-cell lymphomas revealed a surprising degree of similarity (~40%) suggesting the existence of a common lymphoma microRNA signature. We identified 39 microRNAs associated with the pre-malignant condition MGUS. Twenty-three (59%) of these were also aberrantly expressed in MM suggesting common microRNA expression events in MM progression. MM is characterized by multiple chromosomal abnormalities of varying prognostic significance. We identified specific microRNA signatures associated with the most common IgH translocations (t(4;14) and t(11;14)) and del(13q). Expression levels of these microRNAs were distinct between the genetic subtypes (by cluster analysis) and correctly predicted these abnormalities in >85% of cases using the support vector machine algorithm. Additionally, we identified microRNAs associated with light chain only myeloma, as well as IgG and IgA-type MM. Finally, we identified 32 microRNAs associated with event-free survival (EFS) in MM, ten of which were significant by univariate (logrank) survival analysis. In summary, this work has identified aberrantly expressed microRNAs associated with the diagnosis, pathogenesis and prognosis of MM, data which will prove an invaluable resource for understanding the role of microRNAs in this devastating disease. Plasma cells (CD138+) cells were purified from bone marrow samples of 33 patients with MM, 5 patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and 9 disease controls.
Project description:In order to identify relevant, molecularly defined subgroups in Multiple Myeloma (MM), gene expression profiling (GEP) was performed on purified CD138+ plasma cells of 320 newly diagnosed myeloma patients included in the Dutch-Belgian/German HOVON-65/ GMMG-HD4 trial using Affymetrix Gene Chip U133 plus 2.0 arrays. Hierarchical clustering identified 10 distinct subgroups. Bone marrow plasma cell samples were obtained from 320 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients included in a large multicenter, prospective, randomized phase III trial (HOVON65/GMMG-HD4). Purified myeloma plasma cells samples with a monoclonal plasma cell purity > 80% were used for analysis.
Project description:Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by recurrent chromosomal translocations. The multiple myeloma SET domain (MMSET), identified by its fusion to the IgH locus in t(4;14) MM, is universally overexpressed and has been suggested to play an important role in tumorigenicity in t(4;14) MM. In order to identify downstream functional targets of MMSET, we knocked down MMSET expression with shRNAs in KMS11, a t(4;14) MM cell line, and identified differentially expressed genes by gene expression microarray analysis. KMS11 cells were treated with shRNAs for 48 h. Total RNA was extracted by using the Qiagen RNeasy Mini kit (Germany). Gene expression was performed using the GeneChip Human Genome U133A Array (Affymetrix) following the manufacturerM-bM-^@M-^Ys instructions. Data analysis was performed using GeneSpring software from Agilent Technologies.
Project description:Plasma cell leukemia (PCL) is a rare form of plasma cell dyscrasia that presents either as a progression of previously diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM), namely secondary PCL (sPCL), or as the initial manifestation of disease, namely primary PCL (pPCL). Although presenting signs and symptoms include those seen in MM, pPCL is characterized by several aspects that clearly define more aggressive course. To provide insights into the biology of pPCL, we have investigated the transcriptional profiles of a cohort of 21 newly-diagnosed, homogeneously treated pPCL patients included in a multicenter prospective clinical trial. All but one pPCL had one of the main IGH translocations, whose associated transcriptional signatures resembled those observed in MM. A 503-gene signature was identified that distinguished pPCL from MM, from which emerged 28 genes whose trend in expression levels was found associated with the progressive stages of plasma cell dyscrasia in a large dataset of cases from multiple institutions, including samples from normal donors throughout PCL. The transcriptional pattern of the pPCL series was then evaluated in association with outcome. Three genes were identified having expression levels correlated with response to the first-line treatment with lenalidomide/dexamethasone, whereas a 27-gene signature was identified associated with overall survival independently of molecular alterations, hematological parameters and renal function. Overall, our data contribute to a fine dissection of pPCL and may provide novel insights into the molecular definition of a subgroup of high-risk pPCL.
Project description:In order to investigate the patterns of genetic lesions in a panel of 23 Human Multiple Myeloma Cell Lines (HMCLs), we made a genomic integrative analysis involving FISH and both gene expression and genome-wide profiling approaches. The expression profiles of the genes targeted by the main IGH translocations showed that the WHSC1/MMSET gene involved in t(4;14)(p16;q32) was expressed at different levels in all of the HMCLs, and that the expression of the MAF gene was not restricted to the HMCLs carrying t(14;16)(q32;q23). Supervised analyses identified a limited number of genes specifically associated with t(4;14) and involved in different biological processes. The signature related to MAF/MAFB expression included the known MAF target genes CCND2 and ITGB7, as well as genes controlling cell shape and cell adhesion. Genomeâwide DNA profiling allowed the identification of a gain on chromosome arm 1q in 88% of the analyzed cell lines, together with recurrent gains on 8q, 18q, 7q and 20q; the most frequent deletions affected 1p, 13q, 17p and 14q; and almost all of the cell lines presented LOH on chromosome 13. Two hundred and twenty-two genes were found to be simultaneously overexpressed and amplified in our panel, including the BCL2 locus at 18q21.33. Our data further support the evidence of the genomic complexity of multiple myeloma and reinforce the role of an integrated genomic approach in improving our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of the disease. Experiment Overall Design: 23 Human Multiple Myeloma Cell Lines (HMCLs)
Project description:Epidemiological data have suggested that African Americans (AA) are twice as likely to be diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) as compared to European Americans (EA). Here, we have analyzed a set of cytogenetic and genomic data derived from AA and EA MM patients. We have compared the frequency of IgH translocations in a series of data from 115 AA patients from three studies and EA patients from the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) studies E4A03 and E9487. We have also interrogated tumors from 45 AA and 196 EA MM patients for somatic copy number abnormalities associated with poor outcome. In addition, 35 AA and 178 EA patients were investigated for a transcriptional profile associated with high-risk disease. Overall, based on this cohort, genetic profiles were similar except for a significantly lower frequency of IgH translocations (40% vs. 52%; p=0.032) in AA patients. Frequency differences of somatic copy number aberrations were not significant after correction for multiple testing. There was also no significant difference in the frequency of high-risk disease based upon gene expression profiling. Our study represents the first comprehensive comparisons of the frequency and distribution of molecular alterations in MM tumors between AA and EA patients.