Project description:Tumor metastasis accounts for the majority of cancer-related deaths; it is therefore important to develop preclinical models that faithfully recapitulate disease progression. Here, we generated paired organoids derived from primary tumors and matched liver metastases in the same colorectal cancer patients (CRC). Despite the fact that paired organoids exhibit comparable gene expression and cell morphology. organoids from metastatic lesions demonstrate more aggressive phenotypes, tumorigenesis, and metastatic capacity than those from primary lesions. Transcriptional analyses of the paired organoids reveal signature genes and pathways altered during the progression of CRC. including SOX2, altered during the progression of CRC. Further study shows that inducible knockdown of SOX2 attenuated invasion, proliferation, and liver metastasis outgrowth. Taken together, we use patient-derived organoids to model cancer metastasis. Our data propose that SOX2 is not only a critical biomarker for the development and metastasis of CRC, but also a potent target for the disease treatment.
Project description:Purpose: This study aimed to identify a novel biomarker or a target of treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC). Experimental Design: The expression profiles of cancer cells in 104 patients with CRC were examined using laser microdissection and oligonucleotide microarray analysis. Overexpression in CRC cells especially in patients with distant metastasis was a prerequisite to select candidate genes. The mRNA expression of candidate gene was investigated by quantitative reversetranscription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in 77 patients as a validation study. We analyzed the protein expression and localization of the candidate gene by immunohistochemical study, and investigated the relationship between the expression and the clinicopathological feature in 274 CRC patients. Results: We identified 6 genes as candidates related to distant metastasis in CRC patients by microarray analysis. Among these genes, Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is known to have an association with aggressiveness in several cancers through inhibiting apoptosis by neutralizing the function of tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL). The mRNA expression of OPG in cancer tissues was significantly higher in patients with distant metastasis than those without metastasis. The overexpression of OPG protein was significantly associated with worse overall survival and relapse free survival (RFS). Moreover, the overexpression of OPG protein was an independent risk factor for recurrence of CRC. Conclusion: The overexpression of OPG would be a predictive biomarker of recurrence and a target of the treatment for CRC. Total of 148 microarray datasets obtained from LCM and homogenized tissues of colorectal cancer patients were normalized using robust multi-array average (RMA) method under R 2.6.2 statistical software with affy package from BioConductor. Normalization was separately performed for LCM dataset and homogenized tissue dataset. The normalized gene expression levels were presented as log2-transformed values by RMA.
Project description:High-throughput sequencing was used to detect the expression profile of circRNA in PTMC of lymph node metastasis in lateral cervical region, and RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of circRNA in cancer tissues and normal tissues adjacent to cancer. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under ROC curve (AUC) were used to evaluate whether CircRNAs could be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Bioinformatics was used to predict the PTMC-related ceRNA mechanism of lateral cervical lymph node metastasis.
Project description:Prostate cancer is the leading type of cancer diagnosed and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide each year in men. The limitations of the current prostate cancer screening test demands new biomarkers for early diagnosis of prostate cancer metastasis to bone. In this study, we performed a deep proteomic analysis of secreted proteins from the prostate cancer bone metastasis cell line, PC-3, and normal prostate cell line, RWPE-1. Here, we quantified 917 proteins and found 68 highly secreted in PC-3 versus RWPE-1 cells using LC-MS/MS. To characterize the highly secreted proteins in the PC-3 cell line to identify biomarker proteins, the quantifiable proteins were divided into four quantitative categories (Q1-Q4). The KEGG pathways of lysine degradation and osteoclast differentiation were enriched in Q4, the highly secreted group. Transforming growth factor (TGF) beta family proteins related to osteoclast differentiation were identified as key regulators in PC-3 cells. Among the 68 highly secreted proteins, pentraxin, follistatin, and TGF-beta family members were confirmed by immunoblots. In particular, serpin B3, modulated by TGF-beta, was detected and its selective expression and secretion in PC-3 cells was confirmed. In the present study, we suggest that serpin B3 is a novel biomarker candidate for diagnosis of prostate cancer metastasis to the bone.