Project description:This study is important as it identifies and characterizes a new class of benign CNS tumors, termed VGLL-altered intraparenchymal CNS schwannomas. These rare tumors, previously unclassified, resemble schwannomas but are found within CNS tissue. By analyzing 20 tumor samples using advanced molecular and histological techniques, the study reveals that these tumors have a distinct DNA methylation profile and frequently harbor VGLL3 or VGLL1 gene fusions. The findings offer a clearer understanding of their morphology, molecular characteristics, and behavior, with MRI showing well-defined, nodular tumors and clinical data indicating no recurrence during follow-up. This research enhances diagnostic accuracy and may inform treatment strategies for these rare intracerebral neoplasms, highlighting the need for their recognition as a separate tumor type in medical classifications.
Project description:Cell state evolution underlies tumor development and response to therapy1, but mechanisms specifying cancer cell states and intratumor heterogeneity are incompletely understood. Schwannomas are the most common tumors of the peripheral nervous system and are treated with surgery and ionizing radiation2–5. Schwannomas can oscillate in size for many years after radiotherapy6,7, suggesting treatment may reprogram schwannoma cells or the tumor microenvironment. Here we show epigenetic reprogramming shapes the cellular landscape of schwannomas. We find schwannomas are comprised of 2 molecular groups distinguished by reactivation of neural crest development pathways or misactivation of nerve injury mechanisms that specify cancer cell states and the architecture of the tumor immune microenvironment. Schwannoma molecular groups can arise independently, but ionizing radiation is sufficient for epigenetic reprogramming of neural crest to immune-enriched schwannoma by remodeling chromatin accessibility, gene expression, and metabolism to drive schwannoma cell state evolution and immune cell infiltration. To define functional genomic mechanisms underlying epigenetic reprograming of schwannomas, we develop a technique for simultaneous interrogation of chromatin accessibility and gene expression coupled with genetic and therapeutic perturbations in single-nuclei. Our results elucidate a framework for understanding epigenetic drivers of cancer evolution and establish a paradigm of epigenetic reprograming of cancer in response to radiotherapy.
Project description:Cell state evolution underlies tumor development and response to therapy, but mechanisms specifying cancer cell states and intratumor heterogeneity are incompletely understood. Schwannomas are the most common tumors of the peripheral nervous system and are treated with surgery and ionizing radiation. Schwannomas can oscillate in size for many years after radiotherapy, suggesting treatment may reprogram schwannoma cells or the tumor microenvironment. Here we show epigenetic reprogramming shapes the cellular landscape of schwannomas. We find schwannomas are comprised of 2 methylation based molecular groups distinguished by reactivation of neural crest development pathways or misactivation of nerve injury mechanisms that specify cancer cell states and the architecture of the tumor immune microenvironment. Schwannoma molecular groups can arise independently, but ionizing radiation is sufficient for epigenetic reprogramming of neural crest to immune-enriched schwannoma by remodeling chromatin accessibility, gene expression, and metabolism to drive schwannoma cell state evolution and immune cell infiltration. To define functional genomic mechanisms underlying epigenetic reprograming of schwannomas, we develop a technique for simultaneous interrogation of chromatin accessibility and gene expression coupled with genetic and therapeutic perturbations in single-nuclei. Our results elucidate a framework for understanding epigenetic drivers of cancer evolution and establish a paradigm of epigenetic reprograming of cancer in response to radiotherapy.
Project description:We present a strategy to investigate regulatory elements that leverages programmable reagents to selectively inactivate their endogenous chromatin state. The reagents, which comprise fusions between transcription activator- like effector (TALE) repeat domains and the LSD1 histone demethylase, efficiently remove enhancer-associated chromatin modifications from target loci, without affecting control regions. We find that inactivation of enhancer chromatin by these fusions frequently causes down- regulation of proximal genes. Our study demonstrates the potential of 'epigenome editing' tools to characterize a critical class of functional genomic elements. ChIP-seq analysis of TALE-Fusion Proteins
Project description:Kinase fusions are considered oncogenic drivers in numerous types of cancer. In lung adenocarcinoma 5-10% of patients harbor kinase fusions. The most frequently detected kinase fusion involves the Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) and Echinoderm Microtubule-associated protein-Like 4 (EML4). In addition, oncogenic kinase fusions involving the tyrosine kinases RET and ROS1 are found in smaller subsets of patients. In this study, we employed quantitative mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomics to define the cellular tyrosine phosphorylation patterns induced by different oncogenic kinase fusions identified in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. We show that the cellular expression of the kinase fusions leads to widespread tyrosine phosphorylation. Direct comparison of different kinase fusions demonstrates that the kinase part and not the fusion partner primarily defines the phosphorylation pattern. The tyrosine phosphorylation patterns differed between ALK, ROS1 and RET fusions, suggesting that oncogenic signaling induced by these kinases involves the modulation of different cellular processes.
Project description:We present a strategy to investigate regulatory elements that leverages programmable reagents to selectively inactivate their endogenous chromatin state. The reagents, which comprise fusions between transcription activator- like effector (TALE) repeat domains and the LSD1 histone demethylase, efficiently remove enhancer-associated chromatin modifications from target loci, without affecting control regions. We find that inactivation of enhancer chromatin by these fusions frequently causes down- regulation of proximal genes. Our study demonstrates the potential of 'epigenome editing' tools to characterize a critical class of functional genomic elements. For data usage terms and conditions, please refer to http://www.genome.gov/27528022 and http://www.genome.gov/Pages/Research/ENCODE/ENCODEDataReleasePolicyFinal2008.pdf
Project description:Cerebrospinal fluid (liquor) samples (N = 44) have been derived from patients with vestibular schwannoma that comprises about 10% of all intracranial tumors. Applying high resolution tandem mass-spectrometry 525 proteins were identified with high confidence (at least 2 peptides per protein, FDR <1%) in the liquor samples. This dataset provides unique information on proteomic composition of vestibular schwannoma liquor samples.