Project description:High-Grade T1 (HGT1) Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) is a clinically heterogeneous disease, characterized by unpredictable treatment responses and limited tools for recurrence prediction. Although molecular classification efforts have been made, patient stratification still primarily relies on clinicopathological features, which offer limited clinical precision. In this study, we integrated chromatin profiling in bulk with single-nuclei(sn) RNA-seq, immunohistochemistry and spatial transcriptomics to define epigenetic subtypes of HGT1, characterize their heterogeneity, and investigate tumor–microenvironment interactions. Our findings reveal distinct chromatin profiles differentiating urothelial (URO) and micropapillary (MP) histological variants of high-risk HGT1. We identified three epigenetic states: two within the URO group, luminal-like inflammatory (LLI) and basal-like (BL), and a separate signature unique to MP tumors. Single-cell and spatial resolution approaches validated intratumoral heterogeneity and provided insight into subtype-specific microenvironmental contexts. Notably, ∼40% of URO tumors exhibited spatially distinct coexisting LLI and BL components. BL regions showed enrichment for angiogenesis and hypoxia pathways and were preferentially located near vascular stroma, while LLI regions showed to be located at the core of the tumor. MP tumors featured a markedly different microenvironment, characterized by diverse populations of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and M2-polarized macrophages intermingled with tumor cells, suggesting a more immunosuppressive niche which could account for their worse clinical outcome. URO tumors, by comparison, showed a more immune-excluded phenotype. These findings provide a detailed molecular and spatial map of bladder cancer heterogeneity, highlighting how distinct epigenetic subtypes and histological variants are associated with tumor architecture and microenvironmental interactions. Our data underscore the need for subtype-specific therapeutic strategies to more effectively address the complexity already existing at HGT1 bladder cancer.
Project description:High-Grade T1 (HGT1) Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) is a clinically heterogeneous disease, characterized by unpredictable treatment responses and limited tools for recurrence prediction. Although molecular classification efforts have been made, patient stratification still primarily relies on clinicopathological features, which offer limited clinical precision. In this study, we integrated chromatin profiling in bulk with single-nuclei(sn) RNA-seq, immunohistochemistry and spatial transcriptomics to define epigenetic subtypes of HGT1, characterize their heterogeneity, and investigate tumor–microenvironment interactions. Our findings reveal distinct chromatin profiles differentiating urothelial (URO) and micropapillary (MP) histological variants of high-risk HGT1. We identified three epigenetic states: two within the URO group, luminal-like inflammatory (LLI) and basal-like (BL), and a separate signature unique to MP tumors. Single-cell and spatial resolution approaches validated intratumoral heterogeneity and provided insight into subtype-specific microenvironmental contexts. Notably, ∼40% of URO tumors exhibited spatially distinct coexisting LLI and BL components. BL regions showed enrichment for angiogenesis and hypoxia pathways and were preferentially located near vascular stroma, while LLI regions showed to be located at the core of the tumor. MP tumors featured a markedly different microenvironment, characterized by diverse populations of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and M2-polarized macrophages intermingled with tumor cells, suggesting a more immunosuppressive niche which could account for their worse clinical outcome. URO tumors, by comparison, showed a more immune-excluded phenotype. These findings provide a detailed molecular and spatial map of bladder cancer heterogeneity, highlighting how distinct epigenetic subtypes and histological variants are associated with tumor architecture and microenvironmental interactions. Our data underscore the need for subtype-specific therapeutic strategies to more effectively address the complexity already existing at HGT1 bladder cancer.
Project description:High-Grade T1 (HGT1) Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) is a clinically heterogeneous disease, characterized by unpredictable treatment responses and limited tools for recurrence prediction. Although molecular classification efforts have been made, patient stratification still primarily relies on clinicopathological features, which offer limited clinical precision. In this study, we integrated chromatin profiling in bulk with single-nuclei(sn) RNA-seq, immunohistochemistry and spatial transcriptomics to define epigenetic subtypes of HGT1, characterize their heterogeneity, and investigate tumor–microenvironment interactions. Our findings reveal distinct chromatin profiles differentiating urothelial (URO) and micropapillary (MP) histological variants of high-risk HGT1. We identified three epigenetic states: two within the URO group, luminal-like inflammatory (LLI) and basal-like (BL), and a separate signature unique to MP tumors. Single-cell and spatial resolution approaches validated intratumoral heterogeneity and provided insight into subtype-specific microenvironmental contexts. Notably, ∼40% of URO tumors exhibited spatially distinct coexisting LLI and BL components. BL regions showed enrichment for angiogenesis and hypoxia pathways and were preferentially located near vascular stroma, while LLI regions showed to be located at the core of the tumor. MP tumors featured a markedly different microenvironment, characterized by diverse populations of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and M2-polarized macrophages intermingled with tumor cells, suggesting a more immunosuppressive niche which could account for their worse clinical outcome. URO tumors, by comparison, showed a more immune-excluded phenotype. These findings provide a detailed molecular and spatial map of bladder cancer heterogeneity, highlighting how distinct epigenetic subtypes and histological variants are associated with tumor architecture and microenvironmental interactions. Our data underscore the need for subtype-specific therapeutic strategies to more effectively address the complexity already existing at HGT1 bladder cancer.
Project description:The existence of homologies between fins and tetrapod limb skeletal parts as well as of the nature of those mechanisms underlying the transition of the former towards the latter, have been a rich source of discussion for more than a century. While the recent use of gene expression patterns to try and infer evolutionary scenarios has been a popular and successful approach, in particular the distribution of Hox transcript domains, it has failed to provide clearcut evidence as to whether fishes do have bony elements related by ancestry to tetrapod hands and feet. In tetrapods, posterior Hoxd genes transcription in digits is controlled by a well-characterized series of enhancers forming a large regulatory landscape, which has its syntenic counterpart in zebrafish. We show here that the deletion of the orthologous landscape in fishes does not affect the transcription of these genes in fin buds. Instead, it abrogates hoxd expression in the cloaca, an essential structure related to the mammalian uro-genital sinus. We also report that Hoxd gene function in the mammalian uro-genital sinus depends on enhancers located in the same regulatory landscape and thus conclude that an ancestral Hox ‘cloacal’ regulation was co-opted, in tetrapod, as a playground to subsequently accompany the evolution of both external genitals and digits regulatory landscapes, along with the emergence of these developmentally and phylogenetically related structures.
Project description:The existence of homologies between fins and tetrapod limb skeletal parts as well as of the nature of those mechanisms underlying the transition of the former towards the latter, have been a rich source of discussion for more than a century. While the recent use of gene expression patterns to try and infer evolutionary scenarios has been a popular and successful approach, in particular the distribution of Hox transcript domains, it has failed to provide clearcut evidence as to whether fishes do have bony elements related by ancestry to tetrapod hands and feet. In tetrapods, posterior Hoxd genes transcription in digits is controlled by a well-characterized series of enhancers forming a large regulatory landscape, which has its syntenic counterpart in zebrafish. We show here that the deletion of the orthologous landscape in fishes does not affect the transcription of these genes in fin buds. Instead, it abrogates hoxd expression in the cloaca, an essential structure related to the mammalian uro-genital sinus. We also report that Hoxd gene function in the mammalian uro-genital sinus depends on enhancers located in the same regulatory landscape and thus conclude that an ancestral Hox ‘cloacal’ regulation was co-opted, in tetrapod, as a playground to subsequently accompany the evolution of both external genitals and digits regulatory landscapes, along with the emergence of these developmentally and phylogenetically related structures.
Project description:For patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, there are no biomarkers in clinical use that can identify patients that are sensitive or resistant to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This study investigates how molecular subtypes impact pathological response and survival in 149 patients receiving preoperative cis-platin based chemotherapy by tumor classification using transcriptomic profiling and a 13-marker immunostaining panel. Furthermore, we explored to what extent gene expression signatures can predict chemotherapy response beyond molecular subtypes. We observed improved pathological response rates and survival outcomes for patients presenting with genomically unstable (GU) and urothelial-like (Uro) subtypes compared to the basal-squamous (BASQ) subtype following neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical cystectomy. Also, SPP1, coding for osteopontin, displayed a clear subtype-dependent effect on chemotherapy response, confirmed at the protein level. Based on our findings, we hypothesize that urothelial cancer of the luminal-like GU- and Uro-subtypes are more responsive to cisplatin-based chemotherapy which may influence patient selection pending further research.
2021-11-19 | GSE169455 | GEO
Project description:Enterococcus faecalis was responsible for the second stage of bioconversion from Uro-C to Uro-A after FOS plus EA intervention.