Project description:We report the RNAseq of mouse pancreatic cancer cell lines with Kras ON vs Kras OFF. TH2 and innate lymphoid cells 2 (ILC2) can stimulate tumor growth by secreting pro-tumorigenic cytokines such as IL4, IL5 and IL13. However, the mechanisms by which type 2 immune cells traffic to the tumor microenvironment (TME) are unknown. Here, in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), we show that oncogenic KrasG12D (Kras*) increases the expression of IL33 in cancer cells, which upon secretion recruits and activates the TH2 and ILC2. Correspondingly, cancer cell-specific deletion of IL33 reduces TH2 and ILC2 recruitment and promotes tumor regression. Unexpectedly, we discovered that the cellular release of IL33 into the TME is dependent on the intratumoral fungal mycobiome. Genetic deletion of IL33 or anti-fungal treatment decreases TH2 and ILC2 infiltration and increases survival. Consistent with these murine data, high IL33 expression is observed in approximately 20% of human PDAC, and expression is mainly restricted to cancer cells. These data expand our knowledge of the mechanisms driving PDAC tumor progression and identifies therapeutically targetable pathways involving intratumoral mycobiome-driven secretion of IL33.
Project description:TH2 and innate lymphoid cells 2 (ILC2) can stimulate tumor growth by secreting pro-tumorigenic cytokines such as IL4, IL5 and IL13. However, the mechanisms by which type 2 immune cells traffic to the tumor microenvironment (TME) are unknown. Here, in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), we show that oncogenic KrasG12D (Kras*) increases the expression of IL33 in cancer cells, which upon secretion recruits and activates the TH2 and ILC2. Correspondingly, cancer cell-specific deletion of IL33 reduces TH2 and ILC2 recruitment and promotes tumor regression. Unexpectedly, we discovered that the cellular release of IL33 into the TME is dependent on the intratumoral fungal mycobiome. Genetic deletion of IL33 or anti-fungal treatment decreases TH2 and ILC2 infiltration and increases survival. Consistent with these murine data, high IL33 expression is observed in approximately 20% of human PDAC, and expression is mainly restricted to cancer cells. These data expand our knowledge of the mechanisms driving PDAC tumor progression and identifies therapeutically targetable pathways involving intratumoral mycobiome-driven secretion of IL33.
Project description:Clinically evident oral lesions, oral epithelial dysplasia, precede development of oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and are considered to transform to cancer by acquisition of genetic or epigenetic alterations. Here, we show that, +3q24-qter, -8pter-p23.1, +8q12-q24.2 and +20 are early events identifying two pathways to oral cancers that differ in clinical behavior. One or more of these copy number aberrations is present in the major subgroup (3q8pq20 subtype, 75-80% of lesions) that develops with chromosomal instability and risk for metastasis, while they are absent from the smaller and chromosomally stable non-3q8pq20 subgroup (20-25% of lesions) associated with low risk for metastasis. Thus, +3q, -8p, +8q and +20 is a biomarker for oral SCC metastasis. On the other hand, while increased numbers of genomic alterations can be harbingers of progression to cancer, dysplastic lesions lacking copy number changes cannot be considered benign as they are potential precursors to non-3q8pq20 oral SCC. 63 oral SCCs and adjacent regions of normal tissue, 44 oral dysplasias
Project description:Pancreatic Cancer (PC) has the worst 5-year survival rate of any cancer as of 2024, at just 13%. The late-stage diagnosis of these patients limits their treatment options, further compounding the problem. Early detection of PC, therefore, is the primary concern of most PC research, as it has the potential to make a substantial difference to the treatment and survival of these patients. Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) are fluid-filled sacs, on or inside the pancreas, that have the potential to become premalignant. While some PCLs are completely benign, others have been shown to have malignant potential and could therefore play a role in the progression to PC. Using the 2018 European evidence-based guidelines for pancreatic cystic neoplasms, patients were classified as being either at a low- or high-risk of PC development. In this study, we profile the proteome of pancreatic cyst fluid from low-risk (n=15) and high-risk (n=17) patients with PCLs and identify differentially expressed proteins between these two risk classifications. We show that these PCF-based differentially expressed proteins have potential utility as biomarkers of risk stratification in this setting.
Project description:<h4><strong>BACKGROUND</strong> Increasing evidence implicates microbiome involvement in the development and progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Studies suggest that reflux of gut or oral microbiota can lead to colonization in the pancreas, resulting in dysbiosis that culminates in release of microbial toxins and metabolites that potentiate an inflammatory response and increase susceptibility to PDAC. Moreover, microbe-derived metabolites can exert direct effector functions on precursors and cancer cells, as well as other cell types, to either promote or attenuate tumor development and modulate treatment response.</h4><p><strong>CONTENT</strong> The occurrence of microbial metabolites in biofluids thereby enables risk assessment and prognostication of PDAC, as well as having potential for design of interception strategies. In this review, we first highlight the relevance of the microbiome for progression of precancerous lesions in the pancreas and, using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, provide supporting evidence that microbe-derived metabolites manifest in pancreatic cystic fluid and are associated with malignant progression of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm(s). We secondly summarize the biomarker potential of microbe-derived metabolite signatures for (a) identifying individuals at high risk of developing or harboring PDAC and (b) predicting response to treatment and disease outcomes.</p><p><strong>SUMMARY</strong> The microbiome-derived metabolome holds considerable promise for risk assessment and prognostication of PDAC.</p>
Project description:Patients with oral preneoplastic lesion (OPL) have high risk of developing oral cancer. Although certain risk factors such as smoking status and histology are known, our ability to predict oral cancer risk remains poor. The study objective was to determine the value of gene expression profiling in predicting oral cancer development. Gene expression profile was measured in 86 of 162 OPL patients who were enrolled in a clinical chemoprevention trial that used the incidence of oral cancer development as a prespecified endpoint. The median follow-up time was 6.08 years and 35 of the 86 patients developed oral cancer over the course. Gene expression profiles were associated with oral cancer-free survival and used to develope multivariate predictive models for oral cancer prediction. We developed a 29-transcript predictive model which showed marked improvement in terms of prediction accuracy (with 8% predicting error rate) over the models using previously known clinico-pathological risk factors. Based on the gene expression profile data, we also identified 2182 transcripts significantly associated with oral cancer risk associated genes (P-value<0.01, single variate Cox proportional hazards model). Functional pathway analysis revealed proteasome machinery, MYC, and ribosomes components as the top gene sets associated with oral cancer risk. In multiple independent datasets, the expression profiles of the genes can differentiate head and neck cancer from normal mucosa. Our results show that gene expression profiles may improve the prediction of oral cancer risk in OPL patients and the significant genes identified may serve as potential targets for oral cancer chemoprevention. Gene expression profile was measured in 86 of 162 OPL patients who were enrolled in a clinical chemoprevention trial that used the incidence of oral cancer development as a prespecified endpoint. The median follow-up time was 6.08 years and 35 of the 86 patients developed oral cancer over the course. Gene expression profiles were associated with oral cancer-free survival and used to develope multivariate predictive models for oral cancer prediction.
Project description:Pancreatic Cancer (PC) has the worst 5-year survival rate of any cancer as of 2024, at just 13%. The late-stage diagnosis of these patients limits their treatment options, further compounding the problem. Early detection of PC, therefore, is the primary concern of most PC research, as it has the potential to make a substantial difference to the treatment and survival of these patients. Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) are fluid-filled sacs, on or inside the pancreas, that have the potential to become premalignant. While some PCLs are completely benign, others have been shown to have malignant potential and could therefore play a role in the progression to PC. Using the 2018 European evidence-based guidelines for pancreatic cystic neoplasms, patients were classified as being either at a low- or high-risk of PC development. In this study, we profile the proteome of serum from low-risk (n=45) and high-risk (n=23) patients with PCLs and identify differentially expressed proteins between these two risk classifications. We show that these serum-based differentially expressed proteins have potential utility as biomarkers of risk stratification in this setting.
Project description:Clinically evident oral lesions, oral epithelial dysplasia, precede development of oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and are considered to transform to cancer by acquisition of genetic or epigenetic alterations. Here, we show that, +3q24-qter, -8pter-p23.1, +8q12-q24.2 and +20 are early events identifying two pathways to oral cancers that differ in clinical behavior. One or more of these copy number aberrations is present in the major subgroup (3q8pq20 subtype, 75-80% of lesions) that develops with chromosomal instability and risk for metastasis, while they are absent from the smaller and chromosomally stable non-3q8pq20 subgroup (20-25% of lesions) associated with low risk for metastasis. Thus, +3q, -8p, +8q and +20 is a biomarker for oral SCC metastasis. On the other hand, while increased numbers of genomic alterations can be harbingers of progression to cancer, dysplastic lesions lacking copy number changes cannot be considered benign as they are potential precursors to non-3q8pq20 oral SCC.