Project description:Next generation sequencing is making sequence-based molecular pathology and personalised oncology viable. We selected an individual initially diagnosed with conventional, but aggressive, prostate adenocarcinoma and sequenced the genome and transcriptome from primary and metastatic tissues collected prior to hormone therapy. The histology-pathology and genomic architecture were remarkably homogeneous, yet it was possible to determine the quadrant of the prostate tumour that likely seeded the metastatic diaspora. Despite a homogenous cell type, our transcriptome analysis revealed signatures of both luminal and neuroendocrine cell types. Remarkably, the repertoire of expressed but private gene fusions, including C15orf21:MYC, recapitulated this biology while the amplification and over expression of the stem cell gene MSI2 may have contributed to the stable hybrid cellular identity. This hybrid luminal-neuroendocrine tumour appears to represent a novel and highly aggressive case of prostate cancer with unique biological features and conceivably a propensity for rapid progression to castrate-resistance. Overall, this work highlights the importance of integrated analyses of genome, exome and transcriptome sequences for basic tumour biology, sequence-based molecular pathology, and personalized oncology. 5 samples
Project description:Next generation sequencing is making sequence-based molecular pathology and personalised oncology viable. We selected an individual initially diagnosed with conventional, but aggressive, prostate adenocarcinoma and sequenced the genome and transcriptome from primary and metastatic tissues collected prior to hormone therapy. The histology-pathology and genomic architecture were remarkably homogeneous, yet it was possible to determine the quadrant of the prostate tumour that likely seeded the metastatic diaspora. Despite a homogenous cell type, our transcriptome analysis revealed signatures of both luminal and neuroendocrine cell types. Remarkably, the repertoire of expressed but private gene fusions, including C15orf21:MYC, recapitulated this biology while the amplification and over expression of the stem cell gene MSI2 may have contributed to the stable hybrid cellular identity. This hybrid luminal-neuroendocrine tumour appears to represent a novel and highly aggressive case of prostate cancer with unique biological features and conceivably a propensity for rapid progression to castrate-resistance. Overall, this work highlights the importance of integrated analyses of genome, exome and transcriptome sequences for basic tumour biology, sequence-based molecular pathology, and personalized oncology.
Project description:Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography. Kinetic characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals classic Michaelis-Menten behavior, with a Km of 28.3 +/- 1.9 microM and a specific activity of 1.75 micromol min-1 mg-1 for 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine. Crystals of recombinant kynureninase that diffracted to 2.0 A were obtained, and the atomic structure of the PLP-bound holoenzyme was determined by molecular replacement using the Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase structure (PDB entry 1qz9) as the phasing model. A structural superposition with the P. fluorescens kynureninase revealed that these two structures resemble the "open" and "closed" conformations of aspartate aminotransferase. The comparison illustrates the dynamic nature of these proteins' small domains and reveals a role for Arg-434 similar to its role in other AAT alpha-family members. Docking of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine into the human kynureninase active site suggests that Asn-333 and His-102 are involved in substrate binding and molecular discrimination between inducible and constitutive kynureninase substrates.