Project description:Purpose: There is an unmet clinical need for biomarkers to identify breast cancer patients who are at increased risk of developing brain metastases. The objective is to identify gene signatures and biological pathways associated with HER2+ brain metastasis. Experimental Design: Gene expression of 19 HER2+ breast cancer brain metastases was compared with HER2+ nonmetastatic primary tumors. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis was used to identify a signature, which was evaluated for correlation with BRCA1 mutation status and clinical outcome using published microarray datasets and for correlation with pharmacological inhibition by a PARP inhibitor and temozolomide using published microarray datasets of breast cancer cell lines. Results: A BRCA1 Deficient-Like (BD-L) gene signature is significantly correlated with HER2+ metastases in both our and an independent cohort. BD-L signature is enriched in BRCA1 mutation carrier primary tumors and HER2-/ER- sporadic tumors, but high values are found in a subset of ER+ and HER2+ tumors. Elevated BD-L signature in primary tumors is associated with increased risk of overall relapse, brain relapse, and decreased survival. The BD-L signature correlates with pharmacologic response to PARP inhibitor and temozolomide in two independent microarray datasets, and the signature outperformed four published gene signatures of BRCA1/2 deficiency. Conclusions: The BD-L signature is enriched in breast cancer brain metastases and identifies a subset of primary tumors with increased propensity for brain metastasis. Furthermore, this signature may serve as a biomarker to identify sporadic breast cancer patients who could benefit from a therapeutic combination of PARP inhibitor and temozolomide. Gene expression of 19 HER2+ human breast cancer brain metastases was compared with gene expression of 19 HER2+ nonmetastatic primary human breast tumors.
Project description:Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a crucial role in metastasis, which is the leading cause of death in breast cancer patients. We show that Cdc42 GTPase-activating protein (CdGAP) promotes tumor formation and metastasis to lungs in the HER2-positive (HER2+) murine breast cancer model. CdGAP facilitates intravasation, extravasation, and growth at metastatic sites. CdGAP depletion in HER2+ murine primary tumors mediates crosstalk with a Dlc1-RhoA pathway and is associated with a transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-induced EMT transcriptional signature. To further delineate the molecular mechanisms underlying the pro-migratory role of CdGAP in breast cancer cells, we searched for CdGAP interactors by performing a proteomic analysis using HEK293 cells overexpressing GFP-CdGAP. We found that CdGAP interacts with the adaptor Talin to modulate focal adhesion dynamics and integrin activation. Moreover, HER2+ breast cancer patients with high CdGAP mRNA expression combined with a high TGF-β-EMT signature are more likely to present lymph node invasion. Our results suggest CdGAP as a candidate therapeutic target for HER2+ metastatic breast cancer by inhibiting TGF-β and Integrin/Talin signaling pathways.
Project description:A significant fraction of breast cancers exhibit de novo or acquired resistance to estrogen deprivation. A kinome-wide siRNA screen identified a role for Insulin Receptor (InsR) in the hormone-independent growth of ER+ breast cancer cells We used gene expression microarrays to identify genes and pathways that are altered by insulin stimulation of ER+ MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. MCF-7 cells were treated with serum-free medium +/- insulin for 4 or 24 hrs prior to RNA harvest for analysis.
Project description:As an established therapeutic target, HER2 is widely used in a variety of tumors, including breast cancer and gastric cancer, among which a variety of drugs, including trastuzumab, lapatinib and T-DM1, have been approved for the treatment of breast cancer and gastric cancer with HER2 amplification or overexpression. In colorectal cancer, HER2 as a target has also been focused in recent years.
Project description:Dysregulated lipid metabolism promotes the progression of various cancers, including breast cancer. This study aimed to explore the lipidomic profiles of breast cancer patients, providing insights into the correlation between lipid compositions and tumor subtypes characterized by hormone receptor (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status. Briefly, 30 breast cancer patients were categorized into four cohorts based on their HR and HER2 status: HR+, HER2 zero (HR+ HER2-0); HR+, HER2 low (HR+ HER2-low); HR+, HER2 pos (HR+ HER2-pos); and HR-, HER2 positive (HR- HER2-pos). Lipidomic profiles were analyzed using high-throughput liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Data were processed through principal component analysis (PCA), Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), and Random Forest (RF) classification to assess lipidomic variations and significant lipid features among these groups. Profiles of lipids, particularly triglycerides (TG) such as TG (16:0_18:1_18:1) +NH4, were significantly different across the cohorts. PCA and PLS-DA analyses identified unique lipid profiles in the HR+ HER2-pos and HR+ HER2-0 groups, while RF highlighted PIP3(21:2)+NH4 as a crucial lipid feature for accurate patient grouping. Advanced statistical analysis showed significant correlations between lipid carbon chain length and the number of double bonds with the classifications, providing insights into the role of structural lipid properties in tumor biology. Additionally, a clustering heatmap and network analysis indicated significant lipid-lipid interactions. Pathway enrichment analysis showed critical biological pathways, such as the assembly of active LPL and LIPC lipase complexes. In conclusion, the study underscores the importance of lipidomic profiling is crucial in understanding the metabolic alterations associated with different breast cancer subtypes. These findings highlight specific lipid features and interactions that may serve as potential biomarkers for breast cancer classification and target pathways for therapeutic intervention. Furthermore, advanced lipidomic analyses can be integrated to decipher complex biological data, offering a foundation for further research into the role of lipid metabolism in cancer progression.
Project description:Analysis of 143 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) primary breast tumors using a Custom Breast Cancer Panel and Human Cancer Panel for the DASL platform. Molecular markers between the pathology defined subtypes of breast cancer were assessed to hypothesize potential therapeutic targets specific to the subtypes Molecular Characterization of 143 primary breast carcinomas including 101 triple negative (TN: ER-, PR-, HER2-), 3 HER2-positive (HER2+: ER-, PR-, HER2+), and 39 hormone receptor-positive (HR+: ER+ and/or PR+)
Project description:Kinome-wide shRNA screen to identify kinases differentially required for survival of cells disomic and trisomic for chromosome 21 Cells were transduced in triplicate and propagated for 14 days to allow for enrichement or depletion of shRNAs from the population