Precise discrimination of Luminal A breast cancer subtype using an aptamer in vitro and in vivo

Nanoscale ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (38) ◽  
pp. 19689-19701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Liu ◽  
Biao Zhang ◽  
Zhiyang Li ◽  
Zhifei Wang ◽  
Song Li ◽  
...  

A truncated DNA aptamer for precise discrimination of Luminal A breast cancer subtype was developed.

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 898
Author(s):  
Ghazal Nabil ◽  
Rami Alzhrani ◽  
Hashem Alsaab ◽  
Mohammed Atef ◽  
Samaresh Sau ◽  
...  

Identified as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among American women after lung cancer, breast cancer of all types has been the focus of numerous research studies. Even though triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents 15–20% of the number of breast cancer cases worldwide, its existing therapeutic options are fairly limited. Due to the pivotal role of the presence/absence of specific receptors to luminal A, luminal B, HER-2+, and TNBC in the molecular classification of breast cancer, the lack of these receptors has accounted for the aforementioned limitation. Thereupon, in an attempt to participate in the ongoing research endeavors to overcome such a limitation, the conducted study adopts a combination strategy as a therapeutic paradigm for TNBC, which has proven notable results with respect to both: improving patient outcomes and survivability rates. The study hinges upon an investigation of a promising NPs platform for CD44 mediated theranostic that can be combined with JAK/STAT inhibitors for the treatment of TNBC. The ability of momelotinib (MMB), which is a JAK/STAT inhibitor, to sensitize the TNBC to apoptosis inducer (CFM-4.16) has been evaluated in MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468. MMB + CFM-4.16 combination with a combination index (CI) ≤0.5, has been selected for in vitro and in vivo studies. MMB has been combined with CD44 directed polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) loaded with CFM-4.16, namely CD44-T-PNPs, which selectively delivered the payload to CD44 overexpressing TNBC with a significant decrease in cell viability associated with a high dose reduction index (DRI). The mechanism underlying their synergism is based on the simultaneous downregulation of P-STAT3 and the up-regulation of CARP-1, which has induced ROS-dependent apoptosis leading to caspase 3/7 elevation, cell shrinkage, DNA damage, and suppressed migration. CD44-T-PNPs showed a remarkable cellular internalization, demonstrated by uptake of a Rhodamine B dye in vitro and S0456 (NIR dye) in vivo. S0456 was conjugated to PNPs to form CD44-T-PNPs/S0456 that simultaneously delivered CFM-4.16 and S0456 parenterally with selective tumor targeting, prolonged circulation, minimized off-target distribution.


2021 ◽  
Vol 220 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Tordonato ◽  
Matteo Jacopo Marzi ◽  
Giovanni Giangreco ◽  
Stefano Freddi ◽  
Paola Bonetti ◽  
...  

Although ectopic overexpression of miRNAs can influence mammary normal and cancer stem cells (SCs/CSCs), their physiological relevance remains uncertain. Here, we show that miR-146 is relevant for SC/CSC activity. MiR-146a/b expression is high in SCs/CSCs from human/mouse primary mammary tissues, correlates with the basal-like breast cancer subtype, which typically has a high CSC content, and specifically distinguishes cells with SC/CSC identity. Loss of miR-146 reduces SC/CSC self-renewal in vitro and compromises patient-derived xenograft tumor growth in vivo, decreasing the number of tumor-initiating cells, thus supporting its pro-oncogenic function. Transcriptional analysis in mammary SC-like cells revealed that miR-146 has pleiotropic effects, reducing adaptive response mechanisms and activating the exit from quiescent state, through a complex network of finely regulated miRNA targets related to quiescence, transcription, and one-carbon pool metabolism. Consistent with these findings, SCs/CSCs display innate resistance to anti-folate chemotherapies either in vitro or in vivo that can be reversed by miR-146 depletion, unmasking a “hidden vulnerability” exploitable for the development of anti-CSC therapies.


Author(s):  
Natalie Turner ◽  
Laura Biganzoli ◽  
Luca Malorni ◽  
Ilenia Migliaccio ◽  
Erica Moretti ◽  
...  

In the past, treatment decisions regarding adjuvant chemotherapy in early breast cancer (EBC) were made solely based on clinicopathologic factors. However, with increased awareness of the importance of underlying tumor biology, we are now able to use genomic analyses to determine molecular breast cancer subtype and thus identify patients with tumors that are chemotherapy resistant and unlikely to benefit from the addition of chemotherapy. Although genomics has allowed some patients to avoid chemotherapy—specifically those with luminal A–like breast cancer—these assays do not indicate which regimen is most appropriate. For this, consideration must be given to the combination of underlying tumor biology, tumor stage, and patient characteristics, such as age and tolerability of side effects.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e8049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Aisina ◽  
Raigul Niyazova ◽  
Shara Atambayeva ◽  
Anatoliy Ivashchenko

The development of breast cancer (BC) subtypes is controlled by distinct sets of candidate genes, and the expression of these genes is regulated by the binding of their mRNAs with miRNAs. Predicting miRNA associations and target genes is thus essential when studying breast cancer. The MirTarget program identifies the initiation of miRNA binding to mRNA, the localization of miRNA binding sites in mRNA regions, and the free energy from the binding of all miRNA nucleotides with mRNA. Candidate gene mRNAs have clusters (miRNA binding sites with overlapping nucleotide sequences). mRNAs of EPOR, MAZ and NISCH candidate genes of the HER2 subtype have clusters, and there are four clusters in mRNAs of MAZ, BRCA2 and CDK6 genes. Candidate genes of the triple-negative subtype are targets for multiple miRNAs. There are 11 sites in CBL mRNA, five sites in MMP2 mRNA, and RAB5A mRNA contains two clusters in each of the three sites. In SFN mRNA, there are two clusters in three sites, and one cluster in 21 sites. Candidate genes of luminal A and B subtypes are targets for miRNAs: there are 21 sites in FOXA1 mRNA and 15 sites in HMGA2 mRNA. There are clusters of five sites in mRNAs of ITGB1 and SOX4 genes. Clusters of eight sites and 10 sites are identified in mRNAs of SMAD3 and TGFB1 genes, respectively. Organizing miRNA binding sites into clusters reduces the proportion of nucleotide binding sites in mRNAs. This overlapping of miRNA binding sites creates a competition among miRNAs for a binding site. From 6,272 miRNAs studied, only 29 miRNAs from miRBase and 88 novel miRNAs had binding sites in clusters of target gene mRNA in breast cancer. We propose using associations of miRNAs and their target genes as markers in breast cancer subtype diagnosis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 1186-1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leire Arreal ◽  
Marco Piva ◽  
Sonia Fernández ◽  
Ajinkya Revandkar ◽  
Ariane Schaub- Clerigué ◽  
...  

Abstract Oncogene addiction postulates that the survival and growth of certain tumor cells is dependent upon the activity of one oncogene, despite their multiple genetic and epigenetic abnormalities. This phenomenon provides a foundation for molecular targeted therapy and a rationale for oncogene-based stratification. We have previously reported that the Promyelocytic Leukemia protein (PML) is upregulated in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and it regulates cancer-initiating cell function, thus suggesting that this protein can be therapeutically targeted in combination with PML-based stratification. However, the effects of PML perturbation on the bulk of tumor cells remained poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that TNBC cells are addicted to the expression of this nuclear protein. PML inhibition led to a remarkable growth arrest combined with features of senescence in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, the growth arrest and senescence were associated to a decrease in MYC and PIM1 kinase levels, with the subsequent accumulation of CDKN1B (p27), a trigger of senescence. In line with this notion, we found that PML is associated to the promoter regions of MYC and PIM1, consistent with their direct correlation in breast cancer specimens. Altogether, our results provide a feasible explanation for the functional similarities of MYC, PIM1, and PML in TNBC and encourage further study of PML targeting strategies for the treatment of this breast cancer subtype.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e13507-e13507
Author(s):  
Talal Ahmed ◽  
Mark Carty ◽  
Stephane Wenric ◽  
Raphael Pelossof

e13507 Background: Recent advances in transcriptomics have resulted in the emergence of several publicly available breast cancer RNA-Seq datasets, such as TCGA, SCAN-B, and METABRIC. However, molecular predictors cannot be applied across datasets without the correction of batch differences. In this study, we demonstrate a homogenization algorithm that allows the transfer of molecular subtype predictors from one RNA-Seq cohort to another. The algorithm only uses cohort-level RNA-Seq summary statistics, and therefore, does not require joint normalization of both datasets nor the transfer of patient information. Using this approach, we transferred a breast cancer subtype (Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2+, Basal) predictor trained on SCAN-B data to accurately predict subtypes from TCGA. Methods: First, we randomly split the TCGA cohort (n = 481 Luminal A, n = 189 Luminal B, n = 73 Her2+, n = 168 Basal) into two sets: TCGA-train and held-out TCGA-test (n = 455 and n = 456, respectively). Second, the SCAN-B cohort (n = 837) was homogenized with the TCGA-train set. Third, a molecular subtype predictor, based on a logistic regression model, was trained on homogenized SCAN-B RNA-Seq samples and used to predict the subtypes of TCGA-test RNA-Seq samples. For baseline comparison, a similar predictor trained on the non-homogenized SCAN-B cohort was tested on the TCGA-test set. The experimental framework was iterated 250 times. Reported P-values reflect a paired one-sided t-test. Results: To quantify model performance, we measured the average F1 score for each tumor subtype prediction from the held-out TCGA test set with and without cohort homogenization. The average F1 scores with vs. without homogenization were: Luminal A, 0.88 vs. 0.85 ( P< 1e-69); Luminal B, 0.74 vs. 0.51 ( P< 1e-183); Her2+, 0.73 vs. 0.53 ( P< 1e-99); Basal, 0.98 vs. 0.97 ( P< 1e-53). Overall, homogenization significantly outperformed no homogenization. Conclusions: We developed a novel homogenization algorithm that accurately transfers subtype predictors across diverse, independent breast cancer cohorts.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anni Lepland ◽  
Alessio Malfanti ◽  
Uku Haljasorg ◽  
Eliana Asciutto ◽  
Monica Pickholz ◽  
...  

Abstract Chemotherapy is the standard of care for patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive breast cancer subtype with a poor prognosis. In many solid tumours, M2-skewed tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) are known to promote progression, immunosuppression, relapse, and dissemination of the malignant disease. Although TAM depletion has been explored as an anticancer strategy, the currently available TAM depleting compounds suffer from poor efficacy and dose-limiting side effects. Here, we develop of a novel TAM-depleting agent that specifically targets CD206+ macrophages and show that it is efficacious as an anti-TNBC agent and well tolerated. This new TAM-depleting compound, called “OximUNO”, is a star-shaped polyglutamate decorated with the CD206-targeting peptide mUNO and carrying doxorubicin through a pH-responsive linker. In the orthotopic and experimental metastases of TNBC, fluorescent reporter mUNO-guided polyglutamate construct homed to CD206+ macrophages in the primary cancer lesions and at the sites of metastases. OximUNO displayed enhanced cytotoxicity towards primary M2 macrophages in vitro and exhibited no acute liver or kidney toxicity in vivo. In TNBC mouse models, OximUNO reduced the progression of primary breast cancer lesions and metastatic dissemination of malignant cells. Treatment with OximUNO had an immunomodulatory effect on the tumour microenvironment: besides reducing the number of CD206+ TAMs, it resulted in increased ratio of the CD8/FOXP3 expression. These studies suggest the potential utility of OximUNO based CD206+ TAM depletion strategies for the treatment of TNBC, and possibly, other types of solid tumours.


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