Publications by authors named "Hansjuerg Alder"

90 Publications

Human-like hyperplastic prostate with low ZIP1 induced solely by Zn deficiency in rats.

Authors:
Louise Y Fong Ruiyan Jing Karl J Smalley Zi-Xuan Wang Cristian Taccioli Sili Fan Hongping Chen Hansjuerg Alder Kay Huebner John L Farber Oliver Fiehn Carlo M Croce

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018 11 5;115(47):E11091-E11100. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Department of Cancer Biology and Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210;

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in men over 50 years of age, and there is a characteristic marked decrease in Zn content in the malignant prostate cells. The cause and consequences of this loss have thus far been unknown. We found that in middle-aged rats a Zn-deficient diet reduces prostatic Zn levels ( = 0.025), increases cellular proliferation, and induces an inflammatory phenotype with COX-2 overexpression. This hyperplastic/inflammatory prostate has a human prostate cancer-like microRNA profile, with up-regulation of the Zn-homeostasis-regulating miR-183-96-182 cluster (fold change = 1.41-2.38; = 0.029-0.0003) and down-regulation of the Zn importer ZIP1 (target of miR-182), leading to a reduction of prostatic Zn. This inverse relationship between miR-182 and ZIP1 also occurs in human prostate cancer tissue, which is known for Zn loss. The discovery that the Zn-depleted middle-aged rat prostate has a metabolic phenotype resembling that of human prostate cancer, with a 10-fold down-regulation of citric acid ( = 0.0003), links citrate reduction directly to prostatic Zn loss, providing the underlying mechanism linking dietary Zn deficiency with miR-183-96-182 overexpression, ZIP1 down-regulation, prostatic Zn loss, and the resultant citrate down-regulation, changes mimicking features of human prostate cancer. Thus, dietary Zn deficiency during rat middle age produces changes that mimic those of human prostate carcinoma and may increase the risk for prostate cancer, supporting the need for assessment of Zn supplementation in its prevention.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1813956115DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6255182PMC
November 2018

Integration of metabolomics, transcriptomics, and microRNA expression profiling reveals a miR-143-HK2-glucose network underlying zinc-deficiency-associated esophageal neoplasia.

Authors:
Louise Y Fong Ruiyan Jing Karl J Smalley Cristian Taccioli Johannes Fahrmann Dinesh K Barupal Hansjuerg Alder John L Farber Oliver Fiehn Carlo M Croce

Oncotarget 2017 Oct 9;8(47):81910-81925. Epub 2017 Jun 9.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in humans is a deadly disease associated with dietary zinc (Zn)-deficiency. In the rat esophagus, Zn-deficiency induces cell proliferation, alters mRNA and microRNA gene expression, and promotes ESCC. We investigated whether Zn-deficiency alters cell metabolism by evaluating metabolomic profiles of esophageal epithelia from Zn-deficient and replenished rats sufficient rats, using untargeted gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry ( = 8/group). The Zn-deficient proliferative esophagus exhibits a distinct metabolic profile with glucose down 153-fold and lactic acid up 1.7-fold ( < 0.0001), indicating aerobic glycolysis (the "Warburg effect"), a hallmark of cancer cells. Zn-replenishment rapidly increases glucose content, restores deregulated metabolites to control levels, and reverses the hyperplastic phenotype. Integration of metabolomics and our reported transcriptomic data for this tissue unveils a link between glucose down-regulation and overexpression of HK2, an enzyme that catalyzes the first step of glycolysis and is overexpressed in cancer cells. Searching our published microRNA profile, we find that the tumor-suppressor miR-143, a negative regulator of HK2, is down-regulated in Zn-deficient esophagus. Using hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis, the inverse correlation between miR-143 down-regulation and HK2 overexpression is documented in hyperplastic Zn-deficient esophagus, archived ESCC-bearing Zn-deficient esophagus, and human ESCC tissues. Thus, to sustain uncontrolled cell proliferation, Zn-deficiency reprograms glucose metabolism by modulating expression of miR-143 and its target HK2. Our work provides new insight into critical roles of Zn in ESCC development and prevention.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.18434DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5669858PMC
October 2017

Downregulation of p53-inducible microRNAs 192, 194, and 215 Impairs the p53/MDM2 Autoregulatory Loop in Multiple Myeloma Development.

Authors:
Flavia Pichiorri Sung-Suk Suh Alberto Rocci Luciana De Luca Cristian Taccioli Ramasamy Santhanam Wenchao Zhou Don M Benson Craig Hofmainster Hansjuerg Alder Michela Garofalo Gianpiero Di Leva Stefano Volinia Huey-Jen Lin Danilo Perrotti Michael Kuehl Rami I Aqeilan Antonio Palumbo Carlo M Croce

Cancer Cell 2016 08 8;30(2):349-351. Epub 2016 Aug 8.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2016.07.007DOI Listing
August 2016

MicroRNA dysregulation and esophageal cancer development depend on the extent of zinc dietary deficiency.

Authors:
Louise Y Fong Cristian Taccioli Ruiyan Jing Karl J Smalley Hansjuerg Alder Yubao Jiang Paolo Fadda John L Farber Carlo M Croce

Oncotarget 2016 Mar;7(10):10723-38

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.

Zinc deficiency (ZD) increases the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and marginal ZD is prevalent in humans. In rats, marked-ZD (3 mg Zn/kg diet) induces a proliferative esophagus with a 5-microRNA signature (miR-31, -223, -21, -146b, -146a) and promotes ESCC. Here we report that moderate and mild-ZD (6 and 12 mg Zn/kg diet) also induced esophageal hyperplasia, albeit less pronounced than induced by marked-ZD, with a 2-microRNA signature (miR-31, -146a). On exposure to an environmental carcinogen, ~16% of moderate/mild-ZD rats developed ESCC, a cancer incidence significantly greater than for Zn-sufficient rats (0%) (P ≤ 0.05), but lower than marked-ZD rats (68%) (P < 0.001). Importantly, the high ESCC, marked-ZD esophagus had a 15-microRNA signature, resembling the human ESCC miRNAome, with miR-223, miR-21, and miR-31 as the top-up-regulated species. This signature discriminated it from the low ESCC, moderate/mild-ZD esophagus, with a 2-microRNA signature (miR-31, miR-223). Additionally, Fbxw7, Pdcd4, and Stk40 (tumor-suppressor targets of miR-223, -21, and -31) were downregulated in marked-ZD cohort. Bioinformatics analysis predicted functional relationships of the 3 tumor-suppressors with other cancer-related genes. Thus, microRNA dysregulation and ESCC progression depend on the extent of dietary Zn deficiency. Our findings suggest that even moderate ZD may promote esophageal cancer and dietary Zn has preventive properties against ESCC. Additionally, the deficiency-associated miR-223, miR-21, and miR-31 may be useful therapeutic targets in ESCC.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.7561DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4905434PMC
March 2016

A selective screening platform reveals unique global expression patterns of microRNAs in a cohort of human soft-tissue sarcomas.

Authors:
Peter Y Yu Mumtaz Y Balkhi Katherine J Ladner Hansjuerg Alder Lianbo Yu Xiaokui Mo William G Kraybill Denis C Guttridge O Hans Iwenofu

Lab Invest 2016 Apr 15;96(4):481-91. Epub 2016 Feb 15.

Arthur G. James Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.

Sarcomas are malignant heterogenous tumors of mesenchymal derivation. Emerging data suggest that miRNA might have a causal role in sarcomagenesis. Herein, we used a selective miRNA screening platform to study the comparative global miRNA expression signatures in a cohort of human sarcomas with the caveat that comparisons between tumor and non-tumor cells were performed from the same patients using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. Five histologic types were examined that included: myxoid liposarcoma, well-differentiated liposarcoma, dedifferentiated liposarcoma, pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma, and synovial sarcoma. In addition, soft-tissue lipomas and normal fat were included as a separate set of controls for the lipogenic tumors. Clustering analysis showed a distinct global difference in expression patterns between the normal and sarcoma tissues. Expression signatures in an unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis revealed tight clustering in synovial and myxoid liposarcomas, and the least clustering was observed in the pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma subtype. MiR-145 showed underexpression in pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma, well-differentiated liposarcoma, and synovial sarcoma. Unexpectedly, we found that a set of muscle-specific microRNAs (miRNAs; myomiRs): miR-133, miR-1, and miR-206 was significantly underexpressed in well-differentiated liposarcoma and synovial sarcoma, suggesting that they may function as tumor suppressors as described in muscle-relevant rhabdomyosarcomas. In addition, a tight linear progression of miRNA expression was identified from normal fat to dedifferentiated liposarcoma. These results suggest that miRNA expression profiles could elucidate classes of miRNAs that may elicit tumor-relevant activities in specific sarcoma subtypes.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/labinvest.2015.168DOI Listing
April 2016

Repression of Esophageal Neoplasia and Inflammatory Signaling by Anti-miR-31 Delivery In Vivo.

Authors:
Cristian Taccioli Michela Garofalo Hongping Chen Yubao Jiang Guidantonio Malagoli Tagliazucchi Gianpiero Di Leva Hansjuerg Alder Paolo Fadda Justin Middleton Karl J Smalley Tommaso Selmi Srivatsava Naidu John L Farber Carlo M Croce Louise Y Fong

J Natl Cancer Inst 2015 Nov 18;107(11). Epub 2015 Aug 18.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (CT, MG, GDL, HA, PF, JM, CMC); Kimmel Cancer Center (HC, YJ, KJS, LYF) and Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology (YJ, JLF, LYF), Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA; Center for Genome Research (CT, GMT), Department of Life Sciences (TS), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy (CT, GMT); Transcriptional Networks in Lung Cancer Group, Manchester Institute, University of Manchester, UK (MG, SN).

Background: Overexpression of microRNA-31 (miR-31) is implicated in the pathogenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a deadly disease associated with dietary zinc deficiency. Using a rat model that recapitulates features of human ESCC, the mechanism whereby Zn regulates miR-31 expression to promote ESCC is examined.

Methods: To inhibit in vivo esophageal miR-31 overexpression in Zn-deficient rats (n = 12-20 per group), locked nucleic acid-modified anti-miR-31 oligonucleotides were administered over five weeks. miR-31 expression was determined by northern blotting, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and in situ hybridization. Physiological miR-31 targets were identified by microarray analysis and verified by luciferase reporter assay. Cellular proliferation, apoptosis, and expression of inflammation genes were determined by immunoblotting, caspase assays, and immunohistochemistry. The miR-31 promoter in Zn-deficient esophagus was identified by ChIP-seq using an antibody for histone mark H3K4me3. Data were analyzed with t test and analysis of variance. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results: In vivo, anti-miR-31 reduced miR-31 overexpression (P = .002) and suppressed the esophageal preneoplasia in Zn-deficient rats. At the same time, the miR-31 target Stk40 was derepressed, thereby inhibiting the STK40-NF-κΒ-controlled inflammatory pathway, with resultant decreased cellular proliferation and activated apoptosis (caspase 3/7 activities, fold change = 10.7, P = .005). This same connection between miR-31 overexpression and STK40/NF-κΒ expression was also documented in human ESCC cell lines. In Zn-deficient esophagus, the miR-31 promoter region and NF-κΒ binding site were activated. Zn replenishment restored the regulation of this genomic region and a normal esophageal phenotype.

Conclusions: The data define the in vivo signaling pathway underlying interaction of Zn deficiency and miR-31 overexpression in esophageal neoplasia and provide a mechanistic rationale for miR-31 as a therapeutic target for ESCC.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djv220DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4675101PMC
November 2015

A differentially expressed set of microRNAs in cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) can diagnose CNS malignancies.

Authors:
Alessandra Drusco Arianna Bottoni Alessandro Laganà Mario Acunzo Matteo Fassan Luciano Cascione Anna Antenucci Prasanthi Kumchala Caterina Vicentini Marina P Gardiman Hansjuerg Alder Mariantonia A Carosi Mario Ammirati Stefano Gherardi Marilena Luscrì Carmine Carapella Nicola Zanesi Carlo M Croce

Oncotarget 2015 Aug;6(25):20829-39

MVIMG, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.

Central Nervous System malignancies often require stereotactic biopsy or biopsy for differential diagnosis, and for tumor staging and grading. Furthermore, stereotactic biopsy can be non-diagnostic or underestimate grading. Hence, there is a compelling need of new diagnostic biomarkers to avoid such invasive procedures. Several biological markers have been proposed, but they can only identify specific prognostic subtype of Central Nervous System tumors, and none of them has found a standardized clinical application.The aim of the study was to identify a Cerebro-Spinal Fluid microRNA signature that could differentiate among Central Nervous System malignancies.CSF total RNA of 34 neoplastic and of 14 non-diseased patients was processed by NanoString. Comparison among groups (Normal, Benign, Glioblastoma, Medulloblastoma, Metastasis and Lymphoma) lead to the identification of a microRNA profile that was further confirmed by RT-PCR and in situ hybridization.Hsa-miR-451, -711, 935, -223 and -125b were significantly differentially expressed among the above mentioned groups, allowing us to draw an hypothetical diagnostic chart for Central Nervous System malignancies.This is the first study to employ the NanoString technique for Cerebro-Spinal Fluid microRNA profiling. In this article, we demonstrated that Cerebro-Spinal Fluid microRNA profiling mirrors Central Nervous System physiologic or pathologic conditions. Although more cases need to be tested, we identified a diagnostic Cerebro-Spinal Fluid microRNA signature with good perspectives for future diagnostic clinical applications.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.4096DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4673232PMC
August 2015

Correction: MiR-34a/c-Dependent PDGFR-α/β Downregulation Inhibits Tumorigenesis and Enhances TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis in Lung Cancer.

Authors:
Michela Garofalo Young-Jun Jeon Gerard J Nuovo Justin Middleton Paola Secchiero Pooja Joshi Hansjuerg Alder Natalya Nazaryan Gianpiero Di Leva Giulia Romano Melissa Crawford Patrick Nana-Sinkam Carlo M Croce

PLoS One 2015 25;10(6):e0131729. Epub 2015 Jun 25.

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http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131729PLOS
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4482494PMC
May 2016

A set of NF-κB-regulated microRNAs induces acquired TRAIL resistance in lung cancer.

Authors:
Young-Jun Jeon Justin Middleton Taewan Kim Alessandro Laganà Claudia Piovan Paola Secchiero Gerard J Nuovo Ri Cui Pooja Joshi Giulia Romano Gianpiero Di Leva Bum-Kyu Lee Hui-Lung Sun Yonghwan Kim Paolo Fadda Hansjuerg Alder Michela Garofalo Carlo M Croce

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015 Jun 15;112(26):E3355-64. Epub 2015 Jun 15.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210;

TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) is a promising anticancer agent that can be potentially used as an alternative or complementary therapy because of its specific antitumor activity. However, TRAIL can also stimulate the proliferation of cancer cells through the activation of NF-κB, but the exact mechanism is still poorly understood. In this study, we show that chronic exposure to subtoxic concentrations of TRAIL results in acquired resistance. This resistance is associated with the increase in miR-21, miR-30c, and miR-100 expression, which target tumor-suppressor genes fundamental in the response to TRAIL. Importantly, down-regulation of caspase-8 by miR-21 blocks receptor interacting protein-1 cleavage and induces the activation of NF-κB, which regulates these miRNAs. Thus, TRAIL activates a positive feedback loop that sustains the acquired resistance and causes an aggressive phenotype. Finally, we prove that combinatory treatment of NF-κB inhibitors and TRAIL is able to revert resistance and reduce tumor growth, with important consequences for the clinical practice.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1504630112DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4491797PMC
June 2015

MYC-repressed long noncoding RNAs antagonize MYC-induced cell proliferation and cell cycle progression.

Authors:
Taewan Kim Ri Cui Young-Jun Jeon Paolo Fadda Hansjuerg Alder Carlo M Croce

Oncotarget 2015 Aug;6(22):18780-9

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.

The transcription factor MYC is a proto-oncogene regulating cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis and metabolism. The recent identification of MYC-regulated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) expands our knowledge of the role of lncRNAs in MYC functions. Here, we identify MYC-repressed lncRNAs named MYCLo-4, -5 and -6 by comparing 3 categories of lncRNAs (downregulated in highly MYC-expressing colorectal cancer, up-regulated by MYC knockdown in HCT116, upregulated by MYC knockdown in RKO). The MYC-repressed MYCLos are implicated in MYC-modulated cell proliferation through cell cycle regulation. By screening cell cycle-related genes regulated by MYC and the MYC-repressed MYCLos, we identified the MYC-repressed gene GADD45A as a target gene of the MYC-repressed MYCLos such as MYCLo-4 and MYCLo-6.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4662455PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.3909DOI Listing
August 2015

Role of MYC-regulated long noncoding RNAs in cell cycle regulation and tumorigenesis.

Authors:
Taewan Kim Young-Jun Jeon Ri Cui Ji-Hoon Lee Yong Peng Sung-Hak Kim Esmerina Tili Hansjuerg Alder Carlo M Croce

J Natl Cancer Inst 2015 Apr 6;107(4). Epub 2015 Feb 6.

Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (TK); Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics (TK, YJJ, RC, ET, HA, CMC), Department of Neurological Surgery (SHK), and Department of Anesthesiology (ET), Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, OH; School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University and National Creative Research Initiative Center for Symbiosystem, Seoul, Republic of Korea (JHL); State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy/Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China (YP); School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Republic of Korea (SHK).

Background: The functions of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified in several cancers, but the roles of lncRNAs in colorectal cancer (CRC) are less well understood. The transcription factor MYC is known to regulate lncRNAs and has been implicated in cancer cell proliferation and tumorigenesis.

Methods: CRC cells and tissues were profiled to identify lncRNAs differentially expressed in CRC, from which we further selected MYC-regulated lncRNAs. We used luciferase promoter assay, ChIP, RNA pull-down assay, deletion mapping assay, LC-MS/MS and RNA immunoprecipitation to determine the mechanisms of MYC regulation of lncRNAs. Moreover, soft agar assay and in vivo xenograft experiments (four athymic nude mice per group) provided evidence of MYC-regulated lncRNAs in cancer cell transformation and tumorigenesis. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analyses. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results: We identified lncRNAs differentially expressed in CRC (P < .05, greater than two-fold) and verified four lncRNAs upregulated and two downregulated in CRC cells and tissues. We further identified MYC-regulated lncRNAs, named MYCLos. The MYC-regulated MYCLos may function in cell proliferation and cell cycle by regulating MYC target genes such as CDKN1A (p21) and CDKN2B (p15), suggesting new regulatory mechanisms of MYC-repressed target genes through lncRNAs. RNA binding proteins including HuR and hnRNPK are involved in the function of MYCLos by interacting with MYCLo-1 and MYCLo-2, respectively. Knockdown experiments also showed that MYCLo-2, differentially expressed not only in CRC but also in prostate cancer, has a role in cancer transformation and tumorigenesis.

Conclusions: Our results provide novel regulatory mechanisms in MYC function through lncRNAs and new potential lncRNA targets of CRC.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jnci/dju505DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4402359PMC
April 2015

Egg yolks inhibit activation of NF-κB and expression of its target genes in adipocytes after partial delipidation.

Authors:
Qiwen Shen Ken M Riedl Rachel M Cole Christopher Lehman Lu Xu Hansjuerg Alder Martha A Belury Steven J Schwartz Ouliana Ziouzenkova

J Agric Food Chem 2015 Feb 12;63(7):2013-25. Epub 2015 Feb 12.

Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University , 1787 Neil Avenue, 331A Campbell Hall, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States.

How composition of egg yolk (EY) influences NF-κB, a key transcription pathway in inflammation, remains unclear. We performed partial delipidation of EY that removed 20-30% of cholesterol and triglycerides. The resulting polar and nonpolar fractions were termed EY-P and EY-NP. NF-κB activation in response to EY from different suppliers and their fractions was examined in 3T3-L1 adipocytes using a NF-κB response element reporter assay and by analyzing expression of 248 inflammatory genes. Although EY-P and EY contained similar level of vitamins, carotenoids, and fatty acids, only delipidated EY-P fraction suppressed NF-κB via down-regulation of toll like receptor-2 and up-regulation of inhibitory toll interacting protein (Tollip) and lymphocyte antigen 96 (Ly96). Our data suggest that anti-inflammatory activity of lutein and retinol were blunted by nonpolar lipids in EY, likely via crosstalk between SREBP and NF-κB pathways in adipocytes. Thus, moderate delipidation may improve the beneficial properties of regular eggs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf5056584DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4362627PMC
February 2015

Pluripotent stem cell miRNAs and metastasis in invasive breast cancer.

Authors:
Stefano Volinia Gerard Nuovo Alessandra Drusco Stefan Costinean Ramzey Abujarour Caroline Desponts Michela Garofalo Raffaele Baffa Rami Aeqilan Kati Maharry Maria Elena Sana Maria Elena Sana Ramiro Garzon Gianpiero Di Leva Pierluigi Gasparini Paola Dama Jlenia Marchesini Marco Galasso Marco Manfrini Carlotta Zerbinati Fabio Corrà Timothy Wise Sylwia E Wojcik Maurizio Previati Flavia Pichiorri Nicola Zanesi Hansjuerg Alder Jeff Palatini Kay F Huebner Charles L Shapiro Massimo Negrini Andrea Vecchione Anne L Rosenberg Carlo M Croce Ramiro Garzon

J Natl Cancer Inst 2014 Dec 11;106(12). Epub 2014 Oct 11.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (SV, GN, AD, SC, MiG, RAe, RG, GDL, PG, PD, TW, SEW, FP, NZ, HA, KFH, CMC); Biosystems Analysis, LTTA, Deptartment of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy, (SV, MES, JM, MaG, MM, CZ, FC, MP, JP, MN); Fate Therapeutics, San Diego, CA (RAb); Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA (CD); Department of Urology, Thomas Jefferson University, Kimmel Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA (RB); Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (KM); Deptartment of Internal Medicine, James Cancer Hospital and Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University (CLS); Division of Pathology, II University of Rome "La Sapienza," Ospedale Santo Andrea, Rome, Italy (AV); Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Medical College, Philadelphia, PA (ALR).

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine whether microRNA for pluripotent stem cells are also expressed in breast cancer and are associated with metastasis and outcome.

Methods: We studied global microRNA profiles during differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (n =26) and in breast cancer patients (n = 33) and human cell lines (n = 35). Using in situ hybridization, we then investigated MIR302 expression in 318 untreated breast cancer patients (test cohort, n = 22 and validation cohort, n = 296). In parallel, using next-generation sequencing data from breast cancer patients (n = 684), we assessed microRNA association with stem cell markers. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results: In healthy tissues, the MIR302 (high)/MIR203 (low) asymmetry was exclusive for pluripotent stem cells. MIR302 was expressed in a small population of cancer cells within invasive ductal carcinoma, but not in normal breast (P < .001). Furthermore, MIR302 was expressed in the tumor cells together with stem cell markers, such as CD44 and BMI1. Conversely, MIR203 expression in 684 breast tumors negatively correlated with CD44 (Spearman correlation, Rho = -0.08, P = .04) and BMI1 (Rho = -0.11, P = .004), but positively correlated with differentiation marker CD24 (Rho = 0.15, P < .001). Primary tumors with lymph node metastasis had cancer cells showing scattered expression of MIR302 and widespread repression of MIR203. Finally, overall survival was statistically significantly shorter in patients with MIR302-positive cancer cells (P = .03).

Conclusions: In healthy tissues the MIR302(high)/MIR203(low) asymmetry was characteristic of embryonic and induced pluripotency. In invasive ductal carcinoma, the MIR302/MIR203 asymmetry was associated with stem cell markers, metastasis, and shorter survival.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jnci/dju324DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4334797PMC
December 2014

MicroRNA profiles discriminate among colon cancer metastasis.

Authors:
Alessandra Drusco Gerard J Nuovo Nicola Zanesi Gianpiero Di Leva Flavia Pichiorri Stefano Volinia Cecilia Fernandez Anna Antenucci Stefan Costinean Arianna Bottoni Immacolata A Rosito Chang-Gong Liu Aaron Burch Mario Acunzo Yuri Pekarsky Hansjuerg Alder Antonio Ciardi Carlo M Croce

PLoS One 2014 12;9(6):e96670. Epub 2014 Jun 12.

MVIMG, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.

MicroRNAs are being exploited for diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of cancer and other diseases. Their high tissue specificity and critical role in oncogenesis provide new biomarkers for the diagnosis and classification of cancer as well as predicting patients' outcomes. MicroRNAs signatures have been identified for many human tumors, including colorectal cancer (CRC). In most cases, metastatic disease is difficult to predict and to prevent with adequate therapies. The aim of our study was to identify a microRNA signature for metastatic CRC that could predict and differentiate metastatic target organ localization. Normal and cancer tissues of three different groups of CRC patients were analyzed. RNA microarray and TaqMan Array analysis were performed on 66 Italian patients with or without lymph nodes and/or liver recurrences. Data obtained with the two assays were analyzed separately and then intersected to identify a primary CRC metastatic signature. Five differentially expressed microRNAs (hsa-miR-21, -103, -93, -31 and -566) were validated by qRT-PCR on a second group of 16 American metastatic patients. In situ hybridization was performed on the 16 American patients as well as on three distinct commercial tissues microarray (TMA) containing normal adjacent colon, the primary adenocarcinoma, normal and metastatic lymph nodes and liver. Hsa-miRNA-21, -93, and -103 upregulation together with hsa-miR-566 downregulation defined the CRC metastatic signature, while in situ hybridization data identified a lymphonodal invasion profile. We provided the first microRNAs signature that could discriminate between colorectal recurrences to lymph nodes and liver and between colorectal liver metastasis and primary hepatic tumor.
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http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0096670PLOS
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4055753PMC
October 2015

MicroRNA-135b promotes cancer progression by acting as a downstream effector of oncogenic pathways in colon cancer.

Authors:
Nicola Valeri Chiara Braconi Pierluigi Gasparini Claudio Murgia Andrea Lampis Viola Paulus-Hock Jonathan R Hart Lynn Ueno Sergei I Grivennikov Francesca Lovat Alessio Paone Luciano Cascione Khlea M Sumani Angelo Veronese Muller Fabbri Stefania Carasi Hansjuerg Alder Giovanni Lanza Roberta Gafa' Mary P Moyer Rachel A Ridgway Julia Cordero Gerard J Nuovo Wendy L Frankel Massimo Rugge Matteo Fassan Joanna Groden Peter K Vogt Michael Karin Owen J Sansom Carlo M Croce

Cancer Cell 2014 Apr;25(4):469-83

Human Cancer Genetics Program, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43212, USA. Electronic address:

MicroRNA deregulation is frequent in human colorectal cancers (CRCs), but little is known as to whether it represents a bystander event or actually drives tumor progression in vivo. We show that miR-135b overexpression is triggered in mice and humans by APC loss, PTEN/PI3K pathway deregulation, and SRC overexpression and promotes tumor transformation and progression. We show that miR-135b upregulation is common in sporadic and inflammatory bowel disease-associated human CRCs and correlates with tumor stage and poor clinical outcome. Inhibition of miR-135b in CRC mouse models reduces tumor growth by controlling genes involved in proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis. We identify miR-135b as a key downsteam effector of oncogenic pathways and a potential target for CRC treatment.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ccr.2014.03.006DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3995091PMC
April 2014

Long-range interaction and correlation between MYC enhancer and oncogenic long noncoding RNA CARLo-5.

Authors:
Taewan Kim Ri Cui Young-Jun Jeon Ji-Hoon Lee Ju Hee Lee Hosung Sim Jong Kook Park Paolo Fadda Esmerina Tili Hiroshi Nakanishi Man-Il Huh Sung-Hak Kim Ju Hwan Cho Bong Hwan Sung Yong Peng Tae Jin Lee Zhenghua Luo Hui-Lung Sun Huijun Wei Hansjuerg Alder Jeong Su Oh Kang Sup Shim Sang-Bong Ko Carlo M Croce

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014 Mar 4;111(11):4173-8. Epub 2014 Mar 4.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics and Department of Anesthesiology, Wexner Medical Center, and Department of Neurological Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.

The mechanism by which the 8q24 MYC enhancer region, including cancer-associated variant rs6983267, increases cancer risk is unknown due to the lack of protein-coding genes at 8q24.21. Here we report the identification of long noncoding RNAs named cancer-associated region long noncoding RNAs (CARLos) in the 8q24 region. The expression of one of the long noncoding RNAs, CARLo-5, is significantly correlated with the rs6983267 allele associated with increased cancer susceptibility. We also found the MYC enhancer region physically interacts with the active regulatory region of the CARLo-5 promoter, suggesting long-range interaction of MYC enhancer with the CARLo-5 promoter regulates CARLo-5 expression. Finally, we demonstrate that CARLo-5 has a function in cell-cycle regulation and tumor development. Overall, our data provide a key of the mystery of the 8q24 gene desert.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1400350111DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3964128PMC
March 2014

A differential microRNA profile distinguishes cholangiocarcinoma from pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Authors:
Amy L Collins Sylwia Wojcik James Liu Wendy L Frankel Hansjuerg Alder Lianbo Yu Thomas D Schmittgen Carlo M Croce Mark Bloomston

Ann Surg Oncol 2014 Jan 18;21(1):133-8. Epub 2013 Sep 18.

Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.

Background: Cancers of the bile duct and the pancreas are virtually indistinguishable using conventional histopathological and clinical characteristics. We sought to use microRNA (miR) profiling to differentiate these two cancers.

Methods: RNA was harvested from the tumors of patients undergoing curative resection for cholangiocarcinoma or pancreatic adenocarcinoma and compared with adjacent normal bile duct or pancreas, respectively. There were 31 pairs of cholangiocarcinoma with matched tumor and adjacent bile duct and nine pairs of pancreatic cancer with matched tumor and adjacent uninvolved pancreas that had sufficient quantity of RNA that were included in the final analysis. Differential microRNA expression profiles were determined using the nCounter System from nanoString Technologies (Seattle, WA,USA).

Results: A total of 41 differentially expressed miRs were identified in cholangiocarcinoma (25 overexpressed, 16 underexpressed) and 52 differentially expressed miRs were found in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (30 overexpressed, 22 underexpressed) relative to adjacent normal tissue. Of these two profiles, 15 miRs were commonly dysregulated between tumor types. Also, eight miRs were similarly overexpressed or underexpressed in cholangiocarcinoma and pancreatic adenocarcinoma, whereas the other seven miRs had inverse expression levels.

Conclusions: Cholangiocarcinoma has a distinct miR profile from pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Discrimination between these two tumor types may be possible with as few as seven miRs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1245/s10434-013-3240-yDOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4174364PMC
January 2014

MiR-34a/c-Dependent PDGFR-α/β Downregulation Inhibits Tumorigenesis and Enhances TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis in Lung Cancer.

Authors:
Michela Garofalo Young-Jun Jeon Gerard J Nuovo Justin Middleton Paola Secchiero Pooja Joshi Hansjuerg Alder Natalya Nazaryan Gianpiero Di Leva Giulia Romano Melissa Crawford Patrick Nana-Sinkam Carlo M Croce

PLoS One 2013 21;8(6):e67581. Epub 2013 Jun 21.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the world today. Although some advances in lung cancer therapy have been made, patient survival is still poor. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can act as oncogenes or tumor-suppressor genes in human malignancy. The miR-34 family consists of tumor-suppressive miRNAs, and its reduced expression has been reported in various cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we found that miR-34a and miR-34c target platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha and beta (PDGFR-α and PDGFR-β), cell surface tyrosine kinase receptors that induce proliferation, migration and invasion in cancer. MiR-34a and miR-34c were downregulated in lung tumors compared to normal tissues. Moreover, we identified an inverse correlation between PDGFR-α/β and miR-34a/c expression in lung tumor samples. Finally, miR-34a/c overexpression or downregulation of PDGFR-α/β by siRNAs, strongly augmented the response to TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) while reducing migratory and invasive capacity of NSCLC cells.
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http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0067581PLOS
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3689725PMC
October 2017

Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) activation induces microRNA-dependent reexpression of functional RARβ and tumor regression.

Authors:
Roberta Galli Alessio Paone Muller Fabbri Nicola Zanesi Federica Calore Luciano Cascione Mario Acunzo Antonella Stoppacciaro Andrea Tubaro Francesca Lovat Pierluigi Gasparini Paolo Fadda Hansjuerg Alder Stefano Volinia Antonio Filippini Elio Ziparo Anna Riccioli Carlo M Croce

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Jun 28;110(24):9812-7. Epub 2013 May 28.

Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic & Orthopaedic Sciences, DAHFMO, Unit of Histology and Medical Embryology, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, La Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.

Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) is a key effector of the innate immune system against viruses. Activation of TLR3 exerts an antitumoral effect through a mechanism of action still poorly understood. Here we show that TLR3 activation by polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid induces up-regulation of microRNA-29b, -29c, -148b, and -152 in tumor-derived cell lines and primary tumors. In turn, these microRNAs induce reexpression of epigenetically silenced genes by targeting DNA methyltransferases. In DU145 and TRAMP-C1 prostate and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, we demonstrated that polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid-mediated activation of TLR3 induces microRNAs targeting DNA methyltransferases, leading to demethylation and reexpression of the oncosuppressor retinoic acid receptor beta (RARβ). As a result, cancer cells become sensitive to retinoic acid and undergo apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. This study provides evidence of an antitumoral mechanism of action upon TLR3 activation and the biological rationale for a combined TLR3 agonist/retinoic acid treatment of prostate and breast cancer.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1304610110DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3683754PMC
June 2013

A microRNA signature defines chemoresistance in ovarian cancer through modulation of angiogenesis.

Authors:
Andrea Vecchione Barbara Belletti Francesca Lovat Stefano Volinia Gennaro Chiappetta Simona Giglio Maura Sonego Roberto Cirombella Elisa Concetta Onesti Patrizia Pellegrini Daniela Califano Sandro Pignata Simona Losito Vincenzo Canzonieri Roberto Sorio Hansjuerg Alder Dorothee Wernicke Antonella Stoppacciaro Gustavo Baldassarre Carlo M Croce

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Jun 22;110(24):9845-50. Epub 2013 May 22.

Division of Pathology and Medical Oncology, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University Sapienza, Santo Andrea Hospital, 00100 Rome, Italy.

Epithelial ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy; it is highly aggressive and causes almost 125,000 deaths yearly. Despite advances in detection and cytotoxic therapies, a low percentage of patients with advanced stage disease survive 5 y after the initial diagnosis. The high mortality of this disease is mainly caused by resistance to the available therapies. Here, we profiled microRNA (miR) expression in serous epithelial ovarian carcinomas to assess the possibility of a miR signature associated with chemoresistance. We analyzed tumor samples from 198 patients (86 patients as a training set and 112 patients as a validation set) for human miRs. A signature of 23 miRs associated with chemoresistance was generated by array analysis in the training set. Quantitative RT-PCR in the validation set confirmed that three miRs (miR-484, -642, and -217) were able to predict chemoresistance of these tumors. Additional analysis of miR-484 revealed that the sensitive phenotype is caused by a modulation of tumor vasculature through the regulation of the VEGFB and VEGFR2 pathways. We present compelling evidence that three miRs can classify the response to chemotherapy of ovarian cancer patients in a large multicenter cohort and that one of these three miRs is involved in the control of tumor angiogenesis, indicating an option in the treatment of these patients. Our results suggest, in fact, that blockage of VEGF through the use of an anti-VEGFA antibody may not be sufficient to improve survival in ovarian cancer patients unless VEGFB signaling is also blocked.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1305472110DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3683704PMC
June 2013

Estrogen mediated-activation of miR-191/425 cluster modulates tumorigenicity of breast cancer cells depending on estrogen receptor status.

Authors:
Gianpiero Di Leva Claudia Piovan Pierluigi Gasparini Apollinaire Ngankeu Cristian Taccioli Daniel Briskin Douglas G Cheung Brad Bolon Laura Anderlucci Hansjuerg Alder Gerard Nuovo Meng Li Marilena V Iorio Marco Galasso Ramasamy Santhanam Santhanam Ramasamy Guido Marcucci Danilo Perrotti Kimerly A Powell Anna Bratasz Michela Garofalo Kenneth P Nephew Carlo M Croce

PLoS Genet 2013 7;9(3):e1003311. Epub 2013 Mar 7.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), single-stranded non-coding RNAs, influence myriad biological processes that can contribute to cancer. Although tumor-suppressive and oncogenic functions have been characterized for some miRNAs, the majority of microRNAs have not been investigated for their ability to promote and modulate tumorigenesis. Here, we established that the miR-191/425 cluster is transcriptionally dependent on the host gene, DALRD3, and that the hormone 17β-estradiol (estrogen or E2) controls expression of both miR-191/425 and DALRD3. MiR-191/425 locus characterization revealed that the recruitment of estrogen receptor α (ERα) to the regulatory region of the miR-191/425-DALRD3 unit resulted in the accumulation of miR-191 and miR-425 and subsequent decrease in DALRD3 expression levels. We demonstrated that miR-191 protects ERα positive breast cancer cells from hormone starvation-induced apoptosis through the suppression of tumor-suppressor EGR1. Furthermore, enforced expression of the miR-191/425 cluster in aggressive breast cancer cells altered global gene expression profiles and enabled us to identify important tumor promoting genes, including SATB1, CCND2, and FSCN1, as targets of miR-191 and miR-425. Finally, in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that miR-191 and miR-425 reduced proliferation, impaired tumorigenesis and metastasis, and increased expression of epithelial markers in aggressive breast cancer cells. Our data provide compelling evidence for the transcriptional regulation of the miR-191/425 cluster and for its context-specific biological determinants in breast cancers. Importantly, we demonstrated that the miR-191/425 cluster, by reducing the expression of an extensive network of genes, has a fundamental impact on cancer initiation and progression of breast cancer cells.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003311DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3591271PMC
June 2013

Identification of sensitive serum microRNA biomarkers for radiation biodosimetry.

Authors:
Naduparambil Korah Jacob James V Cooley Tamara N Yee Jidhin Jacob Hansjuerg Alder Priyankara Wickramasinghe Kirsteen H Maclean Arnab Chakravarti

PLoS One 2013 25;8(2):e57603. Epub 2013 Feb 25.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.

Exposure to ionizing radiation through environmental, occupational or a nuclear reactor accident such as the recent Fukushima Daiichi incident often results in major consequences to human health. The injury caused by radiation can manifest as acute radiation syndromes within weeks in organs with proliferating cells such as hematopoietic and gastrointestinal systems. Cancers, fibrosis and degenerative diseases are also reported in organs with differentiated cells, months or years later. Studies conducted on atom bomb survivors, nuclear reactor workers and animal models have shown a direct correlation of these effects with the absorbed dose. Physical dosimeters and the available radio-responsive biologics in body fluids, whose responses are rather indirect, have limitations to accurately evaluate the extent of post exposure damage. We have used an amplification-free, hybridization based quantitative assay utilizing the nCounter multiplex platform developed by nanoString Technologies to compare the levels of over 600 miRNAs in serum from mice irradiated at a range of 1 to 12 Gy at 24 and 48 hr time points. Development of a novel normalization strategy using multiple spike-in oligonucleotides allowed accurate measurement of radiation dose and time dependent changes in serum miRNAs. The response of several evolutionarily conserved miRNAs abundant in serum, were found to be robust and sensitive in the dose range relevant for medical triage and in patients who receive total body radiation as preparative regimen for bone marrow transplantation. Notably, miRNA-150, abundant in lymphocytes, exhibited a dose and time dependent decrease in serum, which we propose as a sensitive marker indicative of lymphocyte depletion and bone marrow damage. Our study has identified several markers useful for evaluation of an individual's response by minimally invasive methods, relevant to triage in case of a radiation accident and evaluation of toxicity and response during and after therapeutic radiation.
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http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0057603PLOS
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3581493PMC
January 2014

Integrated microRNA and mRNA signatures associated with survival in triple negative breast cancer.

Authors:
Luciano Cascione Pierluigi Gasparini Francesca Lovat Stefania Carasi Alfredo Pulvirenti Alfredo Ferro Hansjuerg Alder Gang He Andrea Vecchione Carlo M Croce Charles L Shapiro Kay Huebner

PLoS One 2013 6;8(2):e55910. Epub 2013 Feb 6.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease at the molecular, pathologic and clinical levels. To stratify TNBCs, we determined microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles, as well as expression profiles of a cancer-focused mRNA panel, in tumor, adjacent non-tumor (normal) and lymph node metastatic lesion (mets) tissues, from 173 women with TNBCs; we linked specific miRNA signatures to patient survival and used miRNA/mRNA anti-correlations to identify clinically and genetically different TNBC subclasses. We also assessed miRNA signatures as potential regulators of TNBC subclass-specific gene expression networks defined by expression of canonical signal pathways.Tissue specific miRNAs and mRNAs were identified for normal vs tumor vs mets comparisons. miRNA signatures correlated with prognosis were identified and predicted anti-correlated targets within the mRNA profile were defined. Two miRNA signatures (miR-16, 155, 125b, 374a and miR-16, 125b, 374a, 374b, 421, 655, 497) predictive of overall survival (P = 0.05) and distant-disease free survival (P = 0.009), respectively, were identified for patients 50 yrs of age or younger. By multivariate analysis the risk signatures were independent predictors for overall survival and distant-disease free survival. mRNA expression profiling, using the cancer-focused mRNA panel, resulted in clustering of TNBCs into 4 molecular subclasses with different expression signatures anti-correlated with the prognostic miRNAs. Our findings suggest that miRNAs play a key role in triple negative breast cancer through their ability to regulate fundamental pathways such as: cellular growth and proliferation, cellular movement and migration, Extra Cellular Matrix degradation. The results define miRNA expression signatures that characterize and contribute to the phenotypic diversity of TNBC and its metastasis.
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http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055910PLOS
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3566108PMC
August 2013

Autocrine function of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 as a determinant of diet- and sex-specific differences in visceral adiposity.

Authors:
Rumana Yasmeen Barbara Reichert Jeffrey Deiuliis Fangping Yang Alisha Lynch Joseph Meyers Molly Sharlach Sangsu Shin Katharina S Volz Kari B Green Kichoon Lee Hansjuerg Alder Gregg Duester Rudolf Zechner Sanjay Rajagopalan Ouliana Ziouzenkova

Diabetes 2013 Jan 28;62(1):124-36. Epub 2012 Aug 28.

Department of Human Nutrition, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Mechanisms for sex- and depot-specific fat formation are unclear. We investigated the role of retinoic acid (RA) production by aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (Aldh1a1, -a2, and -a3), the major RA-producing enzymes, on sex-specific fat depot formation. Female Aldh1a1(-/-) mice, but not males, were resistant to high-fat (HF) diet-induced visceral adipose formation, whereas subcutaneous fat was reduced similarly in both groups. Sexual dimorphism in visceral fat (VF) was attributable to elevated adipose triglyceride lipase (Atgl) protein expression localized in clusters of multilocular uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1)-positive cells in female Aldh1a1(-/-) mice compared with males. Estrogen decreased Aldh1a3 expression, limiting conversion of retinaldehyde (Rald) to RA. Rald effectively induced Atgl levels via nongenomic mechanisms, demonstrating indirect regulation by estrogen. Experiments in transgenic mice expressing an RA receptor response element (RARE-lacZ) revealed HF diet-induced RARE activation in VF of females but not males. In humans, stromal cells isolated from VF of obese subjects also expressed higher levels of Aldh1 enzymes compared with lean subjects. Our data suggest that an HF diet mediates VF formation through a sex-specific autocrine Aldh1 switch, in which Rald-mediated lipolysis in Ucp1-positive visceral adipocytes is replaced by RA-mediated lipid accumulation. Our data suggest that Aldh1 is a potential target for sex-specific antiobesity therapy.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/db11-1779DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3526050PMC
January 2013

MicroRNAs bind to Toll-like receptors to induce prometastatic inflammatory response.

Authors:
Muller Fabbri Alessio Paone Federica Calore Roberta Galli Eugenio Gaudio Ramasamy Santhanam Francesca Lovat Paolo Fadda Charlene Mao Gerard J Nuovo Nicola Zanesi Melissa Crawford Gulcin H Ozer Dorothee Wernicke Hansjuerg Alder Michael A Caligiuri Patrick Nana-Sinkam Danilo Perrotti Carlo M Croce

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012 Jul 2;109(31):E2110-6. Epub 2012 Jul 2.

Department of Molecular Virology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs, 19-24 nucleotides in length, that regulate gene expression and are expressed aberrantly in most types of cancer. MiRNAs also have been detected in the blood of cancer patients and can serve as circulating biomarkers. It has been shown that secreted miRNAs within exosomes can be transferred from cell to cell and can regulate gene expression in the receiving cells by canonical binding to their target messenger RNAs. Here we show that tumor-secreted miR-21 and miR-29a also can function by another mechanism, by binding as ligands to receptors of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family, murine TLR7 and human TLR8, in immune cells, triggering a TLR-mediated prometastatic inflammatory response that ultimately may lead to tumor growth and metastasis. Thus, by acting as paracrine agonists of TLRs, secreted miRNAs are key regulators of the tumor microenvironment. This mechanism of action of miRNAs is implicated in tumor-immune system communication and is important in tumor growth and spread, thus representing a possible target for cancer treatment.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1209414109DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3412003PMC
July 2012

Dysregulation of miR-31 and miR-21 induced by zinc deficiency promotes esophageal cancer.

Authors:
Hansjuerg Alder Cristian Taccioli Hongping Chen Yubao Jiang Karl J Smalley Paolo Fadda Hatice G Ozer Kay Huebner John L Farber Carlo M Croce Louise Y Y Fong

Carcinogenesis 2012 Sep 10;33(9):1736-44. Epub 2012 Jun 10.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University Columbus, OH 43210, USA.

Zinc deficiency (ZD) increases the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In a rat model, chronic ZD induces an inflammatory gene signature that fuels ESCC development. microRNAs regulate gene expression and are aberrantly expressed in cancers. Here we investigated whether chronic ZD (23 weeks) also induces a protumorigenic microRNA signature. Using the nanoString technology, we evaluated microRNA profiles in ZD esophagus and six additional tissues (skin, lung, pancreas, liver, prostate and peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMC]). ZD caused overexpression of inflammation genes and altered microRNA expression across all tissues analyzed, predictive of disease development. Importantly, the inflammatory ZD esophagus had a distinct microRNA signature resembling human ESCC or tongue SCC miRNAomes with miR-31 and miR-21 as the top-up-regulated species. Circulating miR-31 was also the top-up-regulated species in PBMCs. In ZD esophagus and tongue, oncogenic miR-31 and miR-21 overexpression was accompanied by down-regulation of their respective tumor-suppressor targets PPP2R2A and PDCD4. Importantly, esophageal miR-31 and miR-21 levels were directly associated with the appearance of ESCC in ZD rats, as compared with their cancer-free Zn-sufficient or Zn-replenished counterparts. In situ hybridization analysis in rat and human tongue SCCs localized miR-31 to tumor cells and miR-21 to stromal cells. In regressing tongue SCCs from Zn-supplemented rats, miR-31 and miR-21 expression was concomitantly reduced, establishing their responsiveness to Zn therapy. A search for putative microRNA targets revealed a bias toward genes in inflammatory pathways. Our finding that ZD causes miR-31 and miR-21 dysregulation associated with inflammation provides insight into mechanisms whereby ZD promotes ESCC.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/carcin/bgs204DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3514898PMC
September 2012

MicroRNAs/TP53 feedback circuitry in glioblastoma multiforme.

Authors:
Sung-Suk Suh Ji Young Yoo Gerard J Nuovo Young-Jun Jeon Seokho Kim Tae Jin Lee Taewan Kim Arianna Bakàcs Hansjuerg Alder Balveen Kaur Rami I Aqeilan Flavia Pichiorri Carlo M Croce

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012 Apr 19;109(14):5316-21. Epub 2012 Mar 19.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are increasingly implicated in regulating cancer initiation and progression. In this study, two miRNAs, miR-25 and -32, are identified as p53-repressed miRNAs by p53-dependent negative regulation of their transcriptional regulators, E2F1 and MYC. However, miR-25 and -32 result in p53 accumulation by directly targeting Mdm2 and TSC1, which are negative regulators of p53 and the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) pathway, respectively, leading to inhibition of cellular proliferation through cell cycle arrest. Thus, there is a recurrent autoregulatory circuit involving expression of p53, E2F1, and MYC to regulate the expression of miR-25 and -32, which are miRNAs that, in turn, control p53 accumulation. Significantly, overexpression of transfected miR-25 and -32 in glioblastoma multiforme cells inhibited growth of the glioblastoma multiforme cells in mouse brain in vivo. The results define miR-25 and -32 as positive regulators of p53, underscoring their role in tumorigenesis in glioblastoma.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1202465109DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3325690PMC
April 2012

Tcl1 protein functions as an inhibitor of de novo DNA methylation in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Authors:
Alexey Palamarchuk Pearlly S Yan Nicola Zanesi Linan Wang Benjamin Rodrigues Mark Murphy Veronica Balatti Arianna Bottoni Natalya Nazaryan Hansjuerg Alder Laura Rassenti Thomas J Kipps Michael Freitas Carlo M Croce Yuri Pekarsky

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012 Feb 30;109(7):2555-60. Epub 2012 Jan 30.

Human Cancer Genetics Program and Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, Ohio State University School of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common human leukemia. Deregulation of the T-cell leukemia/lymphoma 1 oncogene (TCL1) in mouse B cells causes a CD5(+) leukemia similar to aggressive human CLL. To examine the mechanisms by which Tcl1 protein exerts its oncogenic activity in B cells, we performed proteomics experiments to identify its interacting partners. We found that Tcl1 physically interacts with de novo DNA methylthansferases Dnmt3A and Dnmt3B. We further investigated the effects of Tcl1 up-regulation on the enzymatic activity of Dnmt3A and found that Tcl1 overexpression drastically inhibits Dnmt3A function. In addition, B cells from TCL1 transgenic mice showed a significant decrease in DNA methylation compared with WT controls. Similarly, CLL samples with high Tcl1 expression showed a decrease in DNA methylation compared with CLL samples with low Tcl1 expression. Given the previous reports of inactivating mutations of DNMT3A in acute myelogenous leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, our results suggest that inhibition of de novo DNA methylation may be a common oncogenic mechanism in leukemogenesis.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1200003109DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3289317PMC
February 2012

EGFR and MET receptor tyrosine kinase-altered microRNA expression induces tumorigenesis and gefitinib resistance in lung cancers.

Authors:
Michela Garofalo Giulia Romano Gianpiero Di Leva Gerard Nuovo Young-Jun Jeon Apollinaire Ngankeu Jin Sun Francesca Lovat Hansjuerg Alder Gerolama Condorelli Jeffrey A Engelman Mayumi Ono Jin Kyung Rho Luciano Cascione Stefano Volinia Kenneth P Nephew Carlo M Croce

Nat Med 2011 Dec 11;18(1):74-82. Epub 2011 Dec 11.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.

The involvement of the MET oncogene in de novo and acquired resistance of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has previously been reported, but the precise mechanism by which MET overexpression contributes to TKI-resistant NSCLC remains unclear. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) negatively regulate gene expression, and their dysregulation has been implicated in tumorigenesis. To understand their role in TKI-resistant NSCLCs, we examined changes in miRNA that are mediated by tyrosine kinase receptors. Here we report that miR-30b, miR-30c, miR-221 and miR-222 are modulated by both epidermal growth factor (EGF) and MET receptors, whereas miR-103 and miR-203 are controlled only by MET. We showed that these miRNAs have important roles in gefitinib-induced apoptosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of NSCLC cells in vitro and in vivo by inhibiting the expression of the genes encoding BCL2-like 11 (BIM), apoptotic peptidase activating factor 1 (APAF-1), protein kinase C ɛ (PKC-ɛ) and sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (SRC). These findings suggest that modulation of specific miRNAs may provide a therapeutic approach for the treatment of NSCLCs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm.2577DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3467100PMC
December 2011

NOTCH1 mutations in CLL associated with trisomy 12.

Authors:
Veronica Balatti Arianna Bottoni Alexey Palamarchuk Hansjuerg Alder Laura Z Rassenti Thomas J Kipps Yuri Pekarsky Carlo M Croce

Blood 2012 Jan 15;119(2):329-31. Epub 2011 Nov 15.

Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.

Two recent studies reported whole-genome sequencing of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) samples and found repeated mutations in the XPO1 and NOTCH1 genes. XPO1 was found mutated in 2.4% of cases, while NOTCH1 was found mutated in 12.2% or 15.1% of CLL samples. Here we report the results of sequencing of XPO1 and NOTCH1 in 186 CLL cases. Our results confirmed frequency of XPO1 mutations. However, we found only 5 NOTCH1 mutations in 127 IGVH unmutated/ZAP70(+) CLL samples (4%), and one mutation was found in IGVH mutated/ZAP70(-) CLL for a total percentage of 1.5%. Because 4 of 6 mutated samples also showed trisomy 12, we sequenced NOTCH1 in an additional 77 cases with trisomy 12 CLLs, including 47 IGVH unmutated/ZAP70(+) cases. Importantly, we found 41.9% NOTCH1 mutation frequency in aggressive trisomy 12 CLL cases. Our data suggest that activation of NOTCH1 plays a critical role in IGVH unmutated/ZAP70(+) trisomy 12 CLL.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1182/blood-2011-10-386144DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257004PMC
January 2012