Barrett’s esophagus, is thought to progress to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) through a step-wise progression with loss of CDKN2A followed by p53 inactivation and aneuploidy. Here, we present whole exome sequencing from 25 pairs of EAC and Barrett’s and five patients whose Barrett’s and tumor were extensively sampled. Our analysis revealed that oncogene amplification typically occurred as a late event and that TP53 mutations often occur early in Barrett’s progression, including in non-dysplastic epithelium. Reanalysis of additional EAC exome data revealed that the majority (62.5%) of EACs emerged following genome doubling and that tumors with genomic doubling had different patterns of genomic alterations with more frequent oncogenic amplifications and less frequent inactivation of tumor suppressors, including CDKN2A. These data suggest that many EACs emerge not through gradual accumulation of tumor suppressor alterations but rather through a more direct path whereby a TP53-mutant cell undergoes genome doubling, followed by acquisition of oncogenic amplifications.

The lung epithelium is derived from the endodermal germ layer, which undergoes a complex series of endoderm–mesoderm-mediated signaling events to generate the final arborized network of conducting airways (bronchi, bronchioles) and gas-exchanging units (alveoli). These stages include endoderm induction, anterior–posterior and dorsal–ventral patterning, lung specification, lung budding, branching morphogenesis, and, finally, maturation. Here we describe a protocol that recapitulates several of these milestones in order to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into ventral–anterior foregut spheroids and further into two distinct types of organoids: human lung organoids and bud tip progenitor organoids. The resulting human lung organoids possess cell types and structures that resemble the bronchi/bronchioles of the developing human airway surrounded by lung mesenchyme and cells expressing alveolar-cell markers. The bud tip progenitor organoids possess a population of highly proliferative multipotent cells with in vitro multilineage differentiation potential and in vivo engraftment potential. Human lung organoids can be generated from hPSCs in 50–85 d, and bud tip progenitor organoids can be generated in 22 d. The two hPSC-derived models presented here have been benchmarked with human fetal tissue and found to be representative of human fetal-like tissue. The bud tip progenitor organoids are thus ideal for exploring epithelial fate decisions, while the human lung organoids can be used to model epithelial–mesenchymal cross-talk during human lung development. In addition to their applications in developmental biology, human lung organoids and bud tip progenitor organoids may be implemented in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and pharmaceutical safety and efficacy testing.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, thus understanding the molecular basis for EAC invasion and metastasis is critical. Here we report that SPP1/OPN was highly overexpressed in primary EACs and intracellularly localized to tumor cells. We further demonstrate that all known OPN isoforms (OPNa, b, c, 4 and 5) were frequently co-overexpressed in primary EACs. Distinct pro-invasion and dissemination phenotypes of isoform-specific OPNb and OPNc stable transfectants were observed. Expression of OPNb significantly enhanced cell migration and adhesion to laminin. In contrast, OPNc cells showed significantly decreased cell migration yet increased cell detachment. Enhanced invasion, both in vitro and in vivo, was observed for OPNb- but not OPNc-expressing cells. Inhibition of RGD integrins, one family of OPN receptors, attenuated OPNb cell migration, abrogated OPNb cell adhesion and significantly reduced OPNb cell clonogenic survival but did not affect OPNc phenotypes, indicating that OPNb but not OPNc acts through integrin-dependent signaling. Differential expression of vimentin, E-cadherin and β-catenin in OPN stable cells may account for the variation in cell adhesion and detachment between these isoforms. We conclude that while all OPN isoforms are frequently co-overexpressed in primary EACs, isoforms OPNb and OPNc enhance invasion and dissemination through collective yet distinct mechanisms.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Barrett's esophagus (BE) can progress to dysplasia and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), accompanied by mutations in TP53 that increase the stability of its product, p53. We analyzed BE tissues for messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that associate with BE progression and identified one that affects the stabilization of p53. METHODS:We obtained 54 BE samples collected from patients with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), from 1992 through 2015, and performed RNA sequence analyses, including isoform-specific analyses. We performed reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses of 166 samples and immunohistochemical analyses of tissue microarrays that contained BE tissues from 100 patients with HGD or EAC and normal esophageal squamous mucosa (controls). Proteins were expressed from transfected plasmids or knocked down with small interfering RNAs in BE cells and analyzed by immunoblots and in immunoprecipitation and ubiquitin ligase assays. Athymic nude mice bearing EAC xenograft tumors (grown from OE-33 cells) were given intraperitoneal injections of simvastatin; tumor growth was monitored and tumors were collected and analyzed by immunoblotting for levels of RNF128, p53, and acetylated p53.

Purpose The microRNA-34b/c (miR-34b/c) has been considered a tumor suppressor in different tumor types and it is a known transcriptional target of the tumor suppressor gene TP53. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the clinical implications of miR-34b/c methylation in early stage lung adenocarcinoma (AC) patients and to determine the functional role of miR-34b/c re-expression in lung AC cell lines. Experimental Design Aberrant methylation and expression of miR-34b/c were assessed in 15 lung AC cell lines and a cohort of 140 early stage lung AC. Lung AC cell lines were transfected with miR-34b/c and the effects upon cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis were investigated. Results Aberrant methylation of miR-34b/c was detected in 6 (40%) of 15 lung AC cell lines and 64 out of 140 (46%) primary lung adenocarcinomas. Expression of miR-34b/c was significantly reduced in all methylated cell lines and primary tumors, especially in those harboring a TP53 mutation. Patients with high levels of miR-34b/c methylation had significantly shorter disease-free survival and overall survival as compared to patients with unmethylated miR-34b/c or low level of miR-34b/c methylation. Ectopic expression of miR-34b/c in lung AC cell lines decreased cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Conclusions Epigenetic inactivation of miR-34b/c by DNA methylation has independent prognostic value in early stage lung AC patients with surgically resected tumors. Re-expression of miR-34b/c leads to a less aggressive phenotype in lung AC cell lines.

Background:Both the number and size of tumours in NF1 patients increase in response to the rise in steroid hormones seen at puberty and during pregnancy. The size of tumours decreases after delivery, suggesting that hormone-targeting therapy might provide a viable new NF1 treatment approach. Our earlier studies demonstrated that human NF1 tumour cell lines either went through apoptosis or ceased growth in the presence of 2-methoxyoestradiol (2ME2), a naturally occurring anticancer metabolite of 17-β estradiol. Previous reports of treatment with sulfamoylated steroidal and non-steroidal derivatives of 2ME2 showed promising reductions in tumour burden in hormone-responsive cancers other than NF1. Here we present the first studies indicating that 2ME2 derivatives could also provide an avenue for treating NF1, for which few treatment options are available.Methods:STX3451, (2-(3-Bromo-4,5-dimethoxybenzyl)-7-methoxy-6-sulfamoyloxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline), a non-steroidal sulphamate analogue of 2ME2, was tested in dose-dependent studies of malignant and benign NF1 human tumour cell lines and cell lines with variable controlled neurofibromin expression. The mechanisms of action of STX3451 were also analysed.Results:We found that STX3451-induced apoptosis in human malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (MPNST) cell lines, even in the presence of elevated oestrogen and progesterone. It inhibits both PI3 kinase and mTOR signalling pathways. It disrupts actin- and microtubule-based cytoskeletal structures in cell lines derived from human MPNSTs and in cells derived from benign plexiform neurofibromas. STX3451 selectively kills MPNST-derived cells, but also halts growth of other tumour-derived NF1 cell lines.Conclusion:STX3451 provides a new approach for inducing cell death and lowering tumour burden in NF1 and other hormone-responsive cancers with limited treatment options.

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Data and materials availability: Both normalized and raw expression data for "Expression profile comparison of African American and American Caucasian esophageal squamous epithelium from subjects with and without Barrett's Esophagus" were deposited into the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO series GSE77563).