The highly aggressive character of melanoma makes it an excellent model for probing the mechanisms underlying metastasis, which remains one of the most difficult challenges in treating cancer. We find that miR-182, member of a miRNA cluster in a chromosomal locus (7q31-34) frequently amplified in melanoma, is commonly upregulated in human melanoma cell lines and tissue samples; this up-regulation correlates with gene copy number in a subset of melanoma cell lines. Moreover, miR-182 ectopic expression stimulates migration of melanoma cells in vitro and their metastatic potential in vivo, whereas miR-182 down-regulation impedes invasion and triggers apoptosis. We further show that miR-182 over-expression promotes migration and survival by directly repressing microphthalmiaassociated transcription factor-M and FOXO3, whereas enhanced expression of either microphthalmia-associated transcription factor-M or FOXO3 blocks miR-182's proinvasive effects. In human tissues, expression of miR-182 increases with progression from primary to metastatic melanoma and inversely correlates with FOXO3 and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor levels. Our data provide a mechanism for invasion and survival in melanoma that could prove applicable to metastasis of other cancers and suggest that miRNA silencing may be a worthwhile therapeutic strategy.microRNA ͉ cancer ͉ invasion M etastasis is a central problem in cancer, yet the mechanisms underlying a cell's ability to extravasate from the primary tumor, circulate, and invade new tissue remain poorly understood. We reasoned that melanoma, one of the most notoriously invasive neoplasia, would provide an excellent model for investigating the alterations that contribute to metastasis. Melanomas are characterized by certain well-defined genetic alterations (reviewed in ref. 1) as well as frequent chromosomal aberrations associated with tumor progression (2). Recent work has also shown that melanomas display genomic alterations involving numerous microRNA genes (3). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous noncoding small RNAs that interfere with the translation of coding messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in a sequence-specific manner (4), often to regulate processes involved in development or tissue homeostasis (5-7). Intriguingly, dysregulation of miRNAs has been found to contribute to neoplasia (8). We decided to investigate the possible contributions of miRNA dysregulation to melanoma extravasation, migration, and invasion.We compared the expression of miRNAs in a large cohort of melanoma cell lines with that of normal melanocytes. We found that miR-182, flanked by the c-MET and BRAF oncogenes in the 7q31-34 region that is frequently amplified in melanoma (9, 10), is highly expressed in metastatic melanoma cell lines and tumors, often in association with increased copy number. Moreover, we demonstrate that antisense-mediated repression of miR-182 inhibited invasion and induced melanoma cell death, whereas ectopic miR-182 up-regulation enhanced the oncogenic activity of melanoma cells in vitro ...

Although remission rates for metastatic melanoma are generally very poor, some patients can survive for prolonged periods following metastasis. We used gene expression profiling, mitotic index (MI), and quantification of tumor infiltrating leukocytes (TILs) and CD3؉ cells in metastatic lesions to search for a molecular basis for this observation and to develop improved methods for predicting patient survival. We identified a group of 266 genes associated with postrecurrence survival. Genes positively associated with survival were predominantly immune response related (e.g., ICOS, CD3d, ZAP70, TRAT1, TARP, GZMK, LCK, CD2, CXCL13, CCL19, CCR7, VCAM1) while genes negatively associated with survival were cell proliferation related (e.g., PDE4D, CDK2, GREF1, NUSAP1, SPC24). Furthermore, any of the 4 parameters (prevalidated gene expression signature, TILs, CD3, and in particular MI) improved the ability of Tumor, Node, Metastasis (TNM) staging to predict postrecurrence survival; MI was the most significant contributor (HR ‫؍‬ 2.13, P ‫؍‬ 0.0008). An immune response gene expression signature and presence of TILs and CD3؉ cells signify immune surveillance as a mechanism for prolonged survival in these patients and indicate improved patient subcategorization beyond current TNM staging.gene expression analysis ͉ immune response ͉ TNM staging ͉ tumor infiltrating leukocytes

Purpose To identify a melanoma miRNA expression signature that is predictive of outcome and then evaluate its potential to improve risk stratification when added to the standard of care staging criteria. Experimental design Total RNA was extracted from 59 formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) melanoma metastases and hybridized to miRNA arrays containing 911 probes. We then correlated miRNA expression with post-recurrence survival and other clinicopathological criteria. Results We identified a signature of 18 miRNAs whose overexpression was significantly correlated with longer survival, defined as more than 18 months post-recurrence survival. Subsequent cross-validation showed that a small subset of these miRNAs can predict post-recurrence survival in metastatic melanoma with an estimated accuracy of 80.2% [95% CI: 79.8%, 80.6%]. In contrast to standard of care staging criteria, this six-miRNA signature significantly stratified stage III patients into “better” and “worse” prognostic categories, and a multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed the signature to be an independent predictor of survival. Furthermore, we demonstrated that most miRNAs from the signature also showed differential expression between patients with “better” and “worse prognosis” in the corresponding paired primary melanoma. Conclusion MiRNA signatures have potential as clinically relevant biomarkers of prognosis in metastatic melanoma. Our data suggest that molecularly-based models of risk assessment can improve the standard staging criteria and support the incorporation of miRNAs into such models.

Review of gene expression data revealed concordant changes in genes regulating retinoid synthesis, IGF metabolism, TGF-beta signaling and extracellular matrix formation. Gene expression studies provide clues to the relevant pathways of leiomyoma development.

Object Optimal treatment of primary and recurrent craniopharyngiomas remains controversial. Radical resection and limited resection plus radiation therapy yield similar rates of disease control and overall survival. The data are much less clear for recurrent tumors. The authors report their experience with radical resection of both primary and recurrent craniopharyngiomas in children and compare the outcomes between the 2 groups. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed in 86 children younger than 21 years of age who underwent a total of 103 operations for craniopharyngioma between 1986 and 2008; these were performed by the senior author. The goal was resection with curative intent in all patients. Two patients were lost to follow-up and were excluded from analysis. The mean age at the time of surgery was 9.6 years, and the mean follow-up was 9.0 years. Results All 57 children with primary tumors underwent gross-total resection (GTR). A GTR was achieved in significantly fewer children with recurrent tumors (18 [62%] of 29). There were 3 perioperative deaths (3%). Tumor recurred after GTR in 14 (20%) of 71 patients. Overall survival and progression-free survival were significantly better in patients with primary tumors at time of presentation to the authors' institution. There were no significant differences in the neurological, endocrinological, visual, or functional outcomes between patients with primary and those with recurrent tumors. Factors negatively affecting overall survival and progression-free survival include subtotal resection (recurrent tumors only), tumor size ≥ 5 cm, or presence of hydrocephalus or a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Prior radiation therapy and increasing tumor size were both risk factors for incomplete resection at reoperation. Conclusions In the hands of surgeons with experience with craniopharyngiomas, the authors believe that radical resection at presentation offers the best chance of disease control and potential cure with acceptable morbidity. While GTR does not preclude recurrence and is more difficult to achieve in recurrent tumors, especially large and previously irradiated tumors, radical resection is still possible in patients with recurrent craniopharyngiomas with morbidity similar to that of primary tumors.

Objective We examined gene expression profiles in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) in comparison with non-OA controls to evaluate whether gene expression profiles could serve as biomarkers of symptomatic knee OA. We also determined whether candidate genomic biomarkers (PBL expression of inflammatory genes) predict increased risk of disease progression in subjects with symptomatic radiographic knee OA Methods Three independent cohorts of patients with knee OA and non-OA controls were studied: two cohorts (“learning cohort” and “validation cohort”) recruited at New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases (NYUHJD) and one (“validation cohort”) at Duke University Medical Center. PBL gene expression was assessed using Affymetrix microarray and confirmed by QPCR. Radiographic progression at 2 years was assessed in 86 patients Results We identified 173 genes significantly up- or down-regulated (≥1.5-fold change) in OA PBL, at a False Discovery Rate (FDR) of 5%. Cluster analysis revealed two distinct subclasses among these OA patients: those with increased expression (≥2-fold) of IL-1β compared to controls, and those with expression comparable to controls. Overexpression of IL-1β in OA subclasses was validated using QPCR (p<0.0001) in all three cohorts. Patients with the inflammatory “IL-1β signature” had higher pain scores, decreased function and were at higher risk for radiographic progression. Conclusion PBLs from patients with symptomatic knee OA display a characteristic transcriptome profile. Moreover, increased expression of IL-1β identifies a subset of OA patients with increased pain who are at higher risk for radiographic progression.

Outcome for children with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who relapse is poor. To gain insight into the mechanisms of relapse, we analyzed gene-expression profiles in 35 matched diagnosis/relapse pairs as well as 60 uniformly treated children at relapse using the Affymetrix platform. Matched-pair analyses revealed significant differences in the expression of genes involved in cell-cycle regulation, DNA repair, and apoptosis between diagnostic and earlyrelapse samples. Many of these pathways have been implicated in tumorigenesis previously and are attractive targets for intervention strategies. In contrast, no common pattern of changes was observed among late-relapse pairs. Earlyrelapse samples were more likely to be similar to their respective diagnostic sample while we noted greater divergence in gene

Early pregnancy and multiparity are known to reduce the risk of women to develop breast cancer at menopause. The knowledge that the differentiation of the breast induced by the hormones of pregnancy plays a major role in this protection, the present work was performed with the purpose of identifying what differentiation-associated molecular changes persist in the breast until menopause. Core needle biopsies (CNB) obtained from the breast of 42 nulliparous (NP) and 71 parous (P) postmenopausal women were analyzed in morphology, immunocytochemistry and gene expression. Whereas in the NP breast nuclei of epithelial cells were large and euchromatic, in the P breast they were small and hypercromatic, showing strong methylation of istone 3 at lysine 9 and 27. Transcriptomic analysis performed using Affymetrix HG_U133 oligonucleotide arrays revealed that in CNB of the P breast there were 267 upregulated probesets that comprised genes controlling chromatin organization, transcription regulation, splicing machinery, mRNA processing, and noncoding elements including XIST. We concluded that the differentiation process induced by pregnancy is centered in chromatin remodeling and in the mRNA processing reactome, both of which emerge as important regulatory pathways. These are indicative of a safeguard step that maintains the fidelity of the transcription process, becoming the ultimate mechanism mediating the protection of the breast conferred by full term pregnancy.