Disruptive TP53 mutations in tumor DNA are associated with reduced survival after surgical treatment of squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

MicroRNAs (mirs) are small non-coding RNA molecules (~22 nucleotides) that regulate post-transcriptional gene expression. Currently, there has not been a comprehensive study of their role in primary HNSCC. To determine the role of mirs in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), we screened for altered microRNA expression in HNSCC primary tissue and cell lines. We then further tested the functional impact of alterations of specific mirs. An initial screening of 4 primary HNSCC, 4 normal mucosal controls and 4 HNSCC cell lines were analyzed for mature microRNA expression by microarray. Significance was determined using Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM). Nine microRNAs were found by SAM to be up-regulated or down-regulated in tumor tissue including mir-21,let-7,18,29c,142-3p,155,146b(over-expressed) and 494(under-expressed). Mir-21 was validated by qRT-PCR. Functional validation by growth assays was performed, further validating mir-21. Transfection of mir-21 into JHU-011 and JHU-012 cell lines showed a 39% increase in cell growth at 72 hrs relative to controls (p<.05). Transfection of the inhibitor into JHU-O12 cell lines showed a 92% decrease in cell growth relative to controls at 72hrs (p<.05). In addition, flow cytometry analysis of JHU-012 cells 48 hrs after mir-21 inhibitor transfection showed a statistically significantly increase in cytochrome c release and increased apoptosis. These differentially expressed microRNAs may be of interest as potential novel oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in HNSCC. Mir-21 is a putative oncogenic microRNA in head and neck cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major health problem in industrialized countries. Although inflammation-linked carcinogenesis is a well accepted concept and is often observed within the gastrointestinal tract, the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Inflammation can indeed provide initiating and promoting stimuli and mediators, generating a tumour-prone microenvironment. Many murine models of sporadic and inflammation-related colon carcinogenesis have been developed in the last decade, including chemically induced CRC models, genetically engineered mouse models, and xenoplants. Among the chemically induced CRC models, the combination of a single hit of azoxymethane (AOM) with 1 week exposure to the inflammatory agent dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) in rodents has proven to dramatically shorten the latency time for induction of CRC and to rapidly recapitulate the aberrant crypt foci–adenoma–carcinoma sequence that occurs in human CRC. Because of its high reproducibility and potency, as well as the simple and affordable mode of application, the AOM/DSS has become an outstanding model for studying colon carcinogenesis and a powerful platform for chemopreventive intervention studies. In this article we highlight the histopathological and molecular features and describe the principal genetic and epigenetic alterations and inflammatory pathways involved in carcinogenesis in AOM/DSS–treated mice; we also present a general overview of recent experimental applications and preclinical testing of novel therapeutics in the AOM/DSS model.

DNA methylation has a role in mediating epigenetic silencing of CpG island genes in cancer and other diseases. Identification of all gene promoters methylated in cancer cells ''the cancer methylome'' would greatly advance our understanding of gene regulatory networks in tumorigenesis. We previously described a new method of identifying methylated tumor suppressor genes based on pharmacologic unmasking of the promoter region and detection of re-expression on microarray analysis. In this study, we modified and greatly improved the selection of candidates based on new promoter structure algorithm and microarray data generated from 20 cancer cell lines of 5 major cancer types. We identified a set of 200 candidate genes that cluster throughout the genome of which 25 were previously reported as harboring cancer-specific promoter methylation. The remaining 175 genes were tested for promoter methylation by bisulfite sequencing or methylation-specific PCR (MSP). Eighty-two of 175 (47%) genes were found to be methylated in cell lines, and 53 of these 82 genes (65%) were methylated in primary tumor tissues. From these 53 genes, cancer-specific methylation was identified in 28 genes (28 of 53; 53%). Furthermore, we tested 8 of the 28 newly identified cancer-specific methylated genes with quantitative MSP in a panel of 300 primary tumors representing 13 types of cancer. We found cancer-specific methylation of at least one gene with high frequency in all cancer types. Identification of a large number of genes with cancer-specific methylation provides new targets for diagnostic and therapeutic intervention, and opens fertile avenues for basic research in tumor biology.

Mitochondrial genomic mutations are found in a variety of human cancers; however, the frequency of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in coding regions remains poorly defined, and the functional effects of mitochondrial mutations found in primary human cancers are not well described. Using MitoChip, we sequenced the whole mitochondrial genome in 83 head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Forty-one of 83 (49%) tumors contained mtDNA mutations. Mutations occurred within noncoding (D-loop) and coding regions. A nonrandom distribution of mutations was found throughout the mitochondrial enzyme complex components. Sequencing of margins with dysplasia demonstrated an identical nonconservative mitochondrial mutation (A76T in ND4L) as the tumor, suggesting a role of mtDNA mutation in tumor progression. Analysis of p53 status showed that mtDNA mutations correlated positively with p53 mutations (P < 0.002). To characterize biological function of the mtDNA mutations, we cloned NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) mutants based on primary tumor mutations. Expression of the nuclear-transcribed, mitochondrial-targeted ND2 mutants resulted in increased anchorage-dependent and -independent growth, which was accompanied by increased reactive oxygen species production and an aerobic glycolytic metabolic phenotype with hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1␣ induction that is reversible by ascorbate. Cancerspecific mitochondrial mutations may contribute to development of a malignant phenotype by direct genotoxic effects from increased reactive oxygen species production as well as induction of aerobic glycolysis and growth promotion.p53 ͉ reactive oxygen species ͉ MitoChip

Although HPV16 and mutated p53 may coexist in a subset of HNSCCs, HPV16 and disruptive p53 mutations seem to be nonoverlapping events. A less calamitous genetic profile, including the absence of disruptive p53 mutations, may underlie the emerging clinical profile of HPV16-positive HNSCC such as improved patient outcome.

Purpose:In an effort to additionally determine the global patterns of CpG island hypermethylation in sporadic breast cancer, we searched for aberrant promoter methylation at 10 gene loci in 54 primary breast cancer and 10 breast benign lesions.Experimental Design: Genomic DNA sodium bisulfate converted from benign and malignant tissues was used as template in methyl-specific PCR for BRCA1, p16, ESR1, GSTP1, TR␤1, RAR␤2, HIC1, APC, CCND2, and CDH1 genes.Results: The majority of the breast cancer (85%) showed aberrant methylation in at least 1 of the loci tested with half of them displaying 3 or more methylated genes.The highest frequency of aberrant promoter methylation was found for HIC1 (48%) followed by ESR1 (46%), and CDH1 (39%). Similar methylation frequencies were detected for breast benign lesions with the exception of the CDH1 gene (P ‫؍‬ 0.02). The analysis of methylation distribution indicates a statistically significant association between methylation of the ESR1 promoter, and methylation at CDH1, TR␤1, GSTP1, and CCND2 loci (P < 0.03). Methylated status of the BRCA1 promoter was inversely correlated with methylation at the RAR␤2 locus (P < 0.03).Conclusions: Our results suggest a nonrandom distribution for promoter hypermethylation in sporadic breast cancer, with tumor subsets characterized by aberrant methylation of specific cancer-related genes. These breast cancer subgroups may represent separate biological entities with potential differences in sensitivity to therapy, occurrence of metastasis, and overall prognosis.

CpG island hypermethylation is emerging as one of the main mechanisms for inactivation of cancer related genes in breast tumorigenesis. We examined the changes in methylation patterns during ductal breast cancer progression from atypical ductal hyperplasia to in situ and invasive carcinoma. Paired samples of synchronous pre invasive lesions (Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia and/or Ductal Carcinoma in situ) and invasive ductal breast carcinoma from 31 patients, together with isolated lesions from additional 24 patients were studied. Overall, 95 pathological samples and 20 normal breast tissues were analyzed by Quantitative Methylation Specific PCR (QMSP) on a panel of 9 gene promoters (ESR1, APC, CDH1, CTNNB1, GSTPI, THBS1, MGMT, TMS1 and TIMP3). APC, CDH1, and CTNNB1 promoter regions showed an increase in frequency of methylation and increased methylation levels in pathological samples when compared with normal breast tissues. The analysis of the syncronous paired breast lesions demonstrated also an increase in methylation frequency and level for APC, CDH1, and CTNNB1 genes during progression. By establishing a cutoff value, we were able to distinguish among -invasive and invasive lesions. Synchronous methylation of APC, CDH1, and CTNNB1 was associated only with invasive lesions, whereas simultaneous methylation of APC and CDH1 or APC and CTNNB1 were more frequent in ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive carcinoma. Our data point to direct involvement of APC, CDH1, and CTNNB1 CpG island promoter methylation in the early stages of breast cancer progression, and suggest that these molecular alterations might be involved in the transition to an invasive phenotype.