Surgery and radiation are the current standard treatments for cervical cancer. However, there is no effective therapy for metastatic or recurrent cases, necessitating the identification of therapeutic targets. In order to create preclinical models for screening potential therapeutic targets, we established 14 patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of cervical cancers using subrenal implantation methods. Serially passaged PDX tumors retained the histopathologic and genomic features of the original tumors. Among the 9 molecularly profiled cervical cancer patient samples, a HER2-amplified tumor was detected by array comparative genomic hybridization and targeted next-generation sequencing. We confirmed HER2 overexpression in the tumor and serially passaged PDX. Co-administration of trastuzumab and lapatinib in the HER2-overexpressed PDX significantly inhibited tumor growth compared to the control. Thus, we established histopathologically and genomically homologous PDX models of cervical cancer using subrenal implantation. Furthermore, we propose HER2 inhibitor-based therapy for HER2-amplified cervical cancer refractory to conventional therapy.

The reproductive system of chickens undergoes dynamic morphological and functional tissue remodeling during the molting period. The present study identified global gene expression profiles following oviductal tissue regression and regeneration in laying hens in which molting was induced by feeding high levels of zinc in the diet. During the molting and recrudescence processes, progressive morphological and physiological changes included regression and re-growth of reproductive organs and fluctuations in concentrations of testosterone, progesterone, estradiol and corticosterone in blood. The cDNA microarray analysis of oviductal tissues revealed the biological significance of gene expression-based modulation in oviductal tissue during its remodeling. Based on the gene expression profiles, expression patterns of selected genes such as, TF, ANGPTL3, p20K, PTN, AvBD11 and SERPINB3 exhibited similar patterns in expression with gradual decreases during regression of the oviduct and sequential increases during resurrection of the functional oviduct. Also, miR-1689* inhibited expression of Sp1, while miR-17-3p, miR-22* and miR-1764 inhibited expression of STAT1. Similarly, chicken miR-1562 and miR-138 reduced the expression of ANGPTL3 and p20K, respectively. These results suggest that these differentially regulated genes are closely correlated with the molecular mechanism(s) for development and tissue remodeling of the avian female reproductive tract, and that miRNA-mediated regulation of key genes likely contributes to remodeling of the avian reproductive tract by controlling expression of those genes post-transcriptionally. The discovered global gene profiles provide new molecular candidates responsible for regulating morphological and functional recrudescence of the avian reproductive tract, and provide novel insights into understanding the remodeling process at the genomic and epigenomic levels.

As serine and cysteine proteinase inhibitors, serpins, such as SERPINB5, cause ovarian, colorectal and pancreatic adenocarcinomas. We identified SERPINB11 as a novel estrogen-induced gene in chickens during oviduct development. The chicken is a unique animal model for research on human ovarian cancer, because it spontaneously develops epithelial cell-derived ovarian cancer as in women. Therefore, this study investigated the expression pattern, CpG methylation status, and miRNA regulation of the SERPINB11 gene in normal and cancerous ovaries from chickens. Our results indicate that SERPINB11 is most abundant in the glandular epithelium of endometrioid adenocarcinoma of cancerous, but not normal, ovaries of hens. In addition, bisulfite sequencing revealed that about 30% of -110 CpG sites are methylated in ovarian cancer cells, whereas -110 CpG sites are demethylated in normal ovarian cells. Next, we determined whether miR-1582 influences SERPINB11 expression via its 3'UTR and found that it does not directly target the 3'UTR of SERPINB11 mRNA. Therefore, it is unlikely that post-transcriptional regulation influences SERPINB11 expression in the chicken ovary. On the other hand, in human ovarian cancer cells such as OVCAR-3, SKOV-3 and PA-1 cells, immunoreactive SERPINB11 protein was predominant in the cytoplasm and had a similar expression pattern to that in chicken ovarian cancer cells. Collectively, these results suggest that SERPINB11 is a biomarker for chicken ovarian endometrioid carcinoma that could be used for diagnosis and monitoring effects of therapies for the disease in women.

Serine protease inhibitors (SERPINs) appear to be ubiquitously expressed in a variety of species and play important roles in pivotal physiological processes such as angiogenesis, immune responses, blood coagulation and fibronolysis. Of these, squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1 (SCCA1), also known as a SERPINB3, was first identified in squamous cell carcinoma tissue from the cervix of women. However, there is little known about the SERPINB3 expression in human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the functional role of SERPINB3 gene in human EOC using chickens, the most relevant animal model. In 136 chickens, EOC was found in 10 (7.4%). SERPINB3 mRNA was induced in cancerous, but not normal ovaries of chickens (P<0.01), and it was abundant only in the glandular epithelium of cancerous ovaries of chickens. Further, several microRNAs, specifically miR-101, miR-1668 and miR-1681 were discovered to influence SERPINB3 expression via its 3′-UTR which suggests that post-transcriptional regulation influences SERPINB3 expression in chickens. SERPINB3 protein was localized predominantly to the glandular epithelium in cancerous ovaries of chickens, and it was abundant in the nucleus of both chicken and human ovarian cancer cell lines. In 109 human patients with EOC, 15 (13.8%), 66 (60.6%) and 28 (25.7%) patients showed weak, moderate and strong expression of SERPINB3 protein, respectively. Strong expression of SERPINB3 protein was a prognostic factor for platinum resistance (adjusted OR; odds ratio, 5.94; 95% Confidence Limits, 1.21–29.15), and for poor progression-free survival (PFS; adjusted HR; hazard ratio, 2.07; 95% CI; confidence interval, 1.03–4.41). Therefore, SERPINB3 may play an important role in ovarian carcinogenesis and be a novel biomarker for predicting platinum resistance and a poor prognosis for survival in patients with EOC.

Egg formation and embryonic development occur as the yolk passes through the magnum, isthmus, and shell gland of the oviduct before oviposition in hens. The present study identified candidate genes associated with secretory function of the chicken oviduct after ovulation and contributing to egg formation and oviposition. Hens (n = 5 per time point) were euthanized to recover the reproductive tract when the egg was in the magnum (3 h after ovulation) and the shell gland (20 h after ovulation). Total RNA was extracted from each segment of the oviducts and subjected to Affymetrix chicken GeneChip analysis. Quantitative PCR and in situ hybridization analyses of selected genes confirmed the validity of the gene expression patterns detected using microarray analysis. In particular, ACP1, CALB1, CYP26A1, PENK, RCAN1 and SPP1 expression increased significantly in the shell gland between 3 h and 20 h postovulation, whereas only RCNA1 expression increased significantly in the magnum between 3 h and 20 h postovulation. Results of the high-throughput analysis revealed cell-specific and temporal changes in gene expression in the oviduct at 3 h and 20 h postovulation in laying hens provide novel insight into changes at the molecular and cellular levels of candidate genes related to formation of the egg and oviposition.