Le "Transforming Growth Factor" (TGF)-a comme antigène tumoral potentiel pour le cancer du rein

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

A influência do exercício físico de moderada intensidade e da suplementação com ácido lipóico sobre a função cardíaca, a bioquímica sanguínea e a angiogênese em miocárdio de Rattus norvegicus

Atualmente o exercício físico vem sendo utilizado com intuito de redução de massa corporal, em especial de massa gorda. Entretanto cresce o número de indivíduos que, associado ao exercício físico, utiliza substâncias com característica lipolítica, como é o caso do ácido lipóico. Tanto o exercício físico, quanto a utilização de suplementação com ácido lipóico são responsáveis por remodelagem vascular (devido à interferência no processo de angiogênese) e modificação de fatores de risco cardiovascular (como hipertensão e lipídeos sanguíneos elevados). Desta forma, o presente estudo buscou analisar a influência do exercício físico de moderada intensidade e da suplementação com ácido lipóico sobre a frequência cardíaca, pressão arterial, bioquímica sanguínea e angiogênese no músculo cardíaco e no músculo esquelético de ratos Wistar. Foram utilizados 80 ratos Wistar, divididos em quatro grupos: controle, ácido lipóico (LA), exercício (E) e associação (ELA). Os animais foram submetidos a um programa de adaptação e treinamento de natação (9 e 17 semanas) com um aumento progressivo no tempo natação (até 1h/dia) e intensidade de carga (até 5% do peso corporal). Os animais receberam ácido lipóico 5 vezes por semana (da 10ª à 17ª semana), 60 mg / Kg / dia. O exercício crônico de intensidade moderada promoveu bradicardia, mas sua associação com a suplementação de ácido lipóico interrompeu este benefício. A suplementação com LA mostrou-se eficaz em melhorar o perfil lipídico, mas associado ao exercício não apresentou redução. A angiogênese foi aumentada no coração e gastrocnêmio dos animais exercitados, a largura da fibra de E, LA e ELA foi reduzida no coração, enquanto no gastrocnêmio apresentaram um aumento na largura das fibras apenas por LA e ELA. A espessura do ventrículo esquerdo diminuiu no grupo E, enquanto que a área da câmara do ventrículo esquerdo, e os níveis de VEGF circulantes, não mostraram nenhuma diferença significativa. Foi observada uma interação negativa entre o exercício físico e a suplementação com ácido lipóico (supressão da bradicardia do exercício de um lado, e a perda da adaptação do perfil lipídico induzido por suplementação de AL por outro lado). Este estudo mostra pela primeira vez, a interação entre o exercício crônico de intensidade moderada e a suplementação com ácido lipóico sobre a remodelação cardíaca e angiogênese, confirmando os benefícios da prática física em melhorar o fornecimento de sangue do músculo, que não foi afetado pelo consumo de ácido lipóico. O ácido lipóico em animais não treinados não foi capaz de estimular a 9 angiogênese cardíaca e ao contrário mostram uma tendência para a redução dos novos vasos.

Crecimiento tumoral agresivo coincidente con el uso de distracción osteogénica mandibular: presentación de un caso

Propósito: Comunicar un caso inusual de crecimiento tumoral agresivo en relación con el uso de distracción mandibular. La situación clínica presentada sugiere que los factores bioquímicos liberados durante la distracción ósea pueden interferir el desarrollo de los tumores malignos activos, provocando una rápida progresión. Material y métodos: Presentamos el caso de una paciente con antecedentes de carcinoma basocelular esclerosante recurrente en el área labiomentoniana izquierda. A pesar de los múltiples intentos de extirpar completamente el tumor y el estrecho seguimiento realizado, 18 años después de realizar el diagnóstico inicial las biopsias tomadas mostraron infiltración tumoral de la mandíbula. Con el fin de minimizar la cantidad de hueso y partes blandas necesarias para la reconstrucción, se decidió realizar una distracción mandibular bilateral antes de realizar la resección mandibular, aprovechando así el crecimiento muy lento que tenía el tumor. Al cabo de 5 semanas de iniciar la distracción se objetivó una gran masa tumoral de nueva aparición al nivel del suelo de la boca anterior, que posteriormente se confirmó que tenía el mismo diagnóstico histopatológico que el tumor inicial. Resultados: Debido a la inesperada ocurrencia de la complicación presentada tuvimos que abandonar la distracción, y decidimos realizar una resección de espesor total del tercio facial inferior y la reconstrucción del defecto con un injerto libre vascularizado de peroné y un colgajo miocutáneo pectoral. Conclusión: La distracción osteogénica puede complicar el curso de un proceso neoplásico local y su uso debe ser valorado como posible contraindicación en pacientes con procesos tumorales activos.

Papel de C3G y p38α en la regulación de la migración, invasión tumoral en carcinoma de colon. Función de fibulina 3

Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents the third most common cancer type and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the western world. CRC results from the accumulation of both acquired genetic and epigenetic changes that transform normal glandular epithelium into adenocarcinoma (Lao and Grady 2011), affecting several genes such as Apc, K-ras, dcc/Smad4 and p53 or DNA mismatch repair genes (Pancione et al. 2012). p38 MAPKs are a subfamily of Serine-Threonine kinases activated by different stimuli that control fundamental cellular processes such as cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis (Dhillon et al. 2007, Nebreda and Porras 2000, Wagner and Nebreda 2009). There are four p38 MAPKs isoforms in mammals: α, β, δ and γ. p38α MAPK is ubiquitously expressed and is the most abundant isoform (Cuenda and Rousseau 2007). p38α is involved in the regulation of many cellular functions, among them, cell migration and invasion. In cancer, it can act as either a promoter or a suppressor of tumor growth, playing different roles during tumor progression (del Barco Barrantes and Nebreda 2012). C3G is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) mainly for the Ras family members: Rap1 (Gotoh et al. 1995) and R-Ras (Gotoh et al. 1997), but it can also act through GEF independent mechanisms. C3G regulates several cellular functions such as cell death, adhesion, migration and invasion (Radha et al. 2011). In collaboration with Dr. Carmen Guerrero’s group (Centro del Investigación del Cáncer de Salamanca), our group has found a new functional relationship between C3G and p38α MAPK involved in the regulation of cell death in MEFs (Gutierrez-Uzquiza et al. 2010) and in the chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) K562 cell line (Maia et al. 2009). Moreover, C3G and p38α act through a common regulatory pathway to control cell adhesion in K562 cells regulating focal adhesion proteins (Maia et al. 2013)...

Investigating the role and function of Tribbles 2 (TRIB2) in drug resistance within cancer

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ciências Biomédicas, Departamento de Ciências Biomédicas e Medicina, Universidade do Algarve, 2014

Utilização de murganhos no estudo de novos alvos da terapia oncológica anti-angiogénica

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Veterinárias na Especialidade de Ciências Biológicas e Biomédicas

Efecto de la terapia autóloga con linfocitos T CD8+ estimulados con antígeno tumoral total E IL-21 en caninos con tumor venéreo transmisible

La Organización Mundial de la Salud declaro que el cáncer es una de las principales causas de muerte en el mundo, para el 2012 se presentó un total de 8.2 millones de defunciones. A pesar de la gran cantidad de recursos invertidos en investigación, la tasa de mortalidad no ha sido disminuida, por lo tanto es necesario el desarrollo de nuevas terapias efectivas contra el cáncer. Desde sus inicios, en el campo de la inmunoterapia se han realizado numerosos ensayos en humanos con cáncer y en modelos animales, obteniendo algunos casos de regresión tumoral completa. En el presente trabajo se evaluó el efecto de la terapia autóloga en perros inoculados experimentalmente con Tumor Venéreo Transmisible (TVT). Se inoculó12 hembras de raza mixta con TVT (1x108 células) intragenital, una vez que el tumor alcanzo un volumen de 10cm 3 , se colectó una biopsia con la cual se extrajo el antígeno tumoral total (300 µg/mL) el cual fue agregado (30µg/mL) en cultivos de células dendríticas inmaduras. Linfocitos totales obtenidos del mismo paciente y CPAs (CD80+ 80.3%, CD83+ 76.4%, DLA II 86.5%) cargadas con antígeno tumoral fueron co-cultivados en presencia de estímulos con IL-21 (50ng/mL) o IL-2 (20ng/mL), posterior a la activación de los linfocitos (746.88 pg/mL IFNȖ), las células T CD8+ específicos de tumor fueron separadas por selección negativa (Dynabeads Untouched) con un 82.6% de pureza para finalmente ser expandidas con OKT3. Se llevó a cabo un ensayo de in vitro de la citotoxicidad de los Linfocitos T CD8+ específicos de tumor contra las células de TVT, obteniendo 100% de lisis de la célula tumoral cultivada en presencia de linfocitos CD8+ específicos de tumor estimulados con IL-21 y un 90% de citotoxicidad tumoral cuando los CD8+ fueron específicos pero estimulados con IL-2, cuando los CD8+ no fueron específicos de tumor el porcentaje de citotoxicidad fue muy poco (10%). In vivo el grupo 1 fue tratado con terapia autóloga, linfocitos T CD8+ (5x107 célulaspor ciclo) específicos de tumor estimulados con IL-21 y aplicados en 3 ciclos en intervalos de 2 semanas. Como grupos control se utilizaron perros con tumor sin tratamiento (grupo 2), perros con tumor tratados con suero glucosado (grupo 3) y perros con tumor tratados con transfusión sanguínea autóloga (grupo 4). Después de la terapia autóloga la inmunidad celular (CD4+ y CD8+ ) e IFNȖ fue incrementada observando regresión tumoral en los perros del grupo 1. Estos resultados indican que la terapia autóloga es eficaz en la destrucción del TVT.

Expresión de FOXP3 en células de melanoma murino como un mecanismo de evasión de la respuesta inmune tumoral

Foxp3 es un marcador clave para identificación y función células T reguladoras, además su expresión se ha observado en diferentes líneas celulares de cáncer. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar si la expresión de Foxp3 en células de melanoma murino actúa como un mecanismo de evasión de la respuesta inmune tumoral, modificando citocinas involucradas en la fase de inmunoedición de cáncer y promoviendo la generación de células Treg. En este estudio se determinó por primera vez la expresión de Foxp3 en las células melanoma murino B16F10 wt, y diseñamos RNA de interferencia en contra de Foxp3, además de analizar la expresión de CD25 y producción de IL-2, INF-γ, TGF-β e IL-10 para determinar su papel in vitro. Para la evaluación del efecto de Foxp3 durante el desarrollo tumoral in vivo, se estableció una línea celular con silenciamiento de Foxp3 la cuál identificamos como B16F10.DMH1 y se montaron dos modelos de melanoma murino, uno inducido con células B16F10 wt y otro inducido con células B16F10.DMH1, y se analizó progresión tumoral, producción de citocinas, expresión de CD25, Foxp3 y poblaciones celulares CD4+ , CD4+CD25+ y CD4+CD25+ Foxp3+ en TIL’s y células de bazo. Nuestros resultados in vitro demuestran que las células B16F10 wt expresan Foxp3 a nivel de RNAm y proteína, y su localización celular es principalmente perinuclear, además se encontró que estas células expresan CD25, y una producción de citocinas del tipo INF-γ, TGF-β, IL-10 e IL-2. Se encontró que la expresión de Foxp3 afecta la proliferación en células B16F10, encontrando una correlación positiva entre la expresión de Foxp3, CD25 e IL-2. In vivo, el silenciamiento de Foxp3 en las células B16F10.DMH1 afectó el desarrollo del melanoma incrementando el tiempo de aparición de tumor, sobrevida y disminuyendo el peso de los tumores, encontrando una correlación positiva entre Foxp3, CD25, IL-2 e IL-10 y negativa con la producción de IFN-γ, además se determinó que Foxp3 intratumoral está correlacionado con la expresión y presencia de células Treg con fenotipo CD4+CD25+ Foxp3+ en el microambiente tumoral y con una disminución de células T CD4+ a nivel periférico, sin afectar a linfocitos T activados (CD4+CD25+ ). Estos datos sugieren que Foxp3, participa en el desarrollo de la tumorogénesis en melanoma murino in vitro e in vivo, con la capacidad de modular a citocinas, moléculas involucradas en el desarrollo tumoral, así como poblaciones celulares con fenotipo regulador en el tumor, pero no en periferia.

Potential role of bcl-2 as a suppressor of tumour angiogenesis in non- small-cell lung cancer

It has been reported that genes regulating apoptosis may play a role in tumoral angiogenesis. This study examined the relationship between tumour vascularization, a measure of tumour angiogenesis, and bcl-2 and p53 expression in operable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The relationship between bcl-2, p53 and tumour vascularization and epidermal-growth-factor- receptor(EGFR) and c-erbB-2 expression was also studied. Tissue sections from resected tumour specimens of 107 NSCLC patients were evaluated immunohistochemically for vascular grade and bcl-2, p53, EGFR and c-erbB-2 expression. bcl-2 expression was found in 20/107 (19%) cases and was associated with squamous-cell histology (p = 0.03). A strong inverse relationship was found between bcl-2 expression and vascular grade (p = 0.005). All c-erbB-2-positive cases were negative for bcl-2 expression (p = 0.01). Overall no association was found between c-erbB-2 expression and vascular grade. However, in bcl-2-negative cases positive c-erbB-2 expression correlated with low angiogenesis (p = 0.05). No relationship was found between p53 and EGFR expression and bcl-2, c-erbB-2 or vascular grade. The improved prognosis reported in bcl-2-positive NSCLC may be related to low tumour vascularization. The results suggest that the anti-apoptotic gene bcl- 2 plays a role in regulating tumour angiogenesis. Since normal lung epithelium expresses bcl-2, a sequence of tumour progression involving loss of bcl-2, then activation of c-erbB-2 or increase in tumour vascularization is proposed.

An MMP13-selective inhibitor delays primary tumor growth and the onset of tumor-associated osteolytic lesions in experimental models of breast cancer

We investigated the effects of the matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13)-selective inhibitor, 5-(4-{4-[4-(4-fluorophenyl)-1,3-oxazol-2-yl]phenoxy}phenoxy)-5-(2-methoxyethyl) pyrimidine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-trione (Cmpd-1), on the primary tumor growth and breast cancer-associated bone remodeling using xenograft and syngeneic mouse models. We used human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells inoculated into the mammary fat pad and left ventricle of BALB/c Nu/Nu mice, respectively, and spontaneously metastasizing 4T1.2-Luc mouse mammary cells inoculated into mammary fat pad of BALB/c mice. In a prevention setting, treatment with Cmpd-1 markedly delayed the growth of primary tumors in both models, and reduced the onset and severity of osteolytic lesions in the MDA-MB-231 intracardiac model. Intervention treatment with Cmpd-1 on established MDA-MB-231 primary tumors also significantly inhibited subsequent growth. In contrast, no effects of Cmpd-1 were observed on soft organ metastatic burden following intracardiac or mammary fat pad inoculations of MDA-MB-231 and 4T1.2-Luc cells respectively. MMP13 immunostaining of clinical primary breast tumors and experimental mice tumors revealed intra-tumoral and stromal expression in most tumors, and vasculature expression in all. MMP13 was also detected in osteoblasts in clinical samples of breast-to-bone metastases. The data suggest that MMP13-selective inhibitors, which lack musculoskeletal side effects, may have therapeutic potential both in primary breast cancer and cancer-induced bone osteolysis.

A dynamic in vivo model of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions in circulating tumor cells and metastases of breast cancer

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes endow epithelial cells with enhanced migratory/invasive properties and are therefore likely to contribute to tumor invasion and metastatic spread. Because of the difficulty in following EMT processes in human tumors, we have developed and characterized an animal model with transplantable human breast tumor cells (MDA-MB-468) uniquely showing spontaneous EMT events to occur. Using vimentin as a marker of EMT, heterogeneity was revealed in the primary MDA-MB-468 xenografts with vimentin-negative and vimentin-positive areas, as also observed on clinical human invasive breast tumor specimens. Reverse transcriptase-PCR after microdissection of these populations from the xenografts revealed EMT traits in the vimentin-positive zones characterized by enhanced 'mesenchymal gene' expression (Snail, Slug and fibroblast-specific protein-1) and diminished expression of epithelial molecules (E-cadherin, ZO-3 and JAM-A). Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) were detected in the blood as soon as 8 days after s.c. injection, and lung metastases developed in all animals injected as examined by in vivo imaging analyses and histology. High levels of vimentin RNA were detected in CTCs by reverse transcriptase-quantitative PCR as well as, to a lesser extent, Snail and Slug RNA. Von Willebrand Factor/vimentin double immunostainings further showed that tumor cells in vascular tumoral emboli all expressed vimentin. Tumoral emboli in the lungs also expressed vimentin whereas macrometastases displayed heterogenous vimentin expression, as seen in the primary xenografts. In conclusion, our data uniquely demonstrate in an in vivo context that EMT occurs in the primary tumors, and associates with an enhanced ability to intravasate and generate CTCs. They further suggest that mesenchymal-to-epithelial phenomena occur in secondary organs, facilitating the metastatic growth.

Genetic basis of hereditary colorectal cancers: Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer and Familial adenomatous polyposis

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) are characterized by a high risk and early onset of colorectal cancer (CRC). HNPCC is due to a germline mutation in one of the following MMR genes: MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2. A majority of FAP and attenuated FAP (AFAP) cases are due to germline mutations of APC, causing the development of multiple colorectal polyps. To date, over 450 MMR gene mutations and over 800 APC mutations have been identified. Most of these mutations lead to a truncated protein, easily detected by conventional mutation detection methods. However, in about 30% of HNPCC and FAP, and about 90% of AFAP families, mutations remain unknown. We aimed to clarify the genetic basis and genotype-phenotype correlation of mutation negative HNPCC and FAP/AFAP families by advanced mutation detection methods designed to detect large genomic rearrangements, mRNA and protein expression alterations, promoter mutations, phenotype linked haplotypes, and tumoral loss of heterozygosity. We also aimed to estimate the frequency of HNPCC in Uruguayan CRC patients. Our expression based analysis of mutation negative HNPCC divided these families into two categories: 1) 42% of families linked to the MMR genes with a phenotype resembling that of mutation positive, and 2) 58% of families likely to be associated with other susceptibility genes. Unbalanced mRNA expression of MLH1 was observed in two families. Further studies revealed that a MLH1 nonsense mutation, R100X was associated with aberrant splicing of exons not related to the mutation and an MLH1 deletion (AGAA) at nucleotide 210 was associated with multiple exon skipping, without an overall increase in the frequency of splice events. APC mutation negative FAP/AFAP families were divided into four groups according to the genetic basis of their predisposition. Four (14%) families displayed a constitutional deletion of APC with profuse polyposis, early age of onset and frequent extracolonic manifestations. Aberrant mRNA expression of one allele was observed in seven (24%) families with later onset and less frequent extracolonic manifestations. In 15 (52%) families the involvement of APC could neither be confirmed nor excluded. In three (10%) of the families a germline mutation was detected in genes other than APC: AXIN2 in one family, and MYH in two families. The families with undefined genetic basis and especially those with AXIN2 or MYH mutations frequently displayed AFAP or atypical polyposis. Of the Uruguayan CRC patients, 2.6% (12/461) fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for HNPCC and 5.6% (26/461) were associated with increased risk of cancer. Unexpectedly low frequency of molecularly defined HNPCC cases may suggest a different genetic profile in the Uruguayan population and the involvement of novel susceptibility genes. Accurate genetic and clinical characterization of families with hereditary colorectal cancers, and the definition of the genetic basis of "mutation negative" families in particular, facilitate proper clinical management of such families.

Definition of a serum marker panel for glioblastoma discrimination and identification of Interleukin 1 beta in the microglial secretome as a novel mediator of endothelial cell survival induced by C-reactive protein

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant adult primary brain tumor. We profiled 724 cancer-associated proteins in sera of healthy individuals (n = 27) and GBM (n = 28) using antibody microarray. While 69 proteins exhibited differential abundance in GBM sera, a three-marker panel (LYAM1, BHE40 and CRP) could discriminate GBM sera from that of healthy donors with an accuracy of 89.7% and p < 0.0001. The high abundance of C-reactive protein (CRP) in GBM sera was confirmed in 264 independent samples. High levels of CRP protein was seen in GBM but without a change in transcript levels suggesting a non-tumoral origin. Glioma-secreted Interleukin 6 (IL6) was found to induce hepatocytes to secrete CRP, involving JAK-STAT pathway. The culture supernatant from CRP-treated microglial cells induced endothelial cell survival under nutrient-deprivation condition involving CRP-Fc gamma RIII signaling cascade. Transcript profiling of CRP-treated microglial cells identified Interleukin 1 beta (IL1 beta) present in the microglial secretome as the key mediator of CRP-induced endothelial cell survival. IL1 beta neutralization by antibody-binding or siRNA-mediated silencing in microglial cells reduced the ability of the supernatant from CRP-treated microglial cells to induce endothelial cell survival. Thus our study identifies a serum based three-marker panel for GBM diagnosis and provides leads for developing targeted therapies. Biological significance A complex antibody microarray based serum marker profiling identified a three-marker panel - LYAM1, BHE40 and CRP as an accurate discriminator of glioblastoma sera from that of healthy individuals. CRP protein is seen in high levels without a concomitant increase of CRP transcripts in glioblastoma. Glioma-secreted IL6 induced hepatocytes to produce CRP in a JAK-STAT signaling dependent manner. CRP induced microglial cells to release IL1 beta which in turn promoted endothelial cell survival. This study, besides defining a serum panel for glioblastoma discrimination, identified IL1 beta as a potential candidate for developing targeted therapy. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Identification of a biomarker panel for colorectal cancer diagnosis

Background: Malignancies arising in the large bowel cause the second largest number of deaths from cancer in the Western World. Despite progresses made during the last decades, colorectal cancer remains one of the most frequent and deadly neoplasias in the western countries. Methods: A genomic study of human colorectal cancer has been carried out on a total of 31 tumoral samples, corresponding to different stages of the disease, and 33 non-tumoral samples. The study was carried out by hybridisation of the tumour samples against a reference pool of non-tumoral samples using Agilent Human 1A 60- mer oligo microarrays. The results obtained were validated by qRT-PCR. In the subsequent bioinformatics analysis, gene networks by means of Bayesian classifiers, variable selection and bootstrap resampling were built. The consensus among all the induced models produced a hierarchy of dependences and, thus, of variables. Results: After an exhaustive process of pre-processing to ensure data quality–lost values imputation, probes quality, data smoothing and intraclass variability filtering–the final dataset comprised a total of 8, 104 probes. Next, a supervised classification approach and data analysis was carried out to obtain the most relevant genes. Two of them are directly involved in cancer progression and in particular in colorectal cancer. Finally, a supervised classifier was induced to classify new unseen samples. Conclusions: We have developed a tentative model for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer based on a biomarker panel. Our results indicate that the gene profile described herein can discriminate between non-cancerous and cancerous samples with 94.45% accuracy using different supervised classifiers (AUC values in the range of 0.997 and 0.955).