Clonal selection drives genetic divergence of metastatic medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant paediatric brain tumour, arises in the cerebellum and disseminates through the cerebrospinal fluid in the leptomeningeal space to coat the brain and spinal cord. Dissemination, a marker of poor prognosis, is found in up to 40% of children at diagnosis and in most children at the time of recurrence. Affected children therefore are treated with radiation to the entire developing brain and spinal cord, followed by high-dose chemotherapy, with the ensuing deleterious effects on the developing nervous system. The mechanisms of dissemination through the cerebrospinal fluid are poorly studied, and medulloblastoma metastases have been assumed to be biologically similar to the primary tumour. Here we show that in both mouse and human medulloblastoma, the metastases from an individual are extremely similar to each other but are divergent from the matched primary tumour. Clonal genetic events in the metastases can be demonstrated in a restricted subclone of the primary tumour, suggesting that only rare cells within the primary tumour have the ability to metastasize. Failure to account for the bicompartmental nature of metastatic medulloblastoma could be a major barrier to the development of effective targeted therapies.     

Subgroup-specific structural variation across 1,000 medulloblastoma genomes

Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant paediatric brain tumour, is currently treated with nonspecific cytotoxic therapies including surgery, whole-brain radiation, and aggressive chemotherapy. As medulloblastoma exhibits marked intertumoural heterogeneity, with at least four distinct molecular variants, previous attempts to identify targets for therapy have been underpowered because of small samples sizes. Here we report somatic copy number aberrations (SCNAs) in 1,087 unique medulloblastomas. SCNAs are common in medulloblastoma, and are predominantly subgroup-enriched. The most common region of focal copy number gain is a tandem duplication of SNCAIP, a gene associated with Parkinson's disease, which is exquisitely restricted to Group 4α. Recurrent translocations of PVT1, including PVT1-MYC and PVT1-NDRG1, that arise through chromothripsis are restricted to Group 3. Numerous targetable SCNAs, including recurrent events targeting TGF-β signalling in Group 3, and NF-κB signalling in Group 4, suggest future avenues for rational, targeted therapy.     

Progesterone-induced blocking factor differentially regulates trophoblast and tumor invasion by altering matrix metalloproteinase activity

Invasiveness is a common feature of trophoblast and tumors; however, while tumor invasion is uncontrolled, trophoblast invasion is strictly regulated. Both trophoblast and tumor cells express high levels of the immunomodulatory progesterone-induced blocking factor (PIBF), therefore, we aimed to test the possibility that PIBF might be involved in invasion. To this aim, we used PIBF-silenced or PIBF-treated trophoblast (HTR8/Svneo, and primary trophoblast) and tumor (HT-1080, A549, HCT116, PC3) cell lines. Silencing of PIBF increased invasiveness as well as MMP-2,-9 secretion of HTR8/SVneo, and decreased those of HT-1080 cells. PIBF induced immediate STAT6 activation in both cell lines. Silencing of IL-4Rα abrogated all the above effects of PIBF, suggesting that invasion-related signaling by PIBF is initiated through the IL-4Rα/PIBF-receptor complex. In HTR-8/SVneo, PIBF induced fast, but transient Akt and ERK phosphorylation, whereas in tumor cells, PIBF triggered sustained Akt, ERK, and late STAT3 activation. The late signaling events might be due to indirect action of PIBF. PIBF induced the expression of EGF and HB-EGF in HT-1080 cells. The STAT3-activating effect of PIBF was reduced in HB-EGF-deficient HT-1080 cells, suggesting that PIBF-induced HB-EGF contributes to late STAT3 activation. PIBF binds to the promoters of IL-6, EGF, and HB-EGF; however, the protein profile of the protein/DNA complex is different in the two cell lines. We conclude that in tumor cells, PIBF induces proteins, which activate invasion signaling, while—based on our previous data—PIBF might control trophoblast invasion by suppressing proinvasive genes.