Cutaneous cancer stem cell maintenance is dependent on beta-catenin signalling

Continuous turnover of epithelia is ensured by the extensive self-renewal capacity of tissue-specific stem cells. Similarly, epithelial tumour maintenance relies on cancer stem cells (CSCs), which co-opt stem cell properties. For most tumours, the cellular origin of these CSCs and regulatory pathways essential for sustaining stemness have not been identified. In murine skin, follicular morphogenesis is driven by bulge stem cells that specifically express CD34. Here we identify a population of cells in early epidermal tumours characterized by phenotypic and functional similarities to normal bulge skin stem cells. This population contains CSCs, which are the only cells with tumour initiation properties. Transplants derived from these CSCs preserve the hierarchical organization of the primary tumour. We describe beta-catenin signalling as being essential in sustaining the CSC phenotype. Ablation of the beta-catenin gene results in the loss of CSCs and complete tumour regression. In addition, we provide evidence for the involvement of increased beta-catenin signalling in malignant human squamous cell carcinomas. Because Wnt/beta-catenin signalling is not essential for normal epidermal homeostasis, such a mechanistic difference may thus be targeted to eliminate CSCs and consequently eradicate squamous cell carcinomas.     

Synergistic response to oncogenic mutations defines gene class critical to cancer phenotype

Understanding the molecular underpinnings of cancer is of critical importance to the development of targeted intervention strategies. Identification of such targets, however, is notoriously difficult and unpredictable. Malignant cell transformation requires the cooperation of a few oncogenic mutations that cause substantial reorganization of many cell features and induce complex changes in gene expression patterns. Genes critical to this multifaceted cellular phenotype have therefore only been identified after signalling pathway analysis or on an ad hoc basis. Our observations that cell transformation by cooperating oncogenic lesions depends on synergistic modulation of downstream signalling circuitry suggest that malignant transformation is a highly cooperative process, involving synergy at multiple levels of regulation, including gene expression. Here we show that a large proportion of genes controlled synergistically by loss-of-function p53 and Ras activation are critical to the malignant state of murine and human colon cells. Notably, 14 out of 24 'cooperation response genes' were found to contribute to tumour formation in gene perturbation experiments. In contrast, only 1 in 14 perturbations of the genes responding in a non-synergistic manner had a similar effect. Synergistic control of gene expression by oncogenic mutations thus emerges as an underlying key to malignancy, and provides an attractive rationale for identifying intervention targets in gene networks downstream of oncogenic gain- and loss-of-function mutations.     

Tumour maintenance is mediated by eNOS

Tumour cells become addicted to the expression of initiating oncogenes like Ras, such that loss of oncogene expression in established tumours leads to tumour regression. HRas, NRas or KRas are mutated to remain in the active GTP-bound oncogenic state in many cancers. Although Ras activates several proteins to initiate human tumour growth, only PI3K, through activation of protein kinase B (PKB; also known as AKT), must remain activated by oncogenic Ras to maintain this growth. Here we show that blocking phosphorylation of the AKT substrate, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS or NOS3), inhibits tumour initiation and maintenance. Moreover, eNOS enhances the nitrosylation and activation of endogenous wild-type Ras proteins, which are required throughout tumorigenesis. We suggest that activation of the PI3K-AKT-eNOS-(wild-type) Ras pathway by oncogenic Ras in cancer cells is required to initiate and maintain tumour growth.     

犬表皮肿瘤病理诊断及分析

摘要:目的 对 39 例犬表皮肿瘤病例的背景信息、病理学诊断结果进行分析,探讨犬表皮肿瘤发生规律和病理学特点。 方法 收集 39 例患犬的表皮肿瘤,制成切片后进行 HE 染色,利用光学显微镜进行病理学观察并作出诊断,根据诊断结果,对病例的肿瘤类型、发病年龄、性别、发病部位等进行统计分析。 结果 结果显示,犬最常发的表皮肿瘤为鳞状细胞癌,占全部表皮肿瘤病例的 46% ,多为中分化程度的鳞状细胞癌。 其次为占比 39%的乳头状瘤,以 外生性乳头状瘤为主。 基底样鳞状细胞癌较少发生。 乳头状瘤多发于 0 ~ 3 岁幼龄犬,鳞状细胞癌以及基底样鳞状细胞癌多发于 7 岁以上的老龄犬。 雄性的发病率略高于雌性。 表皮肿瘤的发病部位主要位于头面部。 结论 本文总结了犬表皮肿瘤的流行特点及组织病理学特征,为今后该类肿瘤的诊断和鉴别诊断提供参考。     

Selective activation of p53-mediated tumour suppression in high-grade tumours

Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, with an overall 5-year survival rate of only 10-15%. Deregulation of the Ras pathway is a frequent hallmark of NSCLC, often through mutations that directly activate Kras. p53 is also frequently inactivated in NSCLC and, because oncogenic Ras can be a potent trigger of p53 (ref. 3), it seems likely that oncogenic Ras signalling has a major and persistent role in driving the selection against p53. Hence, pharmacological restoration of p53 is an appealing therapeutic strategy for treating this disease. Here we model the probable therapeutic impact of p53 restoration in a spontaneously evolving mouse model of NSCLC initiated by sporadic oncogenic activation of endogenous Kras. Surprisingly, p53 restoration failed to induce significant regression of established tumours, although it did result in a significant decrease in the relative proportion of high-grade tumours. This is due to selective activation of p53 only in the more aggressive tumour cells within each tumour. Such selective activation of p53 correlates with marked upregulation in Ras signal intensity and induction of the oncogenic signalling sensor p19(ARF)( )(ref. 6). Our data indicate that p53-mediated tumour suppression is triggered only when oncogenic Ras signal flux exceeds a critical threshold. Importantly, the failure of low-level oncogenic Kras to engage p53 reveals inherent limits in the capacity of p53 to restrain early tumour evolution and in the efficacy of therapeutic p53 restoration to eradicate cancers.     

Mouse skin carcinomas induced in vivo by chemical carcinogens have a transforming Harvey-ras oncogene

Several groups have shown that the malignant phenotype can be transferred to NIH/3T3 fibroblasts by incorporation of DNA isolated from tumour cell lines. These studies have demonstrated that the transforming activity of DNA isolated from human bladder, lung and colon carcinoma cell lines is related to an alteration of the cellular homologues of the ras genes of Harvey or Kirsten murine sarcoma viruses. It is, however, unclear what relevance these observations have to the multi-stage nature of tumorigenesis in vivo, in which several independent events are required in both humans and experimental animals. The activation of a cellular oncogene in a defined experimental system for the progressive induction of solid tumours has not yet been demonstrated. We report here that high molecular weight DNA from transplanted squamous cell carcinomas induced by sequential treatment of mouse skin with initiators and promoters of carcinogenesis causes morphological transformation of NIH/3T3 fibroblasts at high frequency. The transforming properties are due to the transfer of an activated cellular homologue of the Harvey-ras (rasH) oncogene.     

Keratinocytes blocked in phorbol ester-responsive early stage of terminal differentiation by sarcoma viruses

It has been suggested that the initiation step in mouse skin carcinogenesis involves an alteration in epidermal-differentiation, as mouse basal keratinocytes exposed to initiators resist the arrest of cell growth that is normally associated with the induction of terminal differentiation by calcium ions. The growth of epidermal basal cells infected by Kirsten (Ki) or Harvey (Ha) sarcoma viruses is, however, arrested in response to calcium ions, although the cells do not progress through their entire maturation programme when a functioning ras gene of those viruses is expressed. If continuous proliferation in the differentiating cell layers is a requirement for tumour formation in skin, the response of sarcoma virus-infected cells seems inconsistent with the suggestion that an activated ras gene is sufficient to initiate skin carcinogenesis. We now show that sarcoma virus-infected keratinocytes, when induced to differentiate, are blocked at an early, reversible stage of maturation. Furthermore, the cells respond to phorbol ester tumour promoters by undergoing a phenotypic reversion to a less mature stage. These results suggest that activation of a ras gene can produce conditionally initiated cells, in which the full expression of tumorigenicity depends on exposure to tumour promoters.     

鼻咽癌的角蛋白-粘液组化观察

作者采用同时显示角蛋白和粘液的PAP和ABC免疫组化染色法观察了14例经石蜡包埋的鼻咽癌组织切片,初步结果如下: 1.鼻咽柱状细胞和单纯化生的鳞状细胞均含人体角蛋白.当细胞的核呈异型性变时,角蛋白含量明显减少. 2.鼻咽分化差的鳞癌细胞一般含有角蛋白,虽然各个癌细胞之间含量有差异,但如果采用8型和18型单克隆抗体时,则情况有所不同,一些癌细胞呈阳性而另一些癌细胞则为阴性. 3.在呈异型性变的上皮中仍可找到少数几个粘液细胞,但在癌巢中却未见有粘液细胞. 本文讨论了上述结果在鼻咽癌组织发生学中的意义.     

Role of ERas in promoting tumour-like properties in mouse embryonic stem cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent cells derived from early mammalian embryos. Their immortality and rapid growth make them attractive sources for stem cell therapies; however, they produce tumours (teratomas) when transplanted, which could preclude their therapeutic usage. Why ES cells, which lack chromosomal abnormalities, possess tumour-like properties is largely unknown. Here we show that mouse ES cells specifically express a Ras-like gene, which we have named ERas. We show that human HRasp, which is a recognized pseudogene, does not contain reported base substitutions and instead encodes the human orthologue of ERas. This protein contains amino-acid residues identical to those present in active mutants of Ras and causes oncogenic transformation in NIH 3T3 cells. ERas interacts with phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase but not with Raf. ERas-null ES cells maintain pluripotency but show significantly reduced growth and tumorigenicity, which are rescued by expression of ERas complementary DNA or by activated phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase. We conclude that the transforming oncogene ERas is important in the tumour-like growth properties of ES cells.     

口腔鳞状细胞癌组织特征长链非编码RNA(lncRNA)中CCAT2的表达及作用分析

目的 分析口腔鳞癌组织特征长链非编码RNA(lncRNA)表达谱,探讨结肠癌相关转录子2(CCAT2)的表达及作用.方法 使用高通量lncRNA芯片检测5例口腔鳞癌患者的癌组织及癌旁正常口腔黏膜组织lncRNA表达水平,分析特征性lncRNA表达谱;应用RT-qPCR检测74例口腔鳞癌组织及癌旁组织中CCAT2表达水平,分析其与临床病理特征的关系;CCK8法检测CCAT2干预细胞增殖的能力,检测CCAT2-siRNA感染序列靶向转染人舌鳞状细胞癌cal27细胞株.结果 5例癌组织和对应的癌旁组织的差异表达谱共检出1 572个差异具有统计学意义的lncRNA,其中882个lncRNA表达上调,690个表达下调;19个lncRNA差异表达倍数≥10,其中11个表达上调,8个表达下调;CCAT2上调最明显.进一步对74例口腔鳞状细胞癌组织行RT-qPCR检测,癌组织中CCAT2的相对表达量高于正常组织,差异具有显著统计学意义(P<0.01).Ⅲ+Ⅳ期患者CCAT2相对表达量高于Ⅰ+Ⅱ期患者,肿瘤低分化组CCAT2相对表达量高于中高分化组,差异均具有统计学意义(P<0.05).cal27细胞转染CCAT2 siRNA1,siRNA2,siRNA3后,CCAT2的相对表达量均低于空白对照组,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05).其中以siRNA2下降幅度最明显,因此,选用CCAT2-siRNA2进行细胞增殖实验.CCK8检测显示:转染48h后细胞增殖水平低于阴性对照组,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05).结论 lncRNA在口腔鳞状细胞癌组织中存在异常表达,其中CCAT2表达上调与口腔鳞状细胞癌的发生、发展有关.     

Induction of hair growth by implantation of cultured dermal papilla cells

Mammalian hairs are formed by differentiation and keratinization of cells produced in the epidermal matrix (Figs 3, 4). Using the rodent vibrissa follicle as a model, transplantation studies have shown that the dermal papilla, a discrete population of specialized fibroblasts, is of prime importance in the growth of hair. Papillae induce hair growth when implanted into follicles and can interact with skin epidermis to form new hair follicles. When grown in culture, papilla cells display singular morphological and behavioural characteristics compared with connective tissue cells from other skin sources. We report here that serially cultured adult papilla cells can induce the growth of hair when implanted into follicles which otherwise would not grow hairs. This finding presents an opportunity to characterize properties distinguishing the papilla cell population from other skin fibroblasts, and, more specifically, those which control hair growth. The eventual application of this work to human hair replacement techniques can also be envisaged.     

基于拉曼光谱对人舌鳞癌动物模型建立的检测

建立人舌鳞癌细胞体外癌变模型, 采用激光共焦显微拉曼光谱仪对其进行检测,从分子层面对其进行分析. 方法: 通过培养CAL-27细胞,然后注射在裸鼠皮下成瘤,在通过激光共焦显微拉曼光谱仪和HE染色观察其癌变的情况. 结果:①正常皮肤组织的切片图上可见,其细胞层次清晰,整齐,但是肿瘤组织发现上皮异常增生,细胞多形性,结构层次非常不清楚;②采用共焦显微拉曼拉曼光谱技术并结合主成分分析法和线性辨别技术分类健康裸鼠和人舌鳞癌细胞体外癌变组织的拉曼光谱得到灵敏度为98.4%,特异性为95%,诊断率为96.7%,并发现该方法可以很好的对该动物模型进行在体的检测.     

口腔鳞状细胞癌中错配修复基因hMLH1、hMSH2、p53和PCNA表达的相关性及意义

探讨hMLHI、hMSH2、p53和PCNA在OSCC中的表达关系及可能存在的临床意义。运用免疫组织化学S—P法对56例口腔鳞状细胞癌巾hMLH1、hMSH2、μ53和PCNA的表达进行检测。4种基因产物在OSCC中的阳性率均高于正常口腔黏膜,其中,中一低分化癌中的阳性率均高于高分化癌;hMSH2、p53和PCNA的阳性率在有淋巴结转移者中高于无转移者。hMLHI与p53／PCNA表达,hMSH2与p53／PCNA,p53与PCNA表达均呈正相关性。hM—LH1、hMSH2、p53和PCNA的异常表达及其相互之间的调节可能与OSCC的发生发展有关;检测4种蛋白有助于判断OSCC的恶性程度和生物学行为．     

Oncogene-induced senescence as an initial barrier in lymphoma development

Acute induction of oncogenic Ras provokes cellular senescence involving the retinoblastoma (Rb) pathway, but the tumour suppressive potential of senescence in vivo remains elusive. Recently, Rb-mediated silencing of growth-promoting genes by heterochromatin formation associated with methylation of histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9me) was identified as a critical feature of cellular senescence, which may depend on the histone methyltransferase Suv39h1. Here we show that Emicro-N-Ras transgenic mice harbouring targeted heterozygous lesions at the Suv39h1, or the p53 locus for comparison, succumb to invasive T-cell lymphomas that lack expression of Suv39h1 or p53, respectively. By contrast, most N-Ras-transgenic wild-type ('control') animals develop a non-lymphoid neoplasia significantly later. Proliferation of primary lymphocytes is directly stalled by a Suv39h1-dependent, H3K9me-related senescent growth arrest in response to oncogenic Ras, thereby cancelling lymphomagenesis at an initial step. Suv39h1-deficient lymphoma cells grow rapidly but, unlike p53-deficient cells, remain highly susceptible to adriamycin-induced apoptosis. In contrast, only control, but not Suv39h1-deficient or p53-deficient, lymphomas senesce after drug therapy when apoptosis is blocked. These results identify H3K9me-mediated senescence as a novel Suv39h1-dependent tumour suppressor mechanism whose inactivation permits the formation of aggressive but apoptosis-competent lymphomas in response to oncogenic Ras.     

CDK16在食管鳞癌中的表达及其对肿瘤发生发展的影响

目的研究发现,细胞周期素依赖性激酶(cyclin dependent kinases,CDKs)家族成员与食管鳞癌的发病密切相关,但细胞周期素依赖性激酶16(CDK16)对食管鳞癌发病的影响尚不清楚.本研究旨在探讨CDK16在人食管鳞癌组织中的表达及生物学意义.方法应用组织芯片技术结合免疫组织化学技术检测45例食管鳞癌组织、45例癌旁组织中CDK16蛋白的表达情况,并使用统计分析软件研究CDK16蛋白的表达与食管鳞癌临床病理特征之间的关系.结果 CDK16在食管鳞癌组织中呈阳性表达,且表达强度与肿瘤分化程度呈负相关.另外,CDK16在食管鳞癌细胞中的表达位置与肿瘤的分化程度紧密相关.CDK16的表达与食管鳞癌的分化程度、淋巴结转移及TNM临床分期均具有显著的相关性(P<0.05),而与患者的年龄、性别以及肿瘤的部位、最大径、病理形态没有显著的相关性(P>0.05).结论 CDK16在食管鳞癌中的高表达与食管鳞癌的发生发展及转移密切相关.检测CDK16的表达有助于食管鳞癌的临床诊断和预后评估.     

A single type of progenitor cell maintains normal epidermis

According to the current model of adult epidermal homeostasis, skin tissue is maintained by two discrete populations of progenitor cells: self-renewing stem cells; and their progeny, known as transit amplifying cells, which differentiate after several rounds of cell division. By making use of inducible genetic labelling, we have tracked the fate of a representative sample of progenitor cells in mouse tail epidermis at single-cell resolution in vivo at time intervals up to one year. Here we show that clone-size distributions are consistent with a new model of homeostasis involving only one type of progenitor cell. These cells are found to undergo both symmetric and asymmetric division at rates that ensure epidermal homeostasis. The results raise important questions about the potential role of stem cells on tissue maintenance in vivo.     

抗爪蟾角蛋白单克隆抗体的研究

本实验以非洲爪蟾(Xenopus laevis)成体皮肤角蛋白免疫的BALB/c鼠脾细胞与小鼠Sp2/0骨髓瘤细胞在PEG的作用下进行融合,经HAT选择培养、ELISA筛选、反复克隆化及冻存复苏,获得四株稳定分泌抗体的杂交瘤细胞株。对其中一株杂交瘤细胞KD_(10)及其分泌的抗体进行了较全面的研究。     

BRAFE600-associated senescence-like cell cycle arrest of human naevi

Most normal mammalian cells have a finite lifespan, thought to constitute a protective mechanism against unlimited proliferation. This phenomenon, called senescence, is driven by telomere attrition, which triggers the induction of tumour suppressors including p16(INK4a) (ref. 5). In cultured cells, senescence can be elicited prematurely by oncogenes; however, whether such oncogene-induced senescence represents a physiological process has long been debated. Human naevi (moles) are benign tumours of melanocytes that frequently harbour oncogenic mutations (predominantly V600E, where valine is substituted for glutamic acid) in BRAF, a protein kinase and downstream effector of Ras. Nonetheless, naevi typically remain in a growth-arrested state for decades and only rarely progress into malignancy (melanoma). This raises the question of whether naevi undergo BRAF(V600E)-induced senescence. Here we show that sustained BRAF(V600E) expression in human melanocytes induces cell cycle arrest, which is accompanied by the induction of both p16(INK4a) and senescence-associated acidic beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-Gal) activity, a commonly used senescence marker. Validating these results in vivo, congenital naevi are invariably positive for SA-beta-Gal, demonstrating the presence of this classical senescence-associated marker in a largely growth-arrested, neoplastic human lesion. In growth-arrested melanocytes, both in vitro and in situ, we observed a marked mosaic induction of p16(INK4a), suggesting that factors other than p16(INK4a) contribute to protection against BRAF(V600E)-driven proliferation. Naevi do not appear to suffer from telomere attrition, arguing in favour of an active oncogene-driven senescence process, rather than a loss of replicative potential. Thus, both in vitro and in vivo, BRAF(V600E)-expressing melanocytes display classical hallmarks of senescence, suggesting that oncogene-induced senescence represents a genuine protective physiological process.