Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) has among the worst prognosis of any solid malignancy. The low incidence of the disease has in part precluded systematic clinical trials and tissue collection, and there has been little progress in developing effective therapies. BRAF and TP53 mutations co-occur in a high proportion of ATC, particularly those associated with a precursor papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). In order to develop an adult-onset model of BRAF-mutant anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, we generated a novel thyroid-specific CreER transgenic mouse. We utilize a Cre-regulated BrafV600E mouse and a conditional Trp53 allelic series to demonstrate that p53 constrains progression from papillary to anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Gene expression and immunohistochemical analyses of murine tumors identified the cardinal features of human ATC including loss of differentiation, local invasion, distant metastasis and rapid lethality. We employed small animal ultrasound imaging to monitor autochthonous tumors, and show that treatment with the selective BRAF inhibitor PLX4720 improved survival, but did not lead to tumor regression or suppress signaling through the MAPK pathway. Combination of PLX4720 and the MEK inhibitor PD0325901 more completely suppressed MAPK pathway activation in mouse and human ATC cell lines, and improved the structural response and survival of ATC-bearing animals. This model expands the limited repertoire of autochthonous models of clinically aggressive thyroid cancer, and these data suggest that small molecule MAPK pathway inhibitors hold clinical promise in the treatment of advanced thyroid carcinoma.
p53 constrains progression to anaplastic thyroid carcinoma in a Braf-mutant mouse model of papillary thyroid cancer.
Specimen part
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Genome-Wide Transcriptional Profiling and Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Maternal Immune Activation Model of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
Age, Specimen part
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Long-term exposure of MCF-12A normal human breast epithelial cells to ethanol induces epithelial mesenchymal transition and oncogenic features.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesAlcoholism is associated with breast cancer incidence and progression, and moderate chronic consumption of ethanol is a risk factor. The mechanisms involved in alcohol's oncogenic effects are unknown, but it has been speculated that they may be mediated by acetaldehyde. Here, we use the immortalized normal human epithelial breast cell line MCF-12A to determine whether short- or long-term exposure to ethanol or to acetaldehyde, using in vivo compatible ethanol concentrations, induces their oncogenic transformation and/or the acquisition of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). Cultures of MCF-12A cells were incubated with 25 mM ethanol or 2.5 mM acetaldehyde for 1 week, or with lower concentrations (1.0-2.5 mM for ethanol, 1.0 mM for acetaldehyde) for 4 weeks. In the 4 wk incubation, cells were also tested for anchorage independence, including isolation of soft agar selected cells (SASC) from the 2.5 mM ethanol incubations. Cells were analyzed by immuno-cytofluorescence, flow cytometry, western blotting, DNA microarrays, RT/PCR, and assays for miRs. We found that short-term exposure to ethanol, but not, in general, to acetaldehyde, was associated with transcriptional upregulation of the metallothionein family genes, alcohol metabolism genes, and genes suggesting the initiation of EMT, but without related phenotypic changes. Long-term exposure to the lower concentrations of ethanol or acetaldehyde induced frank EMT changes in the monolayer cultures and in SASC as demonstrated by changes in cellular phenotype and mRNA expression. This suggests that low concentrations of ethanol, with little or no mediation by acetaldehyde, induce EMT and some traits of oncogenic transformation such as anchorage independence in normal breast epithelial cells.
Long-term exposure of MCF-12A normal human breast epithelial cells to ethanol induces epithelial mesenchymal transition and oncogenic features.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesAlcoholism is associated with breast cancer incidence and progression, and moderate chronic consumption of ethanol is a risk factor. The mechanisms involved in alcohol's oncogenic effects are unknown, but it has been speculated that they may be mediated by acetaldehyde. Here, we use the immortalized normal human epithelial breast cell line MCF-12A to determine whether short- or long-term exposure to ethanol or to acetaldehyde, using in vivo compatible ethanol concentrations, induces their oncogenic transformation and/or the acquisition of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). Cultures of MCF-12A cells were incubated with 25 mM ethanol or 2.5 mM acetaldehyde for 1 week, or with lower concentrations (1.0-2.5 mM for ethanol, 1.0 mM for acetaldehyde) for 4 weeks. In the 4 wk incubation, cells were also tested for anchorage independence, including isolation of soft agar selected cells (SASC) from the 2.5 mM ethanol incubations. Cells were analyzed by immuno-cytofluorescence, flow cytometry, western blotting, DNA microarrays, RT/PCR, and assays for miRs. We found that short-term exposure to ethanol, but not, in general, to acetaldehyde, was associated with transcriptional upregulation of the metallothionein family genes, alcohol metabolism genes, and genes suggesting the initiation of EMT, but without related phenotypic changes. Long-term exposure to the lower concentrations of ethanol or acetaldehyde induced frank EMT changes in the monolayer cultures and in SASC as demonstrated by changes in cellular phenotype and mRNA expression. This suggests that low concentrations of ethanol, with little or no mediation by acetaldehyde, induce EMT and some traits of oncogenic transformation such as anchorage independence in normal breast epithelial cells.
Long-term exposure of MCF-12A normal human breast epithelial cells to ethanol induces epithelial mesenchymal transition and oncogenic features.
Specimen part, Cell line
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Long-term exposure of MCF-7 breast cancer cells to ethanol stimulates oncogenic features.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesInterleukin-6 (IL-6) is an important growth factor for estrogen receptor-alpha (ER) positive breast cancer, and elevated serum IL-6 is associated with poor prognosis. We firstly demonstrated that pSTAT3 is the primary downstream IL-6 signaling pathway in ER-positive breast cancer, using ten different breast cancer cell lines. Three-dimensional cultures of these cell lines were also used to develop a 17-gene IL-6 specific gene signature that could be used to identify IL-6 driven disease. This signature included a variety of genes involved in immune cell function and migration, cell growth and apoptosis, and the tumor microenvironment. To further validate this IL-6 signature, we obtained 36 human ER-positive breast cancer tumor samples with matched serum for gene expression profiling and determination of an IL-6 pathway activation score (PAS). Patients with high IL-6 PAS were also enriched for elevated serum IL-6 (>=10 pg/ml). We then utilized a murine MCF-7 xenograft model to determine the role of IL-6 in ER-positive breast cancer and potential anti-IL-6 therapy in vivo. When IL-6 was administered in vivo, MCF-7 cells engrafted without the need for estrogen supplementation. Subsequently, we prophylactically treated mice at MCF-7 engraftment with an anti-IL-6 antibody (siltuximab), fulvestrant or combination therapy. Siltuximab alone was able to blunt MCF-7 engraftment. Similarly, when tumors were allowed to grow to 125 mm3 before treatment, siltuximab alone demonstrated tumor regressions in 90% (9/10) of tumors. Given the established role for IL-6 in ER+ breast cancer, this data demonstrates the potential for anti-IL-6 therapeutics.
Interleukin-6 is a potential therapeutic target in interleukin-6 dependent, estrogen receptor-α-positive breast cancer.
Specimen part
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Mutant human embryonic stem cells reveal neurite and synapse formation defects in type 1 myotonic dystrophy.
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View SamplesAnalysis of genes that were differentially expressed in mutant VUB03_DM1 as compared to controls VUB01 and SA01 Neural Precursor cells
Mutant human embryonic stem cells reveal neurite and synapse formation defects in type 1 myotonic dystrophy.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesAnalysis of genes that were differentially expressed in mutant VUB03_DM1 as compared to controls VUB01 and SA01 undifferentiated hES cells
Mutant human embryonic stem cells reveal neurite and synapse formation defects in type 1 myotonic dystrophy.
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