Mutation Analysis of Second Primary Tumors in Oral Cancer in Taiwanese Patients through Next-Generation Sequencing.

Head and neck cancer has poor overall survival. Patients with head and neck cancer more frequently develop second primary tumors than do patients with other cancers, leading to a poor prognosis. In this study, we used next-generation sequencing to analyze and compare mutations between first tumors and second tumors in oral cancer. We retrieved tumor tissues collected from 13 patients who were diagnosed twice as having cancer. We used driver gene and trunk mutations to distinguish between recurrent cancer and primary cancer in oral cancer. We observed unique driver gene mutations in three patients with an initial clinical diagnosis of recurrent cancer; hence, we believe that the corresponding patients had primary cancer. Four patients with an initial clinical diagnosis of primary cancer were found to actually have recurrent cancer according to our results. Genetic testing can be used to enhance the accuracy of clinical diagnosis.

Alternative splicing in human cancer cells is modulated by the amiloride derivative 3,5-diamino-6-chloro-N-(N-(2,6-dichlorobenzoyl)carbamimidoyl)pyrazine-2-carboxide.

Alternative splicing (AS) is a process that enables the generation of multiple protein isoforms with different biological properties from a single mRNA. Cancer cells often use the maneuverability conferred by AS to produce proteins that contribute to growth and survival. In our previous studies, we identified that amiloride modulates AS in cancer cells. However, the effective concentration of amiloride required to modulate AS is too high for use in cancer treatment. In this study, we used computational algorithms to screen potential amiloride derivatives for their ability to regulate AS in cancer cells. We found that 3,5-diamino-6-chloro-N-(N-(2,6-dichlorobenzoyl)carbamimidoyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (BS008) can regulate AS of apoptotic gene transcripts, including HIPK3, SMAC, and BCL-X, at a lower concentration than amiloride. This splicing regulation involved various splicing factors, and it was accompanied by a change in the phosphorylation state of serine/arginine-rich proteins (SR proteins). RNA sequencing was performed to reveal that AS of many other apoptotic gene transcripts, such as AATF, ATM, AIFM1, NFKB1, and API5, was also modulated by BS008. In vivo experiments further indicated that treatment of tumor-bearing mice with BS008 resulted in a marked decrease in tumor size. BS008 also had inhibitory effects in vitro, either alone or in a synergistic combination with the cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents sorafenib and nilotinib. BS008 enabled sorafenib dose reduction without compromising antitumor activity. These findings suggest that BS008 may possess therapeutic potential for cancer treatment.

Molecular characterization of colorectal cancer using whole-exome sequencing in a Taiwanese population.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology is currently used to establish mutational profiles in many heterogeneous diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mutational spectrum in Taiwanese patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) to help clinicians identify the best treatment method. Whole-exome sequencing was conducted in 32 surgical tumor tissues from patients with CRC. DNA libraries were generated using the Illumina TruSeq DNA Exome, and sequencing was performed on the Illumina NextSeq 500 system. Variants were annotated and compared to those obtained from publicly available databases. The analysis revealed frequent mutations in APC (59.38%), TP53 (50%), RAS (28.13%), FBXW7 (18.75%), RAF (9.38%), PIK3CA (9.38%), SMAD4 (9.38%), and SOX9 (9.38%). A mutation in TCF7L2 was also detected, but at lower frequencies. Two or more mutations were found in 22 (68.75%) samples. The mutation rates for the WNT, P53, RTK-RAS, TGF-ß, and PI3K pathways were 78.13%, 56.25%, 40.63%, 18.75%, and 15.63%, respectively. RTK-RAS pathway mutations were correlated with tumor size (P = 0.028). We also discovered 23 novel mutations in NRAS, PIK3CA, SOX9, APC, SMAD4, MSH3, MSH4, PMS1 PMS2, AXIN2, ERBB2, PIK3R1, TGFBR2, and ATM that were not reported in the COSMIC, The Cancer Genome Atlas, and dbSNP databases. In summary, we report the mutational landscape of CRC in a Taiwanese population. NGS is a cost-effective and time-saving method, and we believe that NGS will help clinicians to treat CRC patients in the near future.

Detection of Variants in Patients with Idiopathic Ventricular Fibrillation by Whole-exome Sequencing.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF) is a cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD). The frequency of mutations in disease-causing genes ranges, on average, between 16 and 48% in SCD cases. This study aimed to identify novel mutations in IVF patients without KCNQ1, KCNH2, and SCN5A mutations using whole-exome sequencing (WES). METHODS: Genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood samples obtained from five patients with IVF and WES was used to identify mutations associated with IVF. Candidate variants were validated by Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: Four patients harbored suspected mutations in 100 inherited cardiomyopathy-and channelopathy-associated genes (e.g., TCAP, TTN, MYPN, CACNA1C, and TNNT2). All of these genetic variants have been given a dbSNP rs number; however, their clinical significance remains unknown. Bioinformatics tools predicted severe functional disruptions in the loci harboring these suspected mutations, suggesting their pivotal roles in IVF. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed the effectiveness of WES for IVF patients without KCNQ1, KCNH2, and SCN5A mutations. Although it is difficult to interpret broad WES results, the analysis can provide insight into the etiology of a heterogeneous disease.

Genome-wide analysis of lncRNAs in 3'-untranslated regions: CR933609 acts as a decoy to protect the INO80D gene.

Long non­coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have various functions, including chromatin remodeling and the regulation of gene expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. However, few lncRNAs have been investigated comprehensively, with the majority being uncharacterized. In the present study, a bioinformatics pipeline was established to identify novel lncRNA sequences similar to the 3'-untranslated regions (3'­UTRs) of protein-coding genes. These pairs of lncRNAs and coding genes contained the same microRNA (miRNA) target sites; the lncRNA CR933609 matched the 3'­UTR of INO80 complex subunit D (INO80D) mRNA. The expression levels of CR933609 and INO80D were significantly decreased in non­small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other cancer tissues. The expression levels of CR933609 and INO80D were decreased in CR933609-knockdown NSCLC cells, but only expression levels of INO80D decreased in INO80D knockdown cells. It was shown that there are independent promoters in CR933609 and INO80D. It was also found that the expression levels of INO80D were downregulated by endogenous miRNA­5096 in A549 cells, but not in CR933609-overexpressing A549 cells. Furthermore, the lncRNA CR933609 acted as a decoy to protect INO80D from downregulation by miRNA­5096 in NSCLC cells. A protocol was established to identify novel lncRNAs in the 3'­UTR and the existence of novel lncRNAs was confirmed.

4ß-Hydroxywithanolide E Modulates Alternative Splicing of Apoptotic Genes in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Huh-7 Cells.

Alternative splicing is a mechanism for increasing protein diversity from a limited number of genes. Studies have demonstrated that aberrant regulation in the alternative splicing of apoptotic gene transcripts may contribute to the development of cancer. In this study, we isolated 4ß-Hydroxywithanolide E (4bHWE) from the traditional herb Physalis peruviana and investigated its biological effect in cancer cells. The results demonstrated that 4bHWE modulates the alternative splicing of various apoptotic genes, including HIPK3, SMAC/DIABLO, and SURVIVIN. We also discovered that the levels of SRSF1 phospho-isoform were decreased and the levels of H3K36me3 were increased in 4bHWE treatment. Knockdown experiments revealed that the splicing site selection of SMAC/DIABLO could be mediated by changes in the level of H3K36me3 in 4bHWE-treated cells. Furthermore, we extended our study to apoptosis-associated molecules, and detected increased levels of poly ADP-ribose polymerase cleavage and the active form of CASPASE-3 in 4bHWE-induced apoptosis. In vivo experiments indicated that the treatment of tumor-bearing mice with 4bHWE resulted in a marked decrease in tumor size. This study is the first to demonstrate that 4bHWE affects alternative splicing by modulating splicing factors and histone modifications, and provides a novel view of the antitumor mechanism of 4bHWE.

Muscle developmental defects in heterogeneous nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1 knockout mice.

Heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein A1 (hnRNP A1) is crucial for regulating alternative splicing. Its integrated function within an organism has not, however, been identified. We generated hnRNP A1 knockout mice to study the role of hnRNP A1 in vivo The knockout mice, hnRNP A1-/-, showed embryonic lethality because of muscle developmental defects. The blood pressure and heart rate of the heterozygous mice were higher than those of the wild-type mice, indicating heart function defects. We performed mouse exon arrays to study the muscle development mechanism. The processes regulated by hnRNP A1 included cell adhesion and muscle contraction. The expression levels of muscle development-related genes in hnRNP A1+/- mice were significantly different from those in wild-type mice, as detected using qRT-PCR. We further confirmed the alternative splicing patterns of muscle development-related genes including mef2c, lrrfip1, usp28 and abcc9 Alternative mRNA isoforms of these genes were increased in hnRNP A1+/- mice compared with wild-type mice. Furthermore, we revealed that the functionally similar hnRNP A2/B1 did not compensate for the expression of hnRNP A1 in organisms. In summary, our study demonstrated that hnRNP A1 plays a critical and irreplaceable role in embryonic muscle development by regulating the expression and alternative splicing of muscle-related genes.

TCH1036, a indeno[1,2-c]quinoline derivative, potentially inhibited the growth of human brain malignant glioma (GBM) 8401 cells via suppression of the expression of Suv39h1 and PARP.

A newly synthesized Indeno[1,2-c]quinoline derivative, which has previously been found to potentially trap DNA-topoisomerase cleavage complexes more effectively than camptothecin, could effectively inhibit the proliferation of a variety of cancers, such as breast cancer treated with TCH1030. In this study, we further explore the activity of the TCH1036, TCH1259 and TCH1030 compounds in suppressing the growth of human brain malignant glioma (GBM) 8401 cells, in addition to elucidating the related mechanisms. According to tests of cytotoxicity, the GBM cells were more sensitive to the inhibitory effects of the TCH1036 compound than to those of the other two compounds. Moreover, the accumulation of GBM cells in the sub-G1 and G2/M phases was clearly induced by the TCH1036 compound in a dose-dependent manner. A screening of the majority of histone-modifier enzymes indicated that the expression of Suv39h1 in the GBM cells was attenuated by treatment with each of the TCH compounds, an observation which was further confirmed by Western blotting. The increase in active-form caspase 3 in the GBM cells treated with TCH compounds caused a high degree of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage and also enhanced the high ratio of hypodiploid GBM cells in the sub-G1 phase. In molecular docking simulations, it was observed that the stable forms of the TCH compounds could successfully insert into the catalytic pocket of PARP, with the highest affinity being between PARP and the TCH1036 compound. These findings suggested that the TCH1036 compound would be a promising compound in the treatment of brain malignant glioma.

Development of a high-resolution melting method for the screening of TNFAIP3 gene mutations.

Tumor necrosis factor, α-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3) which encodes a ubiquitin-modifying enzyme (A20), acts as a negative regulator of the NF-κB pathway, and in lymphoma and autoimmune diseases it is frequently inactivated by mutations and/or deletions. We investigated the prevalence of the inactivation of TNFAIP3 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). DNA was extracted from 81 cases of OSCC and 50 peripheral blood samples from normal controls. A high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis was used to characterize TNFAIP3 mutations, and the results were confirmed by direct DNA sequencing. Three mutations and three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were found to be associated with OSCC; the TNFAIP3 mutation occurred in 3.7% (3/81) of the OSCC cases examined. All mutations were in exon 7 [c.1081G>A (p.E361K), c.1398C>G (p.S466R) (rs200878487) and c.1760C>T (p.P587L) (rs150056192)], and p.E361K was identified as a novel mutation. We further used SIFT and PolyPhen-2 software to assess potentially functional mutations. Two SNPs, c.296­20_296-18delCTC (rs71670547) and c.380T>G (p.F127C) (rs2230926), were located in exon 3, and c.2140C>T (p.P714S) was located in exon 9. A novel SNP, p.P714S differed from the one reported previously (p.P714A) (rs369155845) at that site. We also identified five SNPs in 50 normal Taiwanese individuals, and two of them [c.296­15C>T (rs377482653) and c.305A>G (p.N102S) (rs146534657)] were not found in our OSCC tissue. HRM facilitated the screening of genetic changes. In addition, our results indicate that the prevalence of the TNFAIP3 mutation is low in OSCC.

Direct assessment of cytochrome P450 2D6 genotypes by high-resolution melting analysis and DNA sequencing.

We developed a CYP2D6 genotyping method that required only one polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by a high-resolution melting curve analysis (HRM) and DNA sequencing. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples obtained from 100 normal individuals. From the HRM analysis using three fragments of amplicons (exons 1, 6, and 9), we successfully identified four common CYP2D6 gene polymorphisms (100C>T, 2850C>T, 2988G>A, and 4180G>C). Exons 3 and 7 were also screened by HRM analysis. The heteroduplexes, wild-type homoduplexes, and homoduplexes of compound mutations showed distinct melting plots. The other four exons (exons 2, 4, 5, and 8) were directly analyzed by DNA sequencing. In conclusion, we developed an HRM and DNA sequencing based method to assess the CYP2D6 gene directly without the need for nested PCR. This method is quick and cost-effective; it reduces the chance of PCR contamination and is suitable for clinical application.