Nanostructuring lithium niobate substrates by focused ion beam milling

We report on two novel ways for patterning Lithium Niobate (LN) at submicronic scale by means of focused ion beam (FIB) bombardment. The first method consists of direct FIB milling on LiNbO3 and the second one is a combination of FIB milling on a deposited metallic layer and subsequent RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) etching. FIB images show in both cases homogeneous structures with well reproduced periodicity. These methods open the way to the fabrication of photonic crystals on LiNbO3 substrates

Investigation of the realignment of the exchange bias in spintronic layer stacks using laser radiation

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der gezielten Neuorientierung des Exchange Bias in spintronischen Schichtsystemen durch selektive Aufheizung mittels fokussierter Laserstrahlung im externen Magnetfeld. Hierbei wird der Einfluss der Prozessparameter auf die resultierende Exchange Bias Feldstärke dargestellt. Neben experimentellen Untersuchungen wird die laserinduzierte Aufheizung durch Temperaturfeldsimulationen charakterisiert. Erste Untersuchungen zur Anwendung des lasergestützten Verfahrens auf Leiterbahn-strukturen werden vorgestellt

DNA amplifications at 20q13 and MDM2 define distinct subsets of evolved breast and ovarian tumours.

DNA amplification seems to be particularly frequent in human breast tumours and has been associated with cancer evolution and aggressiveness. Recent data indicate that new events should be added to the list, such as the amplifications at chromosome 20q13 or the MDM2 gene. The present work aimed at determining the incidence and clinicopathological signification of these amplifications in a large series of breast and ovarian tumours. We tested 1371 breast and 179 ovarian tumours by Southern blotting and observed amplification of 20q13 in 5.4% breast and 2.8% ovarian carcinomas, whereas MDM2 was found amplified in 5.3% and 3.8% of breast and ovarian tumours respectively. MDM2 RNA expression levels were analysed in a subset of 57 breast tumours and overexpression was observed in 4/57 (7%) of the tumours. Elevated expression levels coincided with amplification of the gene. In breast cancer, 20q13 and MDM2 amplifications seem to define subsets of aggressive tumours. Indeed, 20q13 was correlated to axillary nodal involvement and occurred preferentially in younger patients (< 50 years). Furthermore, 20q13 correlated, as did MDM2 amplification, to aneuploidy. In parallel, we had also tested our tumour DNAs for amplification of CCND1, ERBB-2 and MYC, which made it possible to test for correlations with 20q13 or MDM2 amplifications. Whereas 20q13 showed a very strong correlation to CCND1 amplification, that of MDM2 was prevalent in MYC-amplified tumours. Interestingly, 20q13 and MDM2 amplifications showed some degree of correlation to each other, which may possibly be owing to the fact that both events occurred preferentially in aneuploid tumours. In ovarian cancer, no statistically significant correlation was observed. However, 20q13 amplification occurred preferentially in stage 3 tumours and MDM2 was correlated to ERBB-2 amplification. This may suggest that in ovarian tumours also, 20q13 and MDM2 amplifications occur in late or aggressive cancers

AIB1 gene amplification and the instability of polyQ encoding sequence in breast cancer cell lines

BACKGROUND: The poly Q polymorphism in AIB1 (amplified in breast cancer) gene is usually assessed by fragment length analysis which does not reveal the actual sequence variation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the sequence variation of poly Q encoding region in breast cancer cell lines at single molecule level, and to determine if the sequence variation is related to AIB1 gene amplification. METHODS: The polymorphic poly Q encoding region of AIB1 gene was investigated at the single molecule level by PCR cloning/sequencing. The amplification of AIB1 gene in various breast cancer cell lines were studied by real-time quantitative PCR. RESULTS: Significant amplifications (5–23 folds) of AIB1 gene were found in 2 out of 9 (22%) ER positive cell lines (in BT-474 and MCF-7 but not in BT-20, ZR-75-1, T47D, BT483, MDA-MB-361, MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-330). The AIB1 gene was not amplified in any of the ER negative cell lines. Different passages of MCF-7 cell lines and their derivatives maintained the feature of AIB1 amplification. When the cells were selected for hormone independence (LCC1) and resistance to 4-hydroxy tamoxifen (4-OH TAM) (LCC2 and R27), ICI 182,780 (LCC9) or 4-OH TAM, KEO and LY 117018 (LY-2), AIB1 copy number decreased but still remained highly amplified. Sequencing analysis of poly Q encoding region of AIB1 gene did not reveal specific patterns that could be correlated with AIB1 gene amplification. However, about 72% of the breast cancer cell lines had at least one under represented (<20%) extra poly Q encoding sequence patterns that were derived from the original allele, presumably due to somatic instability. Although all MCF-7 cells and their variants had the same predominant poly Q encoding sequence pattern of (CAG)(3)CAA(CAG)(9)(CAACAG)(3)(CAACAGCAG)(2)CAA of the original cell line, a number of altered poly Q encoding sequences were found in the derivatives of MCF-7 cell lines. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that poly Q encoding region of AIB1 gene is somatic unstable in breast cancer cell lines. The instability and the sequence characteristics, however, do not appear to be associated with the level of the gene amplification

Genetic profiling of chromosome 1 in breast cancer: mapping of regions of gains and losses and identification of candidate genes on 1q

Chromosome 1 is involved in quantitative anomalies in 50–60% of breast tumours. However, the structure of these anomalies and the identity of the affected genes remain to be determined. To characterise these anomalies and define their consequences on gene expression, we undertook a study combining array-CGH analysis and expression profiling using specialised arrays. Array-CGH data showed that 1p was predominantly involved in losses and 1q almost exclusively in gains. Noticeably, high magnitude amplification was infrequent. In an attempt to fine map regions of copy number changes, we defined 19 shortest regions of overlap (SROs) for gains (one at 1p and 18 at 1q) and of 20 SROs for losses (all at 1p). These SROs, whose sizes ranged from 170 kb to 3.2 Mb, represented the smallest genomic intervals possible based on the resolution of our array. The elevated incidence of gains at 1q, added to the well-established concordance between DNA copy increase and augmented RNA expression, made us focus on gene expression changes at this chromosomal arm. To identify candidate oncogenes, we studied the RNA expression profiles of 307 genes located at 1q using a home-made built cDNA array. We identified 30 candidate genes showing significant overexpression correlated to copy number increase. In order to substantiate their involvement, RNA expression levels of these candidate genes were measured by quantitative (Q)-RT–PCR in a panel of 25 breast cancer cell lines previously typed by array-CGH. Q–PCR showed that 11 genes were significantly overexpressed in the presence of a genomic gain in these cell lines, and 20 overexpressed when compared to normal breast

Expression and subcellular localization of cyclin D1 protein in epithelial ovarian tumour cells

The expression of cyclin D1 protein in tumour sections from 81 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer was analysed using immunohistochemistry. The tumours that overexpressed cyclin D1 in more than 10% of neoplastic cells were considered positive. Thus overexpression of cyclin D1 was observed in 72/81 (89%) of the cases examined. Protein was detected in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm in 24/81 (30%) and localized exclusively in the cytoplasm in 48/81 (59%) of the tumours. Cyclin D1 was overexpressed in both borderline and invasive tumours. There was no association between protein overexpression and tumour stage and differentiation. Furthermore, no correlation between cyclin D1 expression and clinical outcome was observed. However, in tumours overexpressing cyclin D1 (n = 72), the proportion displaying exclusively cytoplasmic localization of protein was higher in those with serous compared with non-serous histology (P = 0.004, odds ratio 4.8, 95% confidence interval 1.4–19.1). Western analysis using a monoclonal antibody to cyclin D1 identified a 36 kDa protein in homogenates from seven tumours displaying cytoplasmic only and one tumour demonstrating both nuclear and cytoplasmic immunostaining. Using restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction and PCR-multiplex analysis, amplification of the cyclin D1 gene (CCNDI) was detected in 1/29 of the tumours demonstrating overexpression of cyclin D1 protein. We conclude that deregulation of CCND1 expression leading to both cytoplasmic and nuclear protein localization is a frequent event in ovarian cancer and occurs mainly in the absence of gene amplification. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Frequency, prognostic impact, and subtype association of 8p12, 8q24, 11q13, 12p13, 17q12, and 20q13 amplifications in breast cancers

BACKGROUND: Oncogene amplification and overexpression occur in tumor cells. Amplification status may provide diagnostic and prognostic information and may lead to new treatment strategies. Chromosomal regions 8p12, 8q24, 11q13, 17q12 and 20q13 are recurrently amplified in breast cancers. METHODS: To assess the frequencies and clinical impact of amplifications, we analyzed 547 invasive breast tumors organized in a tissue microarray (TMA) by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and calculated correlations with histoclinical features and prognosis. BAC probes were designed for: (i) two 8p12 subregions centered on RAB11FIP1 and FGFR1 loci, respectively; (ii) 11q13 region centered on CCND1; (iii) 12p13 region spanning NOL1; and (iv) three 20q13 subregions centered on MYBL2, ZNF217 and AURKA, respectively. Regions 8q24 and 17q12 were analyzed with MYC and ERBB2 commercial probes, respectively. RESULTS: We observed amplification of 8p12 (amplified at RAB11FIP1 and/or FGFR1) in 22.8%, 8q24 in 6.1%, 11q13 in 19.6%, 12p13 in 4.1%, 17q12 in 9.9%, 20q13(Z )(amplified at ZNF217 only) in 9.9%, and 20q13(Co )(co-amplification of two or three 20q13 loci) in 8.5% of cases. The 8q24, 12p13, and 17q12 amplifications were correlated with high grade. The most frequent single amplifications were 8p12 (9.8%), 8q24 (3.3%) and 12p13 (3.3%), 20q13(Z )and 20q13(Co )(1.6%) regions. The 17q12 and 11q13 regions were never found amplified alone. The most frequent co-amplification was 8p12/11q13. Amplifications of 8p12 and 17q12 were associated with poor outcome. Amplification of 12p13 was associated with basal molecular subtype. CONCLUSION: Our results establish the frequencies, prognostic impacts and subtype associations of various amplifications and co-amplifications in breast cancers

Human BCAS3 Expression in Embryonic Stem Cells and Vascular Precursors Suggests a Role in Human Embryogenesis and Tumor Angiogenesis

Cancer is often associated with multiple and progressive genetic alterations in genes that are important for normal development. BCAS3 (Breast Cancer Amplified Sequence 3) is a gene of unknown function on human chromosome 17q23, a region associated with breakpoints of several neoplasms. The normal expression pattern of BCAS3 has not been studied, though it is implicated in breast cancer progression. Rudhira, a murine WD40 domain protein that is 98% identical to BCAS3 is expressed in embryonic stem (ES) cells, erythropoiesis and angiogenesis. This suggests that BCAS3 expression also may not be restricted to mammary tissue and may have important roles in other normal as well as malignant tissues. We show that BCAS3 is also expressed in human ES cells and during their differentiation into blood vascular precursors. We find that BCAS3 is aberrantly expressed in malignant human brain lesions. In glioblastoma, hemangiopericytoma and brain abscess we note high levels of BCAS3 expression in tumor cells and some blood vessels. BCAS3 may be associated with multiple cancerous and rapidly proliferating cells and hence the expression, function and regulation of this gene merits further investigation. We suggest that BCAS3 is mis-expressed in brain tumors and could serve as a human ES cell and tumor marker