Vascular endothelial growth factor expression in ovarian serous carcinomas and its effect on tumor proliferation

Introduction: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an endothelial mitogen, acts through VEGF receptors (VEGFRs) on the endothelial cells. During neoplastic transformation, it is hypothesized that the tumor expresses VEGF and also acquire VEGF receptor, enabling VEGF action in an autocrine and paracrine manner with varied effects on the tumor growth and progression. This study on ovarian serous carcinomas (OSCs) was done to determine the expression of VEGF and to correlate it with tumor proliferation. Material and Methods: Forty cases of OSCs were included. Immunohistochemistry was performed for VEGF and Ki-67. The VEGF slides were assigned an immunohistochemical score based on the staining intensity (a) and the percentage of tumor cells staining (b). The sum of both (a) and (b) ranged from 0-6. VEGF was considered positive when the score was more than 2. For Ki-67, maximally immunostained areas were selected; 500 cells counted and positive fraction determined. Mann Whitney test was used to determine the difference in the median value of Ki-67 between VEGF positive tumors and VEGF negative tumors. Results: Of the 40 cases, 32 cases had a VEGF score of >2 (positive) and 8 cases had VEGF score <2 (negative). The Ki-67 score ranged from 2-98%, with mean of 51%. The median Ki-67 index was much higher in VEGF positive cases as compared to VEGF negative tumors (57.5% vs. 40%). However, the difference in the two categories did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.45, Mann Whitney test). Conclusion: Ovarian serous carcinomas express VEGF in a significant number of cases (80% in the present study) although its potential mitogenic effect on tumor cells was not confirmed

Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor Expression in Endometrioid Endometrial Carcinomas: A Clinicopathological Study

Background: This study assesses the expressions of estrogen and progesterone receptors in endometrioid carcinomas of the endometrium and their association with established clinicopathological prognostic parameters. Methods: We reviewed the pathology and medical records from 45 cases of endometrioid endometrial carcinomas that were seen from 2006 to 2011 for relevant clinical and histological parameters. Grade I and stage IA tumors were analyzed and compared with higher grades and stages IB- IV. Estrogen and progesterone immunostained slides were analyzed. Results: Patients’ age ranged from 32 to 77 years (mean: 58.13 years). Postmenopausal bleeding was the most common presenting complaint seen in 75.6% of cases. Associated co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension and other malignancies were seen in 88% of cases. Myometrial invasion of less than 50% of myometrial thickness was seen in 70.5% cases. There were 40% of tumors classified as FIGO grade 1 and 65.85% were FIGO stage IA. Estrogen and progesterone expressions were seen in 40 (90%) cases, predominantly in FIGO stage I disease. However there was no statistically significant association of estrogen and progesterone expression with any of the clinicopathological prognostic factors. In 23 of the 30 cases that had follow up data, there was no evidence of disease. Of these, only one case was negative for both hormone receptors. Progesterone positivity alone was seen in 87% of cases with no evidence of disease. Conclusions: Nuclear immunostaining with estrogen and progesterone was seen in the majority of cases (90%). Although we have observed a linear increase in progesterone receptor positivity with disease-free survival, this finding needs to be confirmed with additional, larger studies

Constitutional and somatic rearrangement of chromosome 21 in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Changes in gene dosage are a major driver of cancer, known to be caused by a finite, but increasingly well annotated, repertoire of mutational mechanisms1. This can potentially generate correlated copy-number alterations across hundreds of linked genes, as exemplified by the 2% of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) with recurrent amplification of megabase regions of chromosome 21 (iAMP21)2, 3. We used genomic, cytogenetic and transcriptional analysis, coupled with novel bioinformatic approaches, to reconstruct the evolution of iAMP21 ALL. Here we show that individuals born with the rare constitutional Robertsonian translocation between chromosomes 15 and 21, rob(15;21)(q10;q10)c, have approximately 2,700-fold increased risk of developing iAMP21 ALL compared to the general population. In such cases, amplification is initiated by a chromothripsis event involving both sister chromatids of the Robertsonian chromosome, a novel mechanism for cancer predisposition. In sporadic iAMP21, breakage-fusion-bridge cycles are typically the initiating event, often followed by chromothripsis. In both sporadic and rob(15;21)c-associated iAMP21, the final stages frequently involve duplications of the entire abnormal chromosome. The end-product is a derivative of chromosome 21 or the rob(15;21)c chromosome with gene dosage optimized for leukaemic potential, showing constrained copy-number levels over multiple linked genes. Thus, dicentric chromosomes may be an important precipitant of chromothripsis, as we show rob(15;21)c to be constitutionally dicentric and breakage-fusion-bridge cycles generate dicentric chromosomes somatically. Furthermore, our data illustrate that several cancer-specific mutational processes, applied sequentially, can coordinate to fashion copy-number profiles over large genomic scales, incrementally refining the fitness benefits of aggregated gene dosage changes

Fly Cell Atlas: A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult fruit fly.

For more than 100 years, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been one of the most studied model organisms. Here, we present a single-cell atlas of the adult fly, Tabula Drosophilae, that includes 580,000 nuclei from 15 individually dissected sexed tissues as well as the entire head and body, annotated to &gt;250 distinct cell types. We provide an in-depth analysis of cell type-related gene signatures and transcription factor markers, as well as sexual dimorphism, across the whole animal. Analysis of common cell types between tissues, such as blood and muscle cells, reveals rare cell types and tissue-specific subtypes. This atlas provides a valuable resource for the Drosophila community and serves as a reference to study genetic perturbations and disease models at single-cell resolution

Fly Cell Atlas: A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult fruit fly

For more than 100 years, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been one of the most studied model organisms. Here, we present a single-cell atlas of the adult fly, Tabula Drosophilae , that includes 580,000 nuclei from 15 individually dissected sexed tissues as well as the entire head and body, annotated to &gt;250 distinct cell types. We provide an in-depth analysis of cell type–related gene signatures and transcription factor markers, as well as sexual dimorphism, across the whole animal. Analysis of common cell types between tissues, such as blood and muscle cells, reveals rare cell types and tissue-specific subtypes. This atlas provides a valuable resource for the Drosophila community and serves as a reference to study genetic perturbations and disease models at single-cell resolution