Mapping of Genetic Abnormalities of Primary Tumours from Metastatic CRC by High-Resolution SNP Arrays

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- et al.[Background]: For years, the genetics of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) have been studied using a variety of techniques. However, most of the approaches employed so far have a relatively limited resolution which hampers detailed characterization of the common recurrent chromosomal breakpoints as well as the identification of small regions carrying genetic changes and the genes involved in them. [Methodology/Principal Findings]: Here we applied 500K SNP arrays to map the most common chromosomal lesions present at diagnosis in a series of 23 primary tumours from sporadic CRC patients who had developed liver metastasis. Overall our results confirm that the genetic profile of metastatic CRC is defined by imbalanced gains of chromosomes 7, 8q, 11q, 13q, 20q and X together with losses of the 1p, 8p, 17p and 18q chromosome regions. In addition, SNP-array studies allowed the identification of small (1.5 Mb) altered DNA sequences, many of which contain cancer genes known to be involved in CRC and the metastatic process. Detailed characterization of the breakpoint regions for the altered chromosomes showed four recurrent breakpoints at chromosomes 1p12, 8p12, 17p11.2 and 20p12.1; interestingly, the most frequently observed recurrent chromosomal breakpoint was localized at 17p11.2 and systematically targeted the FAM27L gene, whose role in CRC deserves further investigations. [Conclusions/Significance]: In summary, in the present study we provide a detailed map of the genetic abnormalities of primary tumours from metastatic CRC patients, which confirm and extend on previous observations as regards the identification of genes potentially involved in development of CRC and the metastatic process.This work has been partially supported by grants from the Consejeria de Sanidad, Junta de Castilla y Leon, Valladolid, Spain (SAN191/SA09/06 and SAN673/SA39/08), Fundacion Memoria de Don Samuel Solorzano Barruso, Salamanca, Spain, Caja de Burgos (Obra Social), Burgos, Spain, Grupo Excelencia de Castilla y Leon (GR37) and the RTICC from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, Madrid, Spain (RD06/0020/0035-FEDER). JM Sayagués, M Gonzalez, ME Sarasquete and MC Chillon are supported by grants (CP05/00321, FI08/00721, CA08/00212 and CA/07/00077, respectively) from the ISCIII, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Madrid, Spain. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewe

New results in the characterization by Raman spectroscopy of yellow pigments used in ceramic artworks of the 16th and 17th centuries

This investigation is focused on the identification in ceramic artworks of certain nonstandard yellow/orange pigments whose composition is based, fundamentally, on lead, tin, and antimony oxides with or without silica. In this work, a comparative study (temporal and geographical) of the employment of these yellow pigments in different production centers, from Italy (Pesaro and Montelupo) and Spain (Talavera de la Reina), during the Renaissance and Baroque epochs has been proposed. For this purpose, special very ancient yellow pigments were acquired from the Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro, Murano-Venezia (Italy). These reference pigments have been produced following strict and rigorous manufacturing recipes corresponding to Venezian fabrication processes for the 16th and 17th centuries. On the other hand, the portable characteristic of a new optical fiber Raman system has allowed us the access into the Museo de Cerámica de Barcelona in order to investigate the composition of the yellow and orange colors of an important ceramic collection belonging to this museum. The results are in good agreement with the ones obtained by other authors who have investigated the same topic. It is notable, first, the excellent performances that this portable Raman system offers in the direct and non-invasive analysis of ceramic artworks and, second, the coincidences of the molecular results among these yellow pigments. This fact confirms that these pigments were commonly used either in Italian and Spanish ceramic objects during both Renaissance and Baroque epochsPeer Reviewe

New results in the characterization by Raman spectroscopy of yellow pigments used in ceramic artworks of the 16th and 17th centuries

This investigation is focused on the identification in ceramic artworks of certain nonstandard yellow/orange pigments whose composition is based, fundamentally, on lead, tin, and antimony oxides with or without silica. In this work, a comparative study (temporal and geographical) of the employment of these yellow pigments in different production centers, from Italy (Pesaro and Montelupo) and Spain (Talavera de la Reina), during the Renaissance and Baroque epochs has been proposed. For this purpose, special very ancient yellow pigments were acquired from the Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro, Murano-Venezia (Italy). These reference pigments have been produced following strict and rigorous manufacturing recipes corresponding to Venezian fabrication processes for the 16th and 17th centuries. On the other hand, the portable characteristic of a new optical fiber Raman system has allowed us the access into the Museo de Cerámica de Barcelona in order to investigate the composition of the yellow and orange colors of an important ceramic collection belonging to this museum. The results are in good agreement with the ones obtained by other authors who have investigated the same topic. It is notable, first, the excellent performances that this portable Raman system offers in the direct and non-invasive analysis of ceramic artworks and, second, the coincidences of the molecular results among these yellow pigments. This fact confirms that these pigments were commonly used either in Italian and Spanish ceramic objects during both Renaissance and Baroque epochsPeer Reviewe