Genomic and oncogenic preference of HBV integration in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can integrate into the human genome, contributing to genomic instability and hepatocarcinogenesis. Here by conducting high-throughput viral integration detection and RNA sequencing, we identify 4,225 HBV integration events in tumour and adjacent non-tumour samples from 426 patients with HCC. We show that HBV is prone to integrate into rare fragile sites and functional genomic regions including CpG islands. We observe a distinct pattern in the preferential sites of HBV integration between tumour and non-tumour tissues. HBV insertional sites are significantly enriched in the proximity of telomeres in tumours. Recurrent HBV target genes are identified with few that overlap. The overall HBV integration frequency is much higher in tumour genomes of males than in females, with a significant enrichment of integration into chromosome 17. Furthermore, a cirrhosis-dependent HBV integration pattern is observed, affecting distinct targeted genes. Our data suggest that HBV integration has a high potential to drive oncogenic transformation

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

CTHRC1 Acts as a Prognostic Factor and Promotes Invasiveness of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors by Activating Wnt/PCP-Rho Signaling

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the major gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumors with a variable malignancy ranging from a curable disorder to highly malignant sarcomas. Metastasis and recurrence are the main causes of death in GIST patients. To further explore the mechanism of metastasis and to more accurately estimate the recurrence risk of GISTs after surgery, the clinical significance and functional role of collagen triple helix repeat containing-1 (CTHRC1) in GIST were investigated. We found that CTHRC1 expression was gradually elevated as the risk grade of NIH classification increased, and was closely correlated with disease-free survival and overall survival in 412 GIST patients. In vitro experiments showed that recombinant CTHRC1 protein promoted the migration and invasion capacities of primary GIST cells. A luciferase reporter assay and pull down assay demonstrated that recombinant CTHRC1 protein activated noncanonical Wnt/PCP-Rho signaling but inhibited canonical Wnt signaling. The pro-motility effect of CTHRC1 on GIST cells was reversed by using a Wnt5a neutralizing antibody and inhibitors of Rac1 or ROCK. Taken together, these data indicate that CTHRC1 may serve as a new predictor of recurrence risk and prognosis in post-operative GIST patients and may play an important role in facilitating GIST progression. Furthermore, CTHRC1 promotes GIST cell migration and invasion by activating Wnt/PCP-Rho signaling, suggesting that the CTHRC1-Wnt/PCP-Rho axis may be a new therapeutic target for interventions against GIST invasion and metastasis

Proportion of Uterine Malignant Tumors in Patients with Laparoscopic Myomectomy: A National Multicenter Study in China

Background: The Food and Drug Administration recently announced that the use of morcellation may cause fibroids or pelvic dissemination and metastasis of uterine sarcoma; therefore, the use of morcellation is limited in the USA. A large sample study is necessary to assess the proportion of uterine malignant tumors found in patients with laparoscopic myomectomy. Methods: A national multicenter study was performed in China. From 2002 to 2014, 33,723 cases were retrospectively selected. We calculated the prevalence and recorded the clinical characteristics of the patients with malignancy after morcellation application. A total of 62 cases were finally pathologically confirmed as malignant postoperatively. Additionally, the medical records of the 62 patients were analyzed in details. Results: The proportion of postoperative malignancy after morcellation application was 0.18% (62/33,723) for patients who underwent laparoscopic myomectomy. Nearly 62.9% (39/62) of patients had demonstrated blood flow signals in the uterine fibroids before surgery. And, 23 (37.1%) patients showed rapid growth at the final preoperative ultrasound. With respect to the pathological types, 38 (61.3%) patients had detectable endometrial stromal sarcoma, 13 (21.0%) had detectable uterine leiomyosarcoma, only 3 (3.2%) had detectable carcinosarcoma, and 5 (8.1%) patients with leiomyoma had an undetermined malignant potential. Conclusions: The proportion of malignancy is low after using morcellation in patients who undergo laparoscopic myomectomy. Patients with fast-growing uterine fibroids and abnormal ultrasonic tumor blood flow should be considered for malignant potential, and morcellation should be avoided