The oncogenic properties of EWS/WT1 of desmoplastic small round cell tumors are unmasked by loss of p53 in murine embryonic fibroblasts

BACKGROUND: Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is characterized by the presence of a fusion protein EWS/WT1, arising from the t (11;22) (p13;q12) translocation. Here we examine the oncogenic properties of two splice variants of EWS/WT1, EWS/WT1-KTS and EWS/WT1 + KTS. METHODS: We over-expressed both EWS/WT1 variants in murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) of wild-type, p53+/- and p53-/- backgrounds and measured effects on cell-proliferation, anchorage-independent growth, clonogenicity after serum withdrawal, and sensitivity to cytotoxic drugs and gamma irradiation in comparison to control cells. We examined gene expression profiles in cells expressing EWS/WT1. Finally we validated our key findings in a small series of DSRCT. RESULTS: Neither isoform of EWS/WT1 was sufficient to transform wild-type MEFs however the oncogenic potential of both was unmasked by p53 loss. Expression of EWS/WT1 in MEFs lacking at least one allele of p53 enhanced cell-proliferation, clonogenic survival and anchorage-independent growth. EWS/WT1 expression in wild-type MEFs conferred resistance to cell-cycle arrest after irradiation and daunorubicin induced apoptosis. We show DSRCT commonly have nuclear localization of p53, and copy-number amplification of MDM2/MDMX. Expression of either isoform of EWS/WT1 induced characteristic mRNA expression profiles. Gene-set enrichment analysis demonstrated enrichment of WNT pathway signatures in MEFs expressing EWS/WT1 + KTS. Wnt-activation was validated in cell lines with over-expression of EWS/WT1 and in DSRCT. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we show both isoforms of EWS/WT1 have oncogenic potential in MEFs with loss of p53. In addition we provide the first link between EWS/WT1 and Wnt-pathway signaling. These data provide novel insights into the function of the EWS/WT1 fusion protein which characterize DSRCT

Rethinking childhood ependymoma: a retrospective, multi-center analysis reveals poor long-term overall survival

Ependymoma is the third most common brain tumor in children, but there is a paucity of large studies with more than 10 years of follow-up examining the long-term survival and recurrence patterns of this disease. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 103 pediatric patients with WHO Grades II/III intracranial ependymoma, who were treated at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and Chicago’s Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital between 1985 and 2008, and an additional 360 ependymoma patients identified from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. For the institutional cohort, we evaluated clinical and histopathological prognostic factors of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) using the log-rank test, and univariate and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards models. Overall survival rates were compared to those of the SEER cohort. Median follow-up time was 11 years. Ten-year OS and PFS were 50 ± 5% and 29 ± 5%, respectively. Findings were validated in the independent SEER cohort, with 10-year OS rates of 52 ± 3%. GTR and grade II pathology were associated with significantly improved OS. However, GTR was not curative for all children. Ten-year OS for patients treated with a GTR was 61 ± 7% and PFS was 36 ± 6%. Pathological examination confirmed most recurrent tumors to be ependymoma, and 74% occurred at the primary tumor site. Current treatment paradigms are not sufficient to provide long-term cure for children with ependymoma. Our findings highlight the urgent need to develop novel treatment approaches for this devastating disease. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11060-017-2568-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Epigenetic targeting of Hedgehog pathway transcriptional output through BET bromodomain inhibition

Hedgehog signaling drives oncogenesis in several cancers and strategies targeting this pathway have been developed, most notably through inhibition of Smoothened. However, resistance to Smoothened inhibitors occurs via genetic changes of Smoothened or other downstream Hedgehog components. Here, we overcome these resistance mechanisms by modulating GLI transcription via inhibition of BET bromodomain proteins. We show the BET bromodomain protein, BRD4, regulates GLI transcription downstream of SMO and SUFU and chromatin immunoprecipitation studies reveal BRD4 directly occupies GLI1 and GLI2 promoters, with a substantial decrease in engagement of these sites upon treatment with JQ1, a small molecule inhibitor targeting BRD4. Globally, genes associated with medulloblastoma-specific GLI1 binding sites are downregulated in response to JQ1 treatment, supporting direct regulation of GLI activity by BRD4. Notably, patient- and GEMM-derived Hedgehog-driven tumors (basal cell carcinoma, medulloblastoma and atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor) respond to JQ1 even when harboring genetic lesions rendering them resistant to Smoothened antagonists

Pathway and network analysis of more than 2500 whole cancer genomes.

The catalog of cancer driver mutations in protein-coding genes has greatly expanded in the past decade. However, non-coding cancer driver mutations are less well-characterized and only a handful of recurrent non-coding mutations, most notably TERT promoter mutations, have been reported. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2658 cancer across 38 tumor types, we perform multi-faceted pathway and network analyses of non-coding mutations across 2583 whole cancer genomes from 27 tumor types compiled by the ICGC/TCGA PCAWG project that was motivated by the success of pathway and network analyses in prioritizing rare mutations in protein-coding genes. While few non-coding genomic elements are recurrently mutated in this cohort, we identify 93 genes harboring non-coding mutations that cluster into several modules of interacting proteins. Among these are promoter mutations associated with reduced mRNA expression in TP53, TLE4, and TCF4. We find that biological processes had variable proportions of coding and non-coding mutations, with chromatin remodeling and proliferation pathways altered primarily by coding mutations, while developmental pathways, including Wnt and Notch, altered by both coding and non-coding mutations. RNA splicing is primarily altered by non-coding mutations in this cohort, and samples containing non-coding mutations in well-known RNA splicing factors exhibit similar gene expression signatures as samples with coding mutations in these genes. These analyses contribute a new repertoire of possible cancer genes and mechanisms that are altered by non-coding mutations and offer insights into additional cancer vulnerabilities that can be investigated for potential therapeutic treatments

Analyses of non-coding somatic drivers in 2,658 cancer whole genomes.

The discovery of drivers of cancer has traditionally focused on protein-coding genes1-4. Here we present analyses of driver point mutations and structural variants in non-coding regions across 2,658 genomes from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium5 of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). For point mutations, we developed a statistically rigorous strategy for combining significance levels from multiple methods of driver discovery that overcomes the limitations of individual methods. For structural variants, we present two methods of driver discovery, and identify regions that are significantly affected by recurrent breakpoints and recurrent somatic juxtapositions. Our analyses confirm previously reported drivers6,7, raise doubts about others and identify novel candidates, including point mutations in the 5' region of TP53, in the 3' untranslated regions of NFKBIZ and TOB1, focal deletions in BRD4 and rearrangements in the loci of AKR1C genes. We show that although point mutations and structural variants that drive cancer are less frequent in non-coding genes and regulatory sequences than in protein-coding genes, additional examples of these drivers will be found as more cancer genomes become available

The role of the EWS/WT1 fusion protein in the pathogenesis of desmoplastic small round cell tumor

© 2012 Dr. Pratiti BandopadhayayDesmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is an aggressive tumor characterised by the t(11;22) translocation which results in the fusion of exons 1-VII of the Ewing’s sarcoma gene (EWS) to exons VIII-X of the Wilms tumor gene (WT1). Little is understood in regards to the role of the fusion protein in the pathogenesis of this tumor. Two splice variants of the fusion protein are described, which result in the insertion (+KTS) or absence (-KTS) of a three amino acid sequence in the WT1 zinc binding fingers. Using inducible lentiviral expression vectors, EWS/WT1 was expressed in primary murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) derived from E14.5 embryos of C57BL6 or p53 knock-out mice. EWS/WT1-KTS or EWS/WT1+KTS were insufficient to transform wild type MEFs, however in p53 knock-out MEFs both isoforms of EWS/WT1 were able to transform the cells. Primary MEFs expressing EWS/WT1-KTS or EWS/WT1+KTS demonstrated attenuated p53 mediated responses. Microarray analysis demonstrated different expression profiles of cells expressing EWS/WT1 compared to eGFP controls and pathway analysis shows differential expression of genes involved Wnt signaling. Analysis of a series of DSRCT samples revealed both transcripts of EWS/WT1 are present with the EWS/WT1+KTS transcript being more abundant. There was no evidence of p53 mutations in exons five to eight however there was a high incidence of MDM2/MDM4 amplification in a series of 15 tumors examined, representing a mechanism by which p53 function may be suppressed in the tumours. -catenin immunohistochemistry in the tumors revealed nuclear immunoreactivity of -catenin, suggesting up-regulation of Wnt signaling and this was validated with real time PCR. These results provide novel insights into the oncogenic properties of EWS/WT1