条件性敲除APC基因小鼠肠道腺瘤模型的构建

腺瘤性结肠息肉病(adenomatous polyposis coli,APC)基因是家族性腺瘤性息肉病(familial adenomatous polyposis,FAP)的致病基因,APC基因的突变导致小鼠多处产生肿瘤,但肠道条件性敲除APC基因后,小鼠的表型并不清楚。该研究利用Cre-LoxP重组酶系统,在肠道绒毛和隐窝上皮细胞条件性敲除APC基因,并对小鼠表型进行鉴定和分析。将Villin Cre小鼠和APC~(fl/fl)小鼠合笼得到Villin Cre;APC~(fl/+)小鼠;有意思的是后者进一步与APC~(fl/fl)小鼠合笼,却没有得到Villin Cre;APC~(fl/fl)小鼠。进一步解剖Villin Cre;APC~(fl/+)小鼠,发现其自发产生肠道肿瘤,并能携瘤生存,免疫组化显示瘤体组织激活了Wnt信号通路。结果表明成功地构建了小鼠肠道条件性敲除APC基因腺瘤模型,为进一步研究APC基因在肠道发育以及肠道肿瘤的作用提供了优良的工具。     

小鼠结直肠自发肿瘤模型的建立

目的:建立小鼠结直肠自发肿瘤模型。方法:用雄性Ap~(Mn/ )基因突变小鼠与雌性BubR1~( /-)基因敲除小鼠交配。得到的子代小鼠,按基因型分为Wild Type,BubR1~( /-),Apc(Mn/ ),和BubR~(1 /-)Apc(Mn/ 4)组,每组7只,观察各组肠组织肿瘤数目、大小和位置,行HE染色后观察病理学改变,并用免疫组化染色法研究各组结直肠β-catenin的表达。结果:①BubR1~( /-)Apc(Mn/ )组小鼠结直肠肿瘤的发病率显著增加,较Apc(Mn/ )组有显著差异(P=0．008)。②BubR1或Apc单独缺失组小鼠结直肠中β-catenin蛋白除在细胞膜表达外,在细胞质也有弱阳性表达;而BubR1~( /-)Apc(Mn/ )组小鼠结直肠β-catenin的表达水平明显增高,且多为细胞质表达和(或)膜浆共表达,部分合并细胞核表达。结论建立小鼠结直肠自发肿瘤模型对于筛选抗肿瘤药物和研究肿瘤发生机制具一定的应用价值。     

结直肠腺癌转移相关基因的研究进展

结直肠腺癌的发生和发展是一个涉及多基因,多步骤的复杂过程。在结直肠腺癌的发生发展过程中,癌基因被激活,或者抑癌基因被沉默,或者基因间的相互作用,最终导致结直肠腺癌的不断发展,进而导致癌症的转移与浸润。近年来研究发现,与结直肠腺癌迁移与浸润相关的的基因越来越多。但是,这些基因是如何作用,在结直肠腺癌的发病过程中是否起着重要的作用。本文就近年来与结直肠腺癌迁移与浸润相关的基因,例如:RUNX3、TGF-β1、MACC1、MMP-2、MMP-7等展开综述。     

TCR基因修饰淋巴细胞体内抗肿瘤作用的研究

建立荷人肝癌细胞BEL-7402的SCID小鼠模型,用脂质体介导进行基因转染,流式细胞术检测TCRVβ7.1基因表达,分别以尾静脉注射,肿瘤周围皮下注射以及腹腔注射三种方式给予荷瘤免疫缺陷小鼠(SCID鼠)转染TCRVβ7.1基因的人外周血淋巴细胞,24h后处死小鼠取各组织用免疫组化方法来检测淋巴细胞在小鼠体内的分布的情况.通过检测瘤重、肿瘤体积大小,并计算肿瘤抑制率,观察该基因对SCID荷瘤小鼠的抑瘤作用,为该基因用于肿瘤的临床治疗提供动物实验数据.     

P53肿瘤抑制基因的研究与进展

Ｐ５３肿瘤抑制基因的研究与进展徐清,汤雪明（上海第二医科大学细胞生物学实验室２０００２５）Ｐ５３基因是目前癌基因和抑癌基因研究中最引人注目的新星。１９８１年Ｗｅｉｎｂｅｒｙ等人首先报道人癌基因分离成功,癌基因的研究成为肿瘤研究的热点“’１１９８６年人...     

脆性组氨酸三联体（FHIT）基因

人类第３号染色体上的基因座在不同的肿瘤组织中出现高频率的杂合性丢失（ＬＯＨ），提示该部位可能是抑癌基因潜伏的位点。最近克隆的脆性组氨酸三联体基因（ＦＨＩＴ）可能是定位于染色体３ｐ１４．２的一个抑癌基因，该基因在肿瘤组织中广泛地缺失为研究肿瘤发生机制提供了新线索。     

p16基因研究进展

ｐ１６基因研究进展邵春奎（上海第二医科大学附属瑞金医院外科,上海２０００２５）王亚新（上海第二医科大学生化教研室,上海２０００２５）关键词ｐ１６基因抑癌基因肿瘤美国冷泉港实验室于最近发现新的抑癌基因——ｐ１６基因［１］。该基因在多种癌细胞中有缺陷,与...     

C/EBPα基因与肿瘤

C/EBPα基因是抑癌基因,有抑制增殖、促进分化和调节DNA损伤反应等作用。各种机制如对抗性的蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用、基因突变和翻译后修饰等导致C/EBPα转录抑制或活性丧失,可能诱发肿瘤。本文结合国内外研究现状,介绍C/EBPα基因的结构、功能及与肿瘤的诊断、治疗和预后的关系。     

抑瘤基因与细胞周期调节的研究进展

抑瘤基因与细胞周期调节的研究进展廖伟,曹亚（湖南医科大学肿瘤研究所,长沙４１００７８）关键词抑瘤基因,细胞周期调节肿瘤的发生是一个环境与遗传相互作用、多基因参与的多步骤过程。抑瘤基因的改变在肿瘤发生、发展过程中起着重要的作用。人类的十几种肿瘤都存在抑...     

8p杂合性缺失与膀胱肿瘤的关系

肿瘤遗传学和分子生物学研究表明,癌症的发生是由癌基因的激活及抑癌基因失活的结果,而抑癌基因的失活可能在其中起着更为关键的作用。抑癌基因（tumor suppressor gene）是能够抑制细胞的恶性转化,对正常细胞的增殖起负性调节的基因。抑癌基因的失活常常表现为一个等位基因丢失（allelic loss）和另一个存留等位基因（retained allele）突变。其中,等位基因丢失就是由肿瘤中常见的染色体区域或节段缺失所致,它同时还会伴有抑癌基因座位相邻区域的杂合性缺失（loss of heterozygosity,LOH）。IDH是指肿瘤基因中特定染色体上某种DNA多态标记的等位基因片段由同一患正常组织基因组的两种变成一种,即等位基因型由杂合子变成纯合子。IDH是肿瘤细胞中染色体缺失的表现。     

Interleukin-6 and cachexia in ApcMin/+ mice

The Apc(Min/+) mouse has a mutation in the Apc tumor suppressor gene and develops intestinal polyps, beginning at 4 wk of age. This mouse develops cachexia by 6 mo, characterized by significant loss of muscle and fat tissue. The purpose of the present study was to determine the role of circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the polyp burden for the development of cachexia in Apc(Min/+) mice. At 26 wk of age, mice exhibiting severe cachectic symptoms had a 61% decrease in gastrocnemius muscle weight, complete loss of epididymal fat, a 10-fold increase in circulating IL-6 levels, and an 89% increase in intestinal polyps compared with mildly cachectic animals. Apc(Min/+)/IL-6(-/-) mice did not lose gastrocnemius muscle mass or epididymal fat pad mass while overall polyp number decreased by 32% compared with Apc(Min/+) mice. Plasmid-based IL-6 overexpression in Apc(Min/+)/IL-6(-/-) mice led to a decrease in gastrocnemius muscle mass and epididymal fat pad mass and increased intestinal polyp burden. IL-6 overexpression did not induce cachexia in non-tumor-bearing mice. These data demonstrate that IL-6 is necessary for the onset of adipose and skeletal muscle wasting in the Apc(Min/+) mouse and that circulating IL-6 can regulate Apc(Min/+) mouse tumor burden.     

Progressive changes in adherens junction structure during intestinal adenoma formation in Apc mutant mice

The C57BL/6J-Min/+ (Min/+) mouse bears a mutant Apc gene and therefore is an important in vivo model of intestinal tumorigenesis. Min/+ mice develop adenomas that exhibit loss of the wild-type Apc allele (Apc(Min/-)). Previously, we found that histologically normal enterocytes bearing a truncated Apc protein (Apc(Min/+)) migrated more slowly in vivo than enterocytes with either wild-type Apc (Apc(+/+)) or with heterozygous loss of Apc protein (Apc(1638N)). To study this phenotype further, we determined the effect of the Apc(Min) mutation upon cell-cell adhesion by examining the components of the adherens junction (AJ). We observed a reduced association between E-cadherin and beta-catenin in Apc(Min/+) enterocytes. Subcellular fractionation of proteins from Apc(+/+), Apc(Min/+), and Apc(Min/-) intestinal tissues revealed a cytoplasmic localization of intact E-cadherin only in Apc(Min/+), suggesting E-cadherin internalization in these enterocytes. beta-Catenin tyrosine phosphorylation was also increased in Apc(Min/+) enterocytes, consistent with its dissociation from E-cadherin. Furthermore, Apc(Min/+) enterocytes showed a decreased association between beta-catenin and receptor protein-tyrosine phosphatase beta/zeta (RPTPbeta/zeta), and Apc(Min/-) cells demonstrated an association between beta-catenin and receptor protein-tyrosine phosphatase gamma. In contrast to the Apc(Min/+) enterocytes, Apc(Min/-) adenomas displayed increased expression and association of E-cadherin, beta-catenin, and alpha-catenin relative to Apc(+/+) controls. These data show that Apc plays a role in regulating adherens junction structure and function in the intestine. In addition, discovery of these effects in initiated but histologically normal tissue (Apc(Min/+)) defines a pre-adenoma stage of tumorigenesis in the intestinal mucosa.     

Inhibition of intestinal polyposis with reduced angiogenesis in ApcMin/+ mice due to decreases in c-Myc expression

The c-myc oncogene plays an important role in tumorigenesis and is frequently deregulated in many human cancers, including gastrointestinal cancers. In humans, mutations of the adenomatous polyposis coli (Apc) tumor suppressor gene occur in most colorectal cancers. Mutation of Apc leads to stabilization of beta-catenin and increases in beta-catenin target gene expression (c-myc and cyclin D1), whose precise functional significance has not been examined using genetic approaches. Apc(Min/+) mice are a model of familial adenomatous polyposis and are heterozygous for an Apc truncation mutation. We have developed a model for examining the role of c-Myc in Apc-mediated tumorigenesis. We crossed c-myc(+/-) mice to Apc(Min/+) to generate Apc(Min/+) c-myc(+/-) animals. The compound Apc(Min/+) c-myc(+/-) mice were used to evaluate the effect of c-myc haploinsufficiency on the Apc(Min/+) phenotype. We observed a significant reduction in tumor numbers in the small intestine of Apc(Min/+) c-myc(+/-) mice compared with control Apc(Min/+) c-myc(+/+) mice. In addition, we observed one to three polyps per colon in Apc(Min/+) c-myc(+/+) mice, whereas only two lesions were observed in the colons of Apc(Min/+) mice that were haploinsufficient for c-myc. Moreover, reduction in c-myc levels resulted in a significant increase in the survival of these animals. Finally, we observed marked decreases in vascular endothelial growth factor, EphA2, and ephrin-B2 expression as well as marked decreases in angiogenesis in intestinal polyps in Apc(Min/+) c-myc(+/-) mice. This study shows that c-Myc is critical for Apc-dependent intestinal tumorigenesis in mice and provides a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of colorectal cancer.     

Effect of exercise on biological pathways in ApcMin/+ mouse intestinal polyps

Many epidemiological studies have demonstrated that level of exercise is associated with reduced colorectal cancer risk. Treadmill training can decrease Apc(Min/+) mouse intestinal polyp number and size, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Understanding the molecular changes in the tumor following exercise training may provide insight on the mechanism by which exercise decreases Apc(Min/+) mouse polyp formation and growth. The purpose of this study was to determine if exercise can modulate Apc(Min/+) mouse intestinal polyp cellular signaling related to tumor formation and growth. Male Apc(Min/+) mice were randomly assigned to control (n = 20) or exercise (n = 20) treatment groups. Exercised mice ran on a treadmill at a moderate intensity (18 m/min, 60 min, 6 days/wk, 5% grade) for 9 wk. Polyps from Apc(Min/+) mice were used to quantify markers of polyp inflammation, apoptosis, and beta-catenin signaling. Exercise decreased the number of macrophages in polyps by 35%. Related to apoptosis, exercise decreased the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells by 73% in all polyps. Bax protein expression in polyps was decreased 43% by exercise. beta-Catenin phosphorylation was elevated 3.3-fold in polyps from exercised mice. Moderate-intensity exercise training alters cellular pathways in Apc(Min/+) mouse polyps, and these changes may be related to the exercise-induced reduction in polyp formation and growth.     

Apc mutation enhances PyMT-induced mammary tumorigenesis

The Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) tumor suppressor gene is silenced by hypermethylation or mutated in up to 70% of human breast cancers. In mouse models, Apc mutation disrupts normal mammary development and predisposes to mammary tumor formation; however, the cooperation between APC and other mutations in breast tumorigenesis has not been studied. To test the hypothesis that loss of one copy of APC promotes oncogene-mediated mammary tumorigenesis, Apc(Min/+) mice were crossed with the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-Polyoma virus middle T antigen (PyMT) or MMTV-c-Neu transgenic mice. In the PyMT tumor model, the Apc(Min/+) mutation significantly decreased survival and tumor latency, promoted a squamous adenocarcinoma phenotype, and enhanced tumor cell proliferation. In tumor-derived cell lines, the proliferative advantage was a result of increased FAK, Src and JNK signaling. These effects were specific to the PyMT model, as no changes were observed in MMTV-c-Neu mice carrying the Apc(Min/+) mutation. Our data indicate that heterozygosity of Apc enhances tumor development in an oncogene-specific manner, providing evidence that APC-dependent pathways may be valuable therapeutic targets in breast cancer. Moreover, these preclinical model systems offer a platform for dissection of the molecular mechanisms by which APC mutation enhances breast carcinogenesis, such as altered FAK/Src/JNK signaling.     

Analysis of reciprocal congenic lines reveals the C3H/HeJ genome to be highly resistant to ApcMin intestinal tumorigenesis

Genetic background affects polyp development in the Multiple intestinal neoplasia (Apc(Min)) mouse model. The Modifier of Min 1 (Mom1) locus accounts for approximately 50% of the variation in polyp multiplicity. We generated reciprocal congenic lines, such that the recipient C57BL/6J (B6) strain carries a donor C3H/HeJ (C3H) Mom1 allele, and the recipient C3H strain carries a donor B6 Mom1 allele. Hybrid progeny from congenic females mated to B6 Apc(Min/+) males were analyzed. A single C3H Mom1 locus on the B6 background reduced small intestinal polyp numbers by 50% and colon polyp incidence by 66% compared to their susceptible B6 Mom1(S/S)Apc(Min/+) siblings. These findings show that the C3H genome contains a resistant Mom1(R) locus. The reciprocal congenic line, which carries the susceptible B6 Mom1(S) locus on the C3H background, reduced small intestinal polyp numbers by 80% and colon polyp incidence by 95% compared to B6 Mom1(S/S)Apc(Min/+) mice. These data demonstrate that unidentified modifiers in the C3H strain can suppress intestinal polyp multiplicity in Apc(Min/+) mice, and act in the absence of a resistant Mom1(R) locus.     

Intestinal tumorigenesis is not affected by progesterone signaling in rodent models

Clinical data suggest that progestins have chemopreventive properties in the development of colorectal cancer. We set out to examine a potential protective effect of progestins and progesterone signaling on colon cancer development. In normal and neoplastic intestinal tissue, we found that the progesterone receptor (PR) is not expressed. Expression was confined to sporadic mesenchymal cells. To analyze the influence of systemic progesterone receptor signaling, we crossed mice that lacked the progesterone receptor (PRKO) to the Apc(Min/+) mouse, a model for spontaneous intestinal polyposis. PRKO-Apc(Min/+) mice exhibited no change in polyp number, size or localization compared to Apc(Min/+). To examine effects of progestins on the intestinal epithelium that are independent of the PR, we treated mice with MPA. We found no effects of either progesterone or MPA on gross intestinal morphology or epithelial proliferation. Also, in rats treated with MPA, injection with the carcinogen azoxymethane did not result in a difference in the number or size of aberrant crypt foci, a surrogate end-point for adenoma development. We conclude that expression of the progesterone receptor is limited to cells in the intestinal mesenchyme. We did not observe any effect of progesterone receptor signaling or of progestin treatment in rodent models of intestinal tumorigenesis.     

Myofiber degeneration/regeneration is induced in the cachectic ApcMin/+ mouse.

Cachexia is characterized as an inflammatory state induced by the cancer environment, which is accompanied by the loss of muscle and fat mass. Well-investigated mechanisms of cachexia include the suppression of myofiber protein synthesis and the induction of the protein degradation. However, it is not well characterized whether chronic inflammation during cachexia induces myofiber degeneration, which contributes to muscle mass loss and decreased functional capacity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Apc(Min/+) mice, which demonstrate a chronic systemic inflammatory state due to an intestinal tumor burden, undergo cachexia and whether the myofibers exhibit signs of degeneration and/or regeneration. Six-month-old female Apc(Min/+) body weight decreased 21% compared with C57BL/6 mice and was not the result of blunted growth. Apc(Min/+) gastrocnemius muscle was reduced 45%, and soleus mean fiber cross-sectional area decreased 24% vs. C57BL/6 mice. Soleus muscle morphology demonstrated pathology of myofibers undergoing degeneration and/or regeneration. These data demonstrate that the Apc(Min/+) mouse becomes cachectic by 6 mo of age and that skeletal muscle degeneration and regeneration may be related to the muscle loss.     

Discordant effect of aspirin and indomethacin on intestinal tumor burden in Apc(Min/+)mice

Epidemiologic and animal studies indicate that sustained use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have a chemopreventive effect against the incidence of colorectal neoplasia and subsequent mortality. We previously demonstrated that sulindac significantly reduces intestinal tumor load in Apc(Min/+)mice and the tumor regression was not necessarily correlated with prostaglandin biosynthesis. In the present study, we further investigate the relationship of NSAID treatment and tumorigenesis in the Apc(Min/+)mouse model. We demonstrate that indomethacin (9 ppm) is a very potent chemopreventive agent, reducing tumor load by 85% and significantly inhibiting basal and ex vivo prostaglandin formation (P< 0.006 and P< 0.0001, respectively). Aspirin (400 ppm) has a similar impact on reducing prostaglandin levels, but in contrast to indomethacin, is uneffective in reducing the tumor load. The data indicate a discordance between the impact of different NSAIDs on tumorigenesis in Apc(Min/+)mice.