Fhit Expression Protects Against HER2-Driven Breast tumor Development: Unraveling the Molecular Interconnections

The tumor suppressor gene FHIT is inactivated by genetic and epigenetic changes, i.e., loss of heterozygosity or promoter hypermethylation, in common human cancers. We recently showed that Fhit protein levels can be regulated by Fhit proteasome degradation mediated by EGF-dependent activation of EGFR family members, including HER2, whose overexpression is linked to poor prognosis in breast cancer. Analysis of a series of 384 human primary breast carcinomas revealed low/absent Fhit protein levels more frequently in HER2-overexpressing tumors. To test for a possible complementation of the FHIT and HER2 genes, tumor incidence was assessed in mice carrying one inactivated Fhit allele (Fhit+/-) crossed with FVB/N mice carrying the rat HER2/neu proto-oncogene driven by the mouse mammary tumor virus promoter. All Fhit heterozygous mice developed mammary tumors, whereas when both Fhit alleles (Fhit+/+) were present, tumor incidence was reduced in 27% of the mice, which remained tumor-free at 20 months. These findings suggest a protective role for FHIT in HER2-driven mammary tumors. Together, these data argue for the cooperation between Fhit and HER2 in breast carcinogenesis.     

Aberration of FHIT gene is associated with increased tumor proliferation and decreased apoptosis-clinical evidence in lung and head and neck carcinomas.

BACKGROUND: Human FHIT (fragile histidine triad) gene is highly conserved gene homologous to a group of genes identified in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Loss of FHIT function may be important in the development and/or progression of various types of cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We undertook a clinical study to analyze the relation between aberrant function of FHIT gene, tumor cell proliferation, and intensity of apoptosis as well as prognostic output in lung and squamous cell head and neck carcinoma (HNSCC). Status of FHIT gene, expression of p21waf1, intensity of apoptosis, and cell proliferation were analyzed in HNSCC and lung carcinoma tissues by molecular genetic methods, immunohistochemistry, [3H]-thymidine labeling method, and FACScan analysis in frozen and paraffin-embedded tissue sections. RESULTS: The majority of the malignant lung and HNSCC lesions displayed aberrant expression of FHIT gene, followed by low or negative expression of p21waf1, and increased intensity of cell proliferation. Similar results were obtained on synchronous combinations of normal, precancerous, and cancerous head and neck tissues. The observed changes increased with progression of these lesions. We examined tumor and corresponding normal tissue samples for microsatellite markers D3S1300 and D3S4103 to evaluate the loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the FHIT gene loci. We found high percentage of LOH in both lung tumors and HNSCC (75% for D3S1300 and 79% for D3S4103 in lung cancer, and 87% for D3S1300 and 78% for D3S4103 in HNSCC). The median survival time of the patients suffering from lung cancer without FHIT protein expression was 22.46 months and that of the patients with FHIT expression 36.04 months. FHIT-negative cases tended to correlate with a worse prognosis, but this was not statistically significant. Median survival time of HNSCC patients without FHIT protein expression was 30.86 months and that of the patients with FHIT expression was 64.04 months (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show a correlation between aberrant FHIT expression, a low rate of apoptosis, and high tumor cell proliferation. Aberrant FHIT gene could be a prognostic marker in lung cancer.     

Influence of a nonfragile FHIT transgene on murine tumor susceptibility

FHIT, at a constitutively active chromosome fragile site, is often a target of chromosomal aberrations and deletion in a large fraction of human tumors. Inactivation of murine Fhit allelessignificantly increases susceptibility of mice to spontaneous and carcinogen-induced tumorigenesis. In this study, transgenic mice, carrying a human FHIT cDNA under control of the endogenous promoter, were produced to determine the effect of Fhit expression, from a nonfragile cDNA transgene outside the fragile region, on carcinogen-induced tumor susceptibility of wildtype and Fhit heterozygous mice. Mice received sufficient oral doses of N-nitrosomethybenzylamine (NMBA) to cause forestomach tumors in >80% of nontransgenic control mice. Although the level of expression of the FHIT transgene in the recombinant mouse strains was much lower than the level of endogenous Fhit expression, the tumor burden in NMBA-treated male transgenic mice was significantly reduced, while female transgenic mice were not protected. To determine if the difference in protection could be due to differences in epigenetic changes at the transgene loci in male versus female mice, we examined expression, hypermethylation and induced re-expression of FHIT transgenes in male and female mice or cells derived from them. The transgene was methylated in male and female mice and in cell lines established from male and female transgenic kidneys, the FHIT locus was both hypermethylated and deacetylated. It is likely that the FHIT transgene is more tightly silenced in female transgenic mice, leading to a lack of protection from tumor induction.     

肝细胞癌中FHIT基因启动子甲基化状态分析及其与临床病理特征之间的关系研究

目的:分析肝细胞癌组织中FHIT基因启动子甲基化状态及其与FHIT基因表达和肝细胞癌临床病理特征的关系。方法:运用甲基化特异性PCR(MSP)方法分析肝细胞癌组织和癌旁正常肝脏组织中FHIT基因启动子甲基化状况;应用RT-PCT和Western免疫印迹方法检测FHIT基因mRNA和蛋白的表达情况;统计学分析FHIT基因启动子甲基化与肝细胞癌临床病理特征的关系。结果:MSP分析结果表明肝细胞癌组织中FHIT基因甲基化率(60.8%)显著高于癌旁正常组织中FHIT基因甲基化(16.2%;x2=31.071,P=0.000)。同时我们还发现:发生完全或者部分甲基化的肝细胞癌组织或者癌旁正常肝组织中FHIT基因mRNA和蛋白表达水平显著降低。FHIT基因启动子甲基化和肝细胞癌患者的临床分期和肝外转移情况密切相关(P=0.006和0.049),而与其他临床病理特征无相关性(P>0.05)。结论:FHIT基因甲基化是导致FHIT基因在肝细胞癌中失活的一个重要因素,与肝细胞癌的发生密切相关,有望成为肝细胞癌早期诊断的分子检测标志物和分子治疗新靶点。     

Loss of Expression of Reprimo,a p53-induced Cell Cycle Arrest Gene,Correlates with Invasive Stage of Tumor Progression and p73 Expression in Gastric Cancer

Reprimo (RPRM), a downstream effector of p53-induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M, has been proposed as a putative tumor suppressor gene (TSG) and as a potential biomarker for non-invasive detection of gastric cancer (GC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the epigenetic silencing of RPRM gene by promoter methylation and its tumor suppressor function in GC cell lines. Furthermore, clinical significance of RPRM protein product and its association with p53/p73 tumor suppressor protein family was explored. Epigenetic silencing of RPRM gene by promoter methylation was evaluated in four GC cell lines. Protein expression of RPRM was evaluated in 20 tumor and non-tumor matched cases. The clinical significance of RPRM association with p53/p73 tumor suppressor protein family was assessed in 114 GC cases. Tumor suppressor function was examined through functional assays. RPRM gene expression was negatively correlated with promoter methylation (Spearman rank r = -1; p = 0.042). RPRM overexpression inhibited colony formation and anchorage-independent growth. In clinical samples, RPRM gene protein expression was detected in 75% (15/20) of non-tumor adjacent mucosa, but only in 25% (5/20) of gastric tumor tissues (p = 0.001). Clinicopathological correlations of loss of RPRM expression were significantly associated with invasive stage of GC (stage I to II-IV, p = 0.02) and a positive association between RPRM and p73 gene protein product expression was found (p<0.0001 and kappa value = 0.363). In conclusion, epigenetic silencing of RPRM gene by promoter methylation is associated with loss of RPRM expression. Functional assays suggest that RPRM behaves as a TSG. Loss of expression of RPRM gene protein product is associated with the invasive stage of GC. Positive association between RPRM and p73 expression suggest that other members of the p53 gene family may participate in the regulation of RPRM expression.     

A Fhit-ing Role in the DNA Damage Checkpoint Response

The FHIT gene encompasses the most active common fragile site of the human genome and is thus exquisitely sensitive to intragenic alterations by DNA damaging agents, alterations that can lead to FHIT allele loss very early in the preneoplastic phase of cancer development, before or coincident with activation of the DNA damage checkpoint. Fhit protein expression is lost or reduced in many preneoplastic lesions and in >50% of cancers, Fhit knockout mice are highly susceptible to carcinogen induction of tumors and Fhit replacement in these mice by gene therapy induces apoptosis and significantly reduces tumor burden. But learning how Fhit induces apoptosis and suppresses tumors has been a challenge because interacting proteins, effectors of Fhit signals, have not been discovered.Nevertheless, the study of Fhit deficient mouse and human tissue-derived and cancer-derived cells in vitro has led to several important conclusions: repair protein-deficient cancers are more likely to be Fhit-deficient; Fhit-deficient cells show enhanced resistance to UVC, mitomycin C, camptothecin and ionizing radiation-induced cell killing, possibly due to strong activation of the ATR pathway following DNA damage; Fhit-deficient cells show higher efficiency of homologous recombination repair, a double-strand break repair pathway in mammalian cells; Fhit protein indirectly affects S-phase checkpoint and DNA repair. Finally, results of a recent study have suggested that the DNA damage-susceptible FRA3B/FHIT chromosome fragile region, paradoxically, encodes a protein, Fhit, that is necessary for protecting cells from accumulation of DNA damage, through modulation of checkpoint proteins Hus1 and phosphoChk1. Thus, inactivation of Fhit contributes to accumulation of abnormal checkpoint phenotypes in cancer development. It will be very important to determine mechanisms employed by Fhit in modulating checkpoint pathways, and to define consequences of Fhit loss in specific preneoplastic and neoplastic tissues, to provide rationales for effective replacement or reactivation of endogenous Fhit pathways in novel therapeutic or preventive approaches.     

Methylation of the Tumor Suppressor Gene <Emphasis Type="Italic">RASSF1A</Emphasis> in Human Tumors

Loss of heterozygosity of a segment at 3p21.3 is frequently observed in lung cancer and several other carcinomas. We have identified the Ras-association domain family 1A gene (RASSF1A), which is localized at 3p21.3 in a minimum deletion sequence. De novo methylation of the RASSF1A promoter is one of the most frequent epigenetic inactivation events detected in human cancer and leads to silencing of RASSF1A expression. Hypermethylation of RASSF1A was frequently found in most major types of human tumors including lung, breast, prostate, pancreas, kidney, liver, cervical, thyroid and many other cancers. The detection of RASSF1A methylation in body fluids such as serum, urine, and sputum promises to be a useful marker for early cancer detection. The functional analysis of RASSF1A reveals a potential involvement of this protein in apoptotic signaling, microtubule stabilization, and cell cycle progression.     

Aberrant promoter methylation and reduced expression of p16 gene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma from Kashmir valley: a high-risk area

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most prevalent cancer in Jammu and Kashmir region of India and has multi-factorial etiology involving dietary habits, genetic factors, and gene environmental interactions. Inactivation of the p16 gene expression by aberrant promoter methylation plays an important role in the progression of esophageal carcinoma. In the present investigation, we have studied the role of p16 promoter methylation in 69 histopathologically confirmed ESCC tissues and compared it with corresponding normal adjacent tissues for DNA methylation in the CpG island in the p16 promoter region by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) and p16 protein expression by immunoblotting. The results showed loss of p16 expression in 67% (46/69) of tumor tissues compared to only 3% in control tissues (2/69). Promoter methylation was observed in 52% (36/69) of tumor tissues and it gradually increased with the increasing severity of histological grades of the cancer (P = 0.0001). Loss of p16 expression with promoter methylation was observed in 26 of 36 cases (72%). Analysis of patients dietary habits revealed a strong association between promoter methylation and high consumption of hot salted tea (P < 0.05) which is a most favourite drink commonly consumed by Kashmiri people.     

Frequent altered expression of fragile histidine triad protein in human colorectal adenomas

Fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene is involved in deletions on the short arm of chromosome 3 in various human cancers. We found that 47% of colorectal adenomas, which is a higher frequency than that of K-ras, showed altered expression of the Fhit protein by Western blot analysis. The amount of Fhit protein was inversely correlated with the degree of dysplasia. Importantly, 27% of low-grade dysplastic adenomas showed altered expression of Fhit protein. Additionally, expression of human Fhit protein in human colon carcinoma cell line SW480 exhibited a marked inhibition of growth and rendered SW480 cells highly susceptible to undergo apoptosis compared with control cells. These findings suggest that altered expression of the FHIT gene is a quite early aberration in the development of colorectal tumors and that Fhit protein may act as a tumor suppressor.     

Genetic and epigenetic inactivation of extracellular superoxide dismutase promotes an invasive phenotype in human lung cancer by disrupting ECM homeostasis

Extracellular superoxide dismutase (EcSOD) is an important superoxide scavenger in the lung in which its loss, sequence variation, or abnormal expression contributes to lung diseases; however, the role of EcSOD in lung cancer has yet to be studied. We hypothesized that EcSOD loss could affect malignant progression in lung, and could be either genetic or epigenetic in nature. To test this, we analyzed EcSOD expression, gene copy number, promoter methylation, and chromatin accessibility in normal lung and carcinoma cells. We found that normal airway epithelial cells expressed abundant EcSOD and had an unmethylated promoter, whereas EcSOD-negative lung cancer cells displayed aberrant promoter hypermethylation and decreased chromatin accessibility. 5-aza-dC induced EcSOD suggesting that cytosine methylation was causal, in part, to silencing. In 48/50 lung tumors, EcSOD mRNA was significantly lower as early as stage I, and the EcSOD promoter was hypermethylated in 8/10 (80%) adenocarcinomas compared with 0/5 normal lung samples. In addition, 20% of the tumors showed loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of EcSOD. Reexpression of EcSOD attenuated the malignant phenotype of lung carcinoma cells by significantly decreasing invasion and survival. Finally, EcSOD decreased heparanase and syndecan-1 mRNAs in part by reducing NF-κB. By contrast, MnSOD and CuZnSOD showed no significant changes in lung tumors and had no effect on heparanase expression. Taken together, the loss of EcSOD expression is unique among the superoxide dismutases in lung cancer and is the result of EcSOD promoter methylation and LOH, suggesting that its early loss may contribute to ECM remodeling and malignant progression.     

FHIT基因在宫颈癌细胞中的表达及其甲基化调控

目的：分析FHIT基因在宫颈癌细胞中表达情况以及甲基化的调控情况。方法：对RJC-1、SiHa、CS1213以及C4-1细胞进行培养,提取这些细胞的DNA并经过亚硫酸氢盐修饰,进行PCR反应和产物的检测。分析FHIT基因在宫颈癌细胞中表达情况以及甲基化的调控情况。结果：RJC-1、CS1213细胞仅有甲基化引物扩增出了目的条带,为完全甲基化状态。其他细胞则是甲基特异性引物与非甲基特异性引物共同扩增出73bp的目的条带,其状态为甲基化杂合性。通过5-aza-CdR处理细胞后,通过实时定量PCR检测FHIT mRNA的表达,显示处理后各种细胞中的FHIT mRNA的表达升高。结论：FHIT基因的甲基化是其表达下调的重要机制之一,是临床研究宫颈癌细胞的重要方向之一。