Avelar, R. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2022

Pan-cancer transcriptomic analysis reveals a tissue-specific loss of identity

Understanding changes in cell identity in cancer and ageing is of great importance. In this work, we analyzed how gene expression changes in human tissues are associated with tissue specificity during cancer and ageing using transcriptome data from TCGA and GTEx. We found a loss of cell identity during ageing in around 40% of tissues. In cancer, we observed a pattern of downregulation of genes specific to the tissue of origin of the tumor for most cancer types. Moreover, we observed an activation of genes not usually expressed in a tissue as well as an upregulation of genes specific to other tissues in cancer. These patterns in cancer were associated with patient survival. The age of the patient, however, does not influence these patterns. Thus, we identified a moderate but statistically significant pattern of loss of cell identity in ageing, and a clear pattern in cancer, where during tumorigenesis, cells express genes specific to other organs while suppressing the expression of genes from their original tissue. The loss of cellular identity observed in cancer is associated with prognosis and is not influenced by age, suggesting that it is a crucial stage in carcinogenesis.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2022

Small molecule mediated stabilization of PP2A modulates the Homologous Recombination pathway and potentiates DNA damage-induced cell death

High-Grade Serous Carcinoma (HGSC) is the most common and lethal ovarian cancer subtype. PARP-inhibitors (PARPi) have become the mainstay of HGSC targeted therapy, given that these tumors are driven by a high degree of genomic instability and Homologous Recombination (HR) defects. Nonetheless, only [~]30% of patients initially respond to treatment, ultimately relapsing with resistant disease. Thus, despite recent advances in drug development and increased understanding of genetic alterations driving HGSC progression, mortality has not declined, highlighting the need for novel therapies. Using a Small Molecule Activator of Protein Phosphatase 2A (PP2A) (SMAP-061), we investigated the mechanism by which PP2A stabilization induces apoptosis in Patient-Derived HGSC cells and Xenograft (PDX) models alone or in combination with PARPi. We uncovered that PP2A genes essential for transformation (B56,B56{gamma} and PR72) and basal phosphatase activity (PP2A-A and -C) are heterozygously lost in the majority of HGSC. Moreover, loss of these PP2A genes correlates with worse overall patient survival. We show that SMAP-061 stabilization of PP2A inhibits the HR output by targeting RAD51, leading to chronic accumulation of DNA damage and ultimately apoptosis. Furthermore, combination of SMAP-061 and PARPi leads to enhanced apoptosis in both HR-proficient and -deficient cells and in patient-derived xenograft models. Our studies identify PP2A as novel regulator of HR and introduces PP2A activators as a potential treatment for HGSC tumors. Our studies further emphasize the potential of PP2A modulators to overcome PARPi insensitivity, given that targeting RAD51 has presented benefits in overcoming PARPi-resistance driven by BRCA1/2 mutation reversions.

cancer biology↗