FCN3 functions as a tumor suppressor of lung adenocarcinoma through induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress.

In this study, we report a novel function of FCN3 (Ficolin 3), a secreted lectin capable of activating the complement pathway, as a tumor suppressor of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). First, the expression of FCN3 was strongly down-regulated in cancer tissues compared to matched normal lung tissues, and down-regulation of FCN3 was shown to be significantly correlated with increased mortality among LUAD patients. Interestingly, while ectopic expression of FCN3 led to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in A549 and H23 cells derived from LUAD, the secreted form of the protein had no effect on the cells.

Earlier-Phased Cancer Immunity Cycle Strongly Influences Cancer Immunity in Operable Never-Smoker Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Exome and transcriptome analyses of clinically homogeneous early-stage never-smoker female patients with lung adenocarcinoma were performed to understand tumor-T cell interactions and immune escape points. Using our novel gene panels of eight functional categories in the cancer-immunity cycle, three distinct subgroups were identified in this immune checkpoint blockade-refractory cohort by defective gene expression in two major domains, i.e.

PDX models of human lung squamous cell carcinoma: consideration of factors in preclinical and co-clinical applications.

Background: Treatment of human lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) using current targeted therapies is limited because of their diverse somatic mutations without any specific dominant driver mutations. These mutational diversities preventing the use of common targeted therapies or the combination of available therapeutic modalities would require a preclinical animal model of this tumor to acquire improved clinical responses. Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models have been recognized as a potentially useful preclinical model for personalized precision medicine.

Characterization of as a Novel Tumor Suppressor of Lung Adenocarcinoma.

In this study, we describe a novel function of (Troponin C1, Slow Skeletal and Cardiac Type), a component of actin-bound troponin, as a tumor suppressor of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). First, the expression of was strongly down-regulated in cancer tissues compared to matched normal lung tissues, and down-regulation of was shown to be strongly correlated with increased mortality among LUAD patients. Interestingly, expression was enhanced by suppression of , and ectopic expression of in turn inhibited -mediated anchorage independent growth of NIH3T3 cells.

In vitro assessment of effects of persistent organic pollutants on the transactivation of estrogen receptor α and β (ERα and ERβ) from the Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica).

To assess the effect of exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on the estrogen receptor (ER) signaling pathway in Baikal seals (Pusa sibirica), we investigated the molecular characterizations and functions of two Baikal seal ER (bsER) isoforms, bsERα and bsERβ. The bsERα and bsERβ cDNA clones isolated have an open reading frame of 595 and 530 amino acid residues, respectively. The tissue distribution analyses of bsER mRNAs showed that bsERα transcripts were primarily found in the ovary and uterus, and bsERβ in the muscle in wild Baikal seals.

Identification of tumor suppressor miRNAs by integrative miRNA and mRNA sequencing of matched tumor-normal samples in lung adenocarcinoma.

The roles of miRNAs in lung cancer have not yet been explored systematically at the genome scale despite their important regulatory functions. Here, we report an integrative analysis of miRNA and mRNA sequencing data for matched tumor-normal samples from 109 Korean female patients with non-small-cell lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). We produced miRNA sequencing (miRNA-Seq) and RNA-Seq data for 48 patients and RNA-Seq data for 61 additional patients.

Cancer panel analysis of circulating tumor cells in patients with breast cancer.

Liquid biopsy using circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is a noninvasive and repeatable procedure, and is therefore useful for molecular assays. However, the rarity of CTCs remains a challenge. To overcome this issue, our group developed a novel technology for the isolation of CTCs on the basis of cell size difference.

Cancer gene panel analysis of cultured circulating tumor cells and primary tumor tissue from patients with breast cancer.

Although numerous effective therapies have improved the survival rate of patients with breast cancer, a number of patients present with tumor recurrence and metastasis. A liquid biopsy of circulating tumor cells (CTC) is a non-invasive method to obtain tumor cells and may be used as substitute for a tumor tissue biopsy. The present study focuses on determining whether CTC culture is an optimal method of obtaining sufficient amounts of CTCs for molecular analysis.

Corrigendum: Circulating Aneuploid Cells Detected in the Blood of Patients with Infectious Lung Diseases.

[This corrects the article on p. 126 in vol. 50, PMID: 28382274.

Systematic identification of cancer-related long noncoding RNAs and aberrant alternative splicing of quintuple-negative lung adenocarcinoma through RNA-Seq.

Objectives: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a common subtype of non-small cell lung cancer prevalent in Asia. There is a dearth of understanding regarding the transcriptome landscape of LUAD without primary known driver mutations. In this study, LUAD samples without well-known driver mutations occurring in EGFR, KRAS, ALK, ROS1 or RET (quintuple-negative) were used for transcriptome study with a focus on long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), alternative splicing and gene fusions.

Evaluation of a novel approach to circulating tumor cell isolation for cancer gene panel analysis in patients with breast cancer.

Liquid biopsy isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) allows the genomic analysis of CTCs, which is useful in the determination of personalized cancer therapy. In the present study, CTCs from patients with breast cancer were enriched and successfully analyzed using cancer gene panel analysis. Blood samples from 11 patients with breast cancer were collected and CTCs enriched for using size-based filtration.

Detection of circulating tumor cells in patients with non-small cell lung cancer using a size-based platform.

The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is limited by the rarity of these cells in the peripheral blood of patients with cancer. Understanding tumor biology may be useful in the development of novel therapeutic strategies for patients with lung cancer. The present study evaluated a novel size-based filtration platform for enriching CTCs from patients with lung cancer.

Circulating Aneuploid Cells Detected in the Blood of Patients with Infectious Lung Diseases.

The identification of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is clinically important for diagnosing cancer. We have previously developed a size-based filtration platform followed by epithelial cell adhesion molecule immunofluorescence staining for detecting CTCs. To characterize CTCs independently of cell surface protein expression, we incorporated a chromosomal fluorescence hybridization (FISH) assay to detect abnormal copy numbers of chromosomes in cells collected from peripheral blood samples by the size-based filtration platform.

Investigation of Thickness Dependence of Metal Layer in Al/Mo/4H-SiC Schottky Barrier Diodes.

In this paper, we present the preparation and characterization of Schottky barrier diodes based on silicon carbide with various Schottky metal layer thickness values. In this structure, molybdenum and aluminum were employed as the Schottky barrier metal and top electrode, respectively. Schottky metal layers were deposited with thicknesses ranging from 1000 to 3000 Å, and top electrodes were deposited with thickness as much as 3000 Å.

Crosstalk with cancer-associated fibroblasts induces resistance of non-small cell lung cancer cells to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibition.

Although lung cancers with activating mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are highly sensitive to selective EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), these tumors invariably develop acquired drug resistance. Host stromal cells have been found to have a considerable effect on the sensitivity of cancer cells to EGFR TKIs. Little is known, however, about the signaling mechanisms through which stromal cells contribute to the response to EGFR TKI in non-small cell lung cancer.

Lung cancer in never-smoker Asian females is driven by oncogenic mutations, most often involving EGFR.

The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of known oncogenic driver mutations in female never-smoker Asian patients with lung adenocarcinoma. We analyzed 214 mutations across 26 lung cancer-associated genes and three fusion genes using the MassARRAY LungCarta Panel and the ALK, ROS1, and RET fusion assays in 198 consecutively resected lung adenocarcinomas from never-smoker females at a single institution. EGFR mutation, which was the most frequent driver gene mutation, was detected in 124 (63%) cases.

Mitochondrial Variations in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Survival.

Mutations in the mtDNA genome have long been suspected to play an important role in cancer. Although most cancer cells harbor mtDNA mutations, the question of whether such mutations are associated with clinical prognosis of lung cancer remains unclear. We resequenced the entire mitochondrial genomes of tumor tissue from a population of 250 Korean patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Establishment and characterization of a lung cancer cell line, SMC-L001, from a lung adenocarcinoma.

Lung cancer cell lines are a valuable tool for elucidating lung tumorigenesis and developing novel therapies. However, the majority of cell lines currently available were established from tumors in patients of Caucasian origin, limiting our ability to investigate how cancers in patients of different ethnicities differ from one another in terms of tumor biology and drug responses. In this study, we established a human non-small cell lung carcinoma cell line, SMC-L001, and characterized its genome and tumorigenic potential.

Assessment of intratumoral heterogeneity of oncogenic driver mutations in surgically-resected lung adenocarcinoma: implications of percutaneous biopsy-based molecular assay for target-directed therapy.

Aim: The present study investigated whether there is intratumoral heterogeneity of oncogenic driver mutations within surgically-resected tumors and between surgical specimens and percutaneous biopsy samples.

Patients And Methods: Thirty-four patients who underwent surgery for lung adenocarcinoma were studied. We obtained four to five snap-frozen samples from each surgical specimen.

Regulation of the follistatin gene by RSPO-LGR4 signaling via activation of the WNT/β-catenin pathway in skeletal myogenesis.

WNT signaling plays multiple roles in skeletal myogenesis during gestation and postnatal stages. The R-spondin (RSPO) family of secreted proteins and their cognate receptors, members of leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor (LGR) family, have emerged as new regulatory components of the WNT signaling pathway. We previously showed that RSPO2 promoted myogenic differentiation via activation of WNT/β-catenin signaling in mouse myoblast C2C12 cells in vitro.

Loss of E-cadherin activates EGFR-MEK/ERK signaling, which promotes invasion via the ZEB1/MMP2 axis in non-small cell lung cancer.

Loss of E-cadherin, a hallmark of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), can significantly affect metastatic dissemination. However, the molecular mechanism of EMT-associated metastatic dissemination by loss of E-cadherin still remains unclear in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). In the present study, we show that the knockdown of E-cadherin was sufficient to convert A549 NSCLC cells into mesenchymal type with the concurrent up-regulation of typical EMT inducers such as ZEB1 and TWIST1.

Tumor-stromal interactions with direct cell contacts enhance motility of non-small cell lung cancer cells through the hedgehog signaling pathway.

The metastatic potential of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been shown to be associated with interactions with the tumor microenvironment, which primarily comprises of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Heterotypic cell-cell interactions occur via released signaling molecules and direct physical contact. To investigate the differential contribution of direct cell-cell contact and paracrine signaling factors to NSCLC metastasis, we performed two types of co-cultures: direct co-cultures of the NSCLC cell line H358 with primary cultures of CAFs from patients with resected NSCLC; and indirect co-cultures across a separable membrane.

Molecular and functional characterization of a novel aryl hydrocarbon receptor isoform, AHR1β, in the chicken (Gallus gallus).

Dioxins including 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) cause toxic effects through activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-mediated signaling pathway. Our previous studies have investigated the function of 2 AHR isoforms (AHR1 and AHR2) in avian species and identified a third AHR in the chicken (Gallus gallus) genome. Knowledge of multiple avian AHRs is indispensable to understand molecular mechanisms of AHR-mediated toxic effects and establish risk assessment framework for environmental AHR ligands in avian species.

Human lung cancer-associated fibroblasts enhance motility of non-small cell lung cancer cells in co-culture.

The metastatic potential of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells has been shown to be associated with the tumor microenvironment. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a major component of the tumor microenvironment, regulating tumor cell function by secreting growth factors, chemokines, and extracellular matrix (ECM). In this study, we examined the role of CAFs in the tumor progression of NSCLC.