• AXL inhibition extinguishes primitive JAK2 mutated myeloproliferative neoplasm progenitor cells

  Pearson, S; Blance, R; Somervaille, Tim CP; Whetton, AD; Pierce, A; Stem Cell and Leukaemia Proteomics Laboratory, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester, UK (2019)

  Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are clonal stem cell associated disorders inclusive of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), Polycythaemia vera (PV), myelofibrosis (MF), and essential thrombocythemia (ET). They are characterized by increased production of myeloid cells with minimal effects on terminal differentiation but can undergo transformation to acute leukemias. PV is the most common chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm and in the majority of cases is characterized by a V617F point mutation in JAK2. This JAK2 activating mutation is also found in about half the patients with MF and ET. Such aberrant proteins offer great potential for the treatment of these diseases however inhibitors to JAK2 have had limited success in the clinic in terms of curing the disease. We have previously used advanced proteomic techniques to identify drug targets and thus develop novel treatment strategies to distinguish the leukemic clone in both CML and PV. Here, we build on our proteomic data sets to characterize a new target, the receptor tyrosine kinase AXL. AXL is overexpressed in acute myeloid leukemia and importantly small molecule inhibitors have been developed which are currently in clinical trial hence offer the opportunity to repurpose this drug for the treatment of MPNs. We demonstrate that AXL is upregulated and activated in JAK2 associated MPNs. Further we show that inhibition of AXL preferentially kills early hemopoietic stem cells from PV patients and as such represents a promising therapeutic approach for JAK2 driven MPNs
• Identification of gene specific cis-regulatory elements during differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells: An integrative approach using high-throughput datasets

  Vijayabaskar, MS; Goode, DK; Obier, N; Lichtinger, M; Emmett, AML; Abidin, FNZ; Shar, N; Hannah, R; Assi, SA; Lie-A-Ling, Michael; et al. (2019)

  Gene expression governs cell fate, and is regulated via a complex interplay of transcription factors and molecules that change chromatin structure. Advances in sequencing-based assays have enabled investigation of these processes genome-wide, leading to large datasets that combine information on the dynamics of gene expression, transcription factor binding and chromatin structure as cells differentiate. While numerous studies focus on the effects of these features on broader gene regulation, less work has been done on the mechanisms of gene-specific transcriptional control. In this study, we have focussed on the latter by integrating gene expression data for the in vitro differentiation of murine ES cells to macrophages and cardiomyocytes, with dynamic data on chromatin structure, epigenetics and transcription factor binding. Combining a novel strategy to identify communities of related control elements with a penalized regression approach, we developed individual models to identify the potential control elements predictive of the expression of each gene. Our models were compared to an existing method and evaluated using the existing literature and new experimental data from embryonic stem cell differentiation reporter assays. Our method is able to identify transcriptional control elements in a gene specific manner that reflect known regulatory relationships and to generate useful hypotheses for further testing.
• Recent developments in limited stage small cell lung cancer

  Higgins, KA; Gorgens, S; Sudmeier, LJ; Faivre-Finn, Corinne; Department of Radiation Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA (2019)

  Limited stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) remains a challenging disease, with 5-year overall survival ranging from 30-35% with current standard of care treatment consisting of thoracic radiation to 45 Gy in 30 fractions delivered twice daily, with concurrent platinum/etoposide chemotherapy, followed by prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI). The randomized, phase III CONVERT study confirmed 45 Gy delivered twice daily to be the optimal radiation fractionation regimen, without significantly increased toxicity when compared to daily radiation to 66 Gy. Immunotherapy is now being studied in addition to chemoradiation, in both the concurrent and consolidative setting. These randomized trials are ongoing. Additionally, the role of PCI compared to MRI surveillance is being evaluated in patients with LS-SCLC in both the North America and Europe. Ideally these ongoing studies will continue to improve outcomes for LS-SCLC.
• Cancer patterns and association with mortality and renal outcomes in non-dialysis dependent chronic kidney disease: a matched cohort study

  Chinnadurai, R; Flanagan, E; Jayson, Gordon C; Kalra, PA; Department of Renal Medicine, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, M6 8HD, Salford, UK. (2019)

  BACKGROUND: Cancer in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an added burden to their overall morbidity and mortality. Cancer can be a cause or an effect of CKD. In CKD patients, a better understanding of cancer distribution and associations can aid in the proper planning of renal replacement therapy (RRT) and in the choice of chemotherapeutic agents, many of which are precluded in more advanced CKD. This study aims to investigate the distribution and the association of cancer with mortality, renal progression and RRT assignment in a non-dialysis dependent CKD cohort, few studies have investigated this in the past. METHODS: The study was carried out on 2952 patients registered in the Salford Kidney Study (SKS) between October 2002 and December 2016. A comparative analysis was performed between 339 patients with a history of cancer (previous and current) and 2613 patients without cancer at recruitment. A propensity score matched cohort of 337 patients was derived from each group and used for analysis. Cox-regression models and Kaplan-Meier estimates were used to compare the association of cancer with mortality and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) outcomes. Linear regression analysis was applied to generate the annual rate of decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (delta eGFR). RESULTS: Of our cohort, 13.3% had a history of cancer at recruitment and the annual rate of de novo cancers in the non-cancer patients was 1.6%. Urogenital cancers including kidney and bladder, and prostate and testicle in males, ovary and uterus in females, were the most prevalent cancers (46%), as expected from the anatomical or physiological roles of these organs and relationship to nephrology. Over a median follow-up of 48?months, 1084 (36.7%) of patients died. All-cause mortality was higher in the previous and current cancer group (49.6% vs 35%, p?<?0.001), primarily because of cancer-specific mortality. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed a strong association of cancer with all-cause mortality (HR:1.41; 95%CI: 1.12-1.78; p?=?0.004). There was no difference between the groups regarding reaching end-stage renal disease (26% in both groups) or the rate of decline in eGFR (-?0.97 for cancer vs -?0.93?mL/min/year for non-cancer, p?=?0.93). RRT uptake was similar between the groups (17.2% vs 19.3%, p?=?0.49). CONCLUSIONS: Cancer status proved to be an added burden and an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality but not for renal progression. CKD patients with a previous or current history of cancer should be assessed on a case by case basis in planning for renal replacement therapy options, and the presence of cancer should not be a limitation for RRT provision including transplantation.
• Raman microscopy for the identification of an aggressive variant of prostate cancer, intraductal carcinoma of the prostate

  Trudel, D; Grosset, AA; Dallaire, F; Nguyen, T; Kougioumoutzakis, A; Azzi, F; Aubertin, K; Saad, F; Latour, M; Albadine, R; et al. (2019)

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