INTRODUCTION: The discrimination of leukemia lymphoblasts (LB) in diagnosis and follow-up of B-cell progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) by multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) may be difficult due to the presence of hematogones (HG). The aim of this study was to compare lymphoblasts of BCP-ALL and HG for the expression of the most discriminating antigens.
METHODS: A total of 82 bone marrow samples (39 BCP-ALL and 43 patients with HG) were analyzed using MFC. Mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) was measured for ten markers commonly used in hematology laboratories: CD45, CD19, CD10, CD34, CD38, CD20, CD22, CD58, CD81, and CD123. Statistical comparison of the MFI between LB and HG was performed. The presence on LB of aberrant expression of myeloid and/or T-cell markers was also investigated.
RESULTS: Qualitative pattern expression of antigens showed overexpression on LB of CD58, CD22, CD34, CD10 and underexpression of CD81, CD45, CD38 when compared to HG. Expression of CD123 was positive in 34% of BCP-ALL LB and always absent on HG. Aberrant antigen expression (myeloid and/or T-cell marker) including CD123 was observed in 58% of BCP-ALL patients. The use of a MFI antigen ratio of the most discriminating markers (CD81/CD58) (analysis of variance, P < 0.005) increased the distinction of LB versus HG with a high specificity and sensitivity as demonstrated by the use of ROC curve analysis (AUC of CD81/CD58: 0.995).
CONCLUSION: We demonstrate in this study that routine use of the MFI antigen ratio (CD81/CD58) in addition to the MFC evaluation using WHO classical criteria appears to be an efficient approach to discriminate LB from HG.

Anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCLs) are CD30-positive T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas broadly segregated into ALK-positive and ALK-negative types. Although ALK-positive ALCLs consistently bear rearrangements of the

Targeted cancer immunotherapy with irradiated, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-secreting, allogeneic cancer cell lines has been an effective approach to reduce tumor burden in several patients. It is generally assumed that to be effective, these cell lines need to express immunogenic antigens coexpressed in patient tumor cells, and antigen-presenting cells need to take up such antigens then present them to patient T cells. We have previously reported that, in a phase I pilot study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00095862), a subject with stage IV breast cancer experienced substantial regression of breast, lung, and brain lesions following inoculation with clinical formulations of SV-BR-1-GM, a GM-CSF-secreting breast tumor cell line. To identify diagnostic features permitting the prospective identification of patients likely to benefit from SV-BR-1-GM, we conducted a molecular analysis of the SV-BR-1-GM cell line and of patient-derived blood, as well as a tumor specimen. Compared to normal human breast cells, SV-BR-1-GM cells overexpress genes encoding tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) such as PRAME, a cancer/testis antigen. Curiously, despite its presumptive breast epithelial origin, the cell line expresses major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II genes (

Relapse remains one of the major obstacles in Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph

BACKGROUND: As one of the major treatment obstacles in Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph
METHODS: RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were performed to analyze the gene expression profiles of the sorted LPCs and other cell fractions from patients with de novo Ph
RESULTS: RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR demonstrated that JAK2 was more highly expressed in the sorted LPCs than in the other cell fractions in de novo Ph
CONCLUSIONS: In summary, this pre-clinical study provides a scientific rationale for simultaneously targeting BCR-ABL and JAK2 activities as a promising anti-LPCs therapeutic approach for patients with de novo Ph

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is an incurable non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the skin-homing T cell. In early-stage disease, lesions are limited to the skin, but in later-stage disease, the tumor cells can escape into the blood, the lymph nodes, and at times the visceral organs. To clarify the genomic basis of CTCL, we performed genomic analysis of 220 CTCLs. Our analyses identify 55 putative driver genes, including 17 genes not previously implicated in CTCL. These novel mutations are predicted to affect chromatin (

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is a peripheral T-cell neoplasm with a dismal prognosis. It is caused by human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1) retrovirus. A long latency period from HTLV-1 infection to ATL onset suggests that not only HTLV-1 proteins, such as Tax and HBZ, but also additional genetic and/or epigenetic events are required for ATL development. Although many studies have demonstrated the biological functions of viral genes, alterations of cellular genes associated with ATL have not been fully investigated. Recently, a large-scale integrated genetic analysis revealed the entire landscape of somatic aberrations in ATL. This neoplasm is characterized by frequent gain-of-function alterations in components of the T-cell receptor/NF-κB signaling pathway, including activating mutations in the PLCG1, PRKCB, CARD11 and VAV1 genes, and CTLA4-CD28 and ICOS-CD28 fusions. Importantly, molecules associated with immune surveillance, such as HLA-A/B, CD58 and FAS, are affected recurrently. Among them, one notable lesion occurs as frequent structural variations that truncate the PD-L1 3'-untranslated region, leading to its overexpression. Other genetic targets include transcription factors (IRF4, IKZF2, and GATA3) and chemokine receptors (CCR4, CCR7 and GPR183), which are functionally relevant in normal T cells. A substantial proportion of ATL cases show widespread accumulation of repressive epigenetic changes, such as trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 and DNA hypermethylation of CpG islands, which coordinately modulate multiple pathways, including Cys2-His2 zinc finger genes involved in silencing retroelements. Here we review the current understanding of the genetic/epigenetic aberrations in ATL, focusing on their relevance in its molecular pathogenesis.

Monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD) is currently considered the most powerful predictor of outcome in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Achievement of a negative MRD state assessed by multicolor flowcytometry (MFC) is an important predictor of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in ALL patients. We sought to determine whether panels of antibodies combination are more suitable for detection of MRD in Childhood ALL. Eighty-four (84) patients with ALL (B-lineage subtype) were enrolled in this study. Normal template for B cell precursors was established in 15 control participants using 4-four panels of monoclonal Antibodies (Mo Abs),{CD22, CD45, CD58 and CD97 in combination with CD10, CD19, CD34}. At diagnosis, CD22 exhibited the lowest incidence of expression in only 50% of all patients, while CD45, CD58, and CD97 were expressed in 80.9, 59.5 and 92.8%, respectively. Analysis of MRD was performed for each Mo Abs combination at day 0 and day 14 post-induction of chemotherapy by 4-color (FCM). The incidence of MRD was 61.9, 70.6, 60.0 and 55.1% for CD22, CD45, CD58 and CD97, respectively. In B-ALL patients, (CD10/CD19/CD34/CD45) + (CD10/CD19/CD34/CD97) represented the highest incidence of expression of leukemic cells markers with a significant correlation with blasts count, suggesting that these are more specific for MRD detection. Also FCM is relatively cost effective for detection of MRD in ALL patients and its applicability in routine leukemia lab is valuable. MRD evaluation at the end of the induction therapy (i.e. day 35 or 42 according to the different schedules) is advised. Also, Ig/T cell receptor gene rearrangements and gene fusions analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are preferred.

The advent of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies has expedited the discovery of novel genetic lesions in DLBCL. The prognostic significance of these identified gene mutations is largely unknown. In this study, we performed NGS for the 27 genes most frequently implicated in 196 patients. Interestingly, TP53 mutations were found to be significantly more common in DLBCL with MYC translocations (r = 0.446, P = 0.034). While no gene mutation was found to be more prevalent in patients with DLBCL with bone marrow involvement, MYD88 mutations were more common in primary DLBCL of the CNS or testis. To evaluate the prognostic significance of the abnormalities of these 27 genes, a total of 165 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL, NOS were included in a multivariate survival analysis. Surprisingly, in addition to the TP53 mutation, CD58 mutation was found to predict poor clinical outcome. Furthermore, copy number loss of CD58 or TP53 was also identified to be an independent negative prognostic factor. Our results have uncovered the previously unknown critical impact of gene mutations on the prognosis of DLBCL and are fundamentally important for the future design of tailored therapy for improved clinical outcomes.

CD58 is involved in immune recognition of tumor cells via binding of the CD2 receptor expressed on cytotoxic T cells. In diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, mutations of the CD58 gene are reported to contribute to immune evasion of the tumor cells. We previously showed CD58 mutations in three Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) cell lines by whole-exome sequencing. In this study, we confirmed the mutations by Sanger sequencing at the DNA and RNA level and showed low levels or total loss of CD58 mRNA expression in two of the three cell lines. CD58 protein expression as determined by flow cytometry, western blotting and immunohistochemistry was absent in all three mutated HL cell lines. In primary tissue samples, loss of CD58 expression was observed in 11% of the patients who relapse. These data suggest that loss of CD58 is a potential immune escape mechanism of HL tumor cells, especially in clinically aggressive disease.

Despite major advances in first-line treatment, a significant proportion of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) will experience treatment failure. Prognosis is particularly poor for relapses occurring less than one year after the end of first-line treatment (early relapses/ER) compared to those occurring more than one year after (late relapses/LR). To better understand genomic alterations underlying the delay of relapse, we identified copy number variations (CNVs) on 39 tumor samples from a homogeneous series of patients included in the Collaborative Trial in Relapsed Aggressive Lymphoma (CORAL) prospective study. To identify CNVs associated with ER or LR, we devised an original method based on Significance Analysis of Microarrays, a permutation-based method which allows control of false positives due to multiple testing. Deletions of CDKN2A/B (28%) and IBTK (23%) were frequent events in relapsed DLBCLs. We identified 56 protein-coding genes and 25 long non-coding RNAs with significantly differential CNVs distribution between ER and LR DLBCLs, with a false discovery rate < 0.05. In ER DLBCLs, CNVs were related to transcription regulation, cell cycle and apoptosis, with duplications of histone H1T (31%), deletions of DIABLO (26%), PTMS (21%) and CK2B (15%). In LR DLBCLs, CNVs were related to immune response, with deletions of B2M (20%) and CD58 (10%), cell proliferation regulation, with duplications of HES1 (25%) and DVL3 (20%), and transcription regulation, with MTERF4 deletions (20%). This study provides new insights into the genetic aberrations in relapsed DLBCLs and suggest pathway-targeted therapies in ER and LR DLBCLs.

The lack of persistence of infused T cells is a principal limitation of adoptive immunotherapy in man. Interleukin (IL)-15 can sustain memory T cell expansion when presented in complex with IL-15Rα (15Rα/15). We developed a novel in-vitro system for generation of stable 15Rα/15 complexes. Immunologically quantifiable amounts of IL-15 were obtained when both IL-15Rα and IL-15 genes were co-transduced in NIH 3T3 fibroblast-based artificial antigen-presenting cells expressing human leucocyte antigen (HLA) A:0201, β

Hematogones are immature normal B cell precursors with a characteristic immunophenotype profile on flow cytometry that typically do not express surface immunoglobulin light chains. In this report, we describe a case in which the hematogones exhibit light chain restriction. Our patient was a 4-year-old boy with a complicated medical history involving treatment for a presumed bilateral Wilms tumor of the kidney that on later resection was diagnosed as Burkitt lymphoma. Flow cytometry analysis of his bone marrow revealed a small distinct population of cells expressing dim cluster of differentiation (CD)10, CD19, CD22, CD38, dim CD58, human leukocyte antigen-D related (HLA-DR), and dim CD45, which are characteristic of hematogones. These cells, however, demonstrated dim surface immunoglobulin lambda light-chain restriction. Molecular study results for immunoglobulin heavy and kappa light-chain gene rearrangements were negative. We present this case to raise awareness of the potential pitfalls of working up bone marrow for involvement by B cell lymphoproliferative disorder.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) modulate gene expression, and lncRNA misregulation is associated with cancer. However, precise functional roles in biological and disease processes have been described for only a few lncRNAs. Identification of genome-wide lncRNA-mediated transcriptional dysregulations may improve cancer treatments. In the present study, we used a computational framework that combined lncRNA and gene expression profiles with transcription factor (TF)-target relationships to comprehensively identify dysregulatory lncRNA-TF-gene triplets. In glioblastoma (GBM), we found that most lncRNAs affect multiple targets and primarily affect TF activity in trans. Six different classes of lncRNA-mediated transcriptional dysregulations were identified, with most lncRNAs either enhancing or attenuating target gene expression. Functional analysis of lncRNAs via their dysregulated targets implicated lncRNA modulators in some hallmarks of cancer, providing a new way to predict lncRNA function. Finally, we identified several lncRNA-TF-gene triplets (including HOTAIR-MXI1-CD58/PRKCE and HOTAIR-ATF5-NCAM1) that are associated with glioblastoma prognosis. The integration of lncRNA modulators into transcriptional regulatory networks will further enhance our understanding of lncRNA functions in cancer.

Gene expression profiles of gastric cancer (GC) were analyzed with bioinformatics tools to identify signature genes associated with prognosis. Four gene expression data sets (accession number: GSE2685, GSE30727, GSE38932 and GSE26253) were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened out using significance analysis of microarrays (SAM) algorithm. P-value 1 were set as the threshold. A co-expression network was constructed for the GC-related genes with package WGCNA of R. Modules were disclosed with WGCNA algorithm. Survival-related signature genes were screened out via COX single-variable regression.A total of 3210 GC-related genes were identified from the 3 data sets. Significantly enriched GO biological process terms included cell death, cell proliferation, apoptosis, response to hormone and phosphorylation. Pathways like viral carcinogenesis, metabolism, EBV viral infection, and PI3K-AKT signaling pathway were significantly over-represented in the DEGs. A gene co-expression network including 2414 genes was constructed, from which 7 modules were revealed. A total of 17 genes were identified as signature genes, such as DAB2, ALDH2, CD58, CITED2, BNIP3L, SLC43A2, FAU and COL5A1.Many signature genes associated with prognosis of GC were identified in present study, some of which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of GC. These findings could not only improve the knowledge about GC, but also provide clues for clinical treatments.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer biological characteristics change as age advances. Today, there is a lack of knowledge regarding age-specific molecular alterations that characterize breast tumours, notably in elderly patients. The vast majority of studies that aimed at exploring breast cancer in function of age are based on clinico-pathological data. Gene-expression signatures (GES), which in some ways capture biological information in a non-reductionist manner, represent powerful tools able to explore tumour heterogeneity.
METHODS: Twenty-five GES were used for functional annotation of breast tumours in function of age: five for molecular subtyping, seven for immune response, three for metabolism, seven for critical pathways in cancer and three for prognosis. Affymetrix® genomics datasets were exclusively used to avoid cross-platform normalization issues. Available corresponding clinico-pathological data were also retrieved and analysed.
RESULTS: Fifteen publicly available datasets were pooled for a total of 2378 breast cancer patients (whole cohort), out of whom 1413 were of Caucasian origin. Three age groups were defined: ≤ 40 years (AG1), > 40 to < 70 years (AG2) and ≥ 70 years (AG3). We confirmed that age influenced the incidence of molecular subtypes. We found a significant growing incidence of luminal B and a decreasing kinetics for basal-like in function of age. We showed that AG3 luminal B tumours were less aggressive than AG1 luminal B tumours based on different GES (iron metabolism, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and reactive stroma), recurrence score prognostic GES and histological grade (SBR). Contrary to tumours of young patients, tumours of elderly patients concentrated favourable GES scores: high oestrogen receptor and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, low proliferation, basal-like, glycolysis, chromosomal instability and iron metabolism, and low GES prognostic scores (van't Veer 70-GES, genomic grade index and recurrence score).
CONCLUSIONS: Functional annotation of breast tumours by means of 25 GES demonstrated a decreasing aggressiveness of breast tumours in function of age. This strategy, which can be strengthened by increasing the number of representative GES to gain more insight into biological systems involved in this disease, provides a framework to develop rational therapeutic strategies in function of age.

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is a peripheral T-cell neoplasm of highly pleomorphic lymphoid cells. ATLL is usually widely disseminated, and it is caused by human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). It is a disease with a long latency, and affected individuals are usually exposed to the virus very early in life. The cumulative incidence of ATLL is estimated to be 2.5% among HTLV-1 carriers. ATLL cells express CD2, CD3, CD5, CD4, and CD25, as well as CCR4 and FoxP3 of the regulatory T-cell marker. HTLV-1 is causally linked to ATLL, but infection alone is not sufficient to result in neoplastic transformation. A significant finding in this connection is that the Tax viral protein leads to transcriptional activation of many genes, while the HTLV-1 basic leucine zipper factor is thought to be important for T-cell proliferation and oncogenesis. Half of ATLL cases retain the ability to express HTLV-1 Tax, which is a target of HTLV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). An increase in HTLV-1-specific CTL responses is observed in some asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers. Although HTLV-1-specific CTL are also present in the peripheral blood of ATLL patients, they do not expand sufficiently. We investigated the clinicopathological features and analyzed the staining of Tax-specific CTL and FoxP3. Tax-specific CTL correlated inversely with FoxP3, an increase in the ratio of CD163+ tumor-associated macrophages was associated with worse clinical prognosis, and ATLL cell lines proliferated significantly following direct co-culture with M2 macrophages. Several clinical variants of ATLL have been identified: acute, lymphomatous, chronic, and smoldering. Oligo-array comparative genomic hybridization revealed that genomic loss of 9p21.3 was a significant characteristic of acute-type, but not of chronic-type ATLL. Furthermore, we found that genomic alteration of CD58, which is implicated in immune escape, is more frequently observed in acute than in chronic ATLL. Interestingly, the chronic cases with cell cycle deregulation and disruption of immunosurveillance mechanism were associated with faster progression to acute ATLL. Immune evasion, microenvironment, and genetic alteration are therefore important in the multi-step progression of ATLL lymphomagenesis.

Immune evasion plays a central role in the pathophysiology of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). As mutations of the CD58 gene contribute to immune evasion of diffuse large B cell lymphoma tumor cells, we studied whether alterations of the CD58 gene also occur in Hodgkin and Reed/Sternberg (HRS) cells of cHL. Single nucleotide polymorphism chip analysis revealed homozygous deletions within the CD58 gene in two cHL cell lines (SUP-HD1 and U-HO1). Sequencing of the CD58 gene in seven cHL cell lines disclosed in addition a homozygous splice site mutation in cell line KM-H2. None of the three mutated lines expressed CD58 protein on their surface. Thus, three of seven cHL cell lines analyzed harbor destructive CD58 mutations. Molecular analysis of isolated HRS cells from 10 primary cases of cHL; however, did not reveal any case with a CD58 mutation. A FICTION study indicated heterozygous deletions of CD58 in 3 of 13 cHL analyzed. Overall, we report frequent inactivating mutations of CD58 in cHL cell lines, but their rare occurrence in primary HRS cells. As the three cHL cell lines with CD58 mutations were all established from HRS cells located in pleural effusions, i.e., outside the normal lymph node microenvironment, in end-stages of the disease, CD58 inactivation in cHL might be predominantly prevalent to such situations.

PURPOSE: Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is an aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma confined to the central nervous system. Whether there is a PCNSL-specific genomic signature and, if so, how it differs from systemic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is uncertain.
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We performed a comprehensive genomic study of tumor samples from 19 immunocompetent PCNSL patients. Testing comprised array-comparative genomic hybridization and whole exome sequencing.
RESULTS: Biallelic inactivation of TOX and PRKCD was recurrently found in PCNSL but not in systemic DLBCL, suggesting a specific role in PCNSL pathogenesis. In addition, we found a high prevalence of MYD88 mutations (79%) and CDKN2A biallelic loss (60%). Several genes recurrently affected in PCNSL were common with systemic DLBCL, including loss of TNFAIP3, PRDM1, GNA13, TMEM30A, TBL1XR1, B2M, CD58, activating mutations of CD79B, CARD11, and translocations IgH-BCL6. Overall, B-cell receptor/Toll-like receptor/NF-κB pathways were altered in >90% of PNCSL, highlighting its value for targeted therapeutic approaches. Furthermore, integrated analysis showed enrichment of pathways associated with immune response, proliferation, apoptosis, and lymphocyte differentiation.
CONCLUSIONS: In summary, genome-wide analysis uncovered novel recurrent alterations, including TOX and PRKCD, helping to differentiate PCNSL from systemic DLBCL and related lymphomas.

PURPOSE: Current diagnostic tests for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma use the updated WHO criteria based on biologic, morphologic, and clinical heterogeneity. We propose a refined classification system based on subset-specific B-cell-associated gene signatures (BAGS) in the normal B-cell hierarchy, hypothesizing that it can provide new biologic insight and diagnostic and prognostic value.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: We combined fluorescence-activated cell sorting, gene expression profiling, and statistical modeling to generate BAGS for naive, centrocyte, centroblast, memory, and plasmablast B cells from normal human tonsils. The impact of BAGS-assigned subtyping was analyzed using five clinical cohorts (treated with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone [CHOP], n = 270; treated with rituximab plus CHOP [R-CHOP], n = 869) gathered across geographic regions, time eras, and sampling methods. The analysis estimated subtype frequencies and drug-specific resistance and included a prognostic meta-analysis of patients treated with first-line R-CHOP therapy.
RESULTS: Similar BAGS subtype frequencies were assigned across 1,139 samples from five different cohorts. Among R-CHOP-treated patients, BAGS assignment was significantly associated with overall survival and progression-free survival within the germinal center B-cell-like subclass; the centrocyte subtype had a superior prognosis compared with the centroblast subtype. In agreement with the observed therapeutic outcome, centrocyte subtypes were estimated as being less resistant than the centroblast subtype to doxorubicin and vincristine. The centroblast subtype had a complex genotype, whereas the centrocyte subtype had high TP53 mutation and insertion/deletion frequencies and expressed LMO2, CD58, and stromal-1-signature and major histocompatibility complex class II-signature genes, which are known to have a positive impact on prognosis.
CONCLUSION: Further development of a diagnostic platform using BAGS-assigned subtypes may allow pathogenetic studies to improve disease management.

BACKGROUND: Multiple myeloma is an incurable disease characterized by proliferation of clonal malignant plasma cells (CPCs), which can be immunophenotypically distinguished from polyclonal plasma cells (PPCs) by multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC). The utility of PPCs analysis in detecting prognostic and predictive information is still a matter of debate.
METHODS: we tested the ability of 11 MFC markers in detecting differences in the immunophenotype of CPCs and PPCs among patients in various disease stages; we verified if these markers could be associated with disease stage/response to therapy despite the role of clinical parameters.
RESULTS: significant changes in the expression of markers occurred both in CPCs and PPCs. CD58 on PPCs of responding patients was downregulated compared with PPC of relapsing group. Fraction of CD200 expressing PCs was lower in control subjects than in PPCs from MGUS and myeloma groups. CD11a levels of expression on both CPCs and PPCs showed an upregulation in newly diagnosed and relapsing patients versus PCs of controls; CD20 was less expressed on control PCs than on MGUS CPCs and PPCs. CD49d revealed to be advantageous in discrimination of PPCs from CPCs. In our multiple regression model, CD19 and CD49d on CPCs, and CD45, CD58 and CD56 on PPCs maintained their association with groups of patients independently of other prognostic variables.
CONCLUSIONS: we provide a feasible start point to put in order ranges of expression on PPCs in healthy and myeloma subjects; we propose a new approach based on PPC analysis to monitor the stages of the disease.

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is a human T-cell leukemia virus type-1-induced neoplasm with four clinical subtypes: acute, lymphoma, chronic, and smoldering. Although the chronic type is regarded as indolent ATL, about half of the cases progress to acute-type ATL. The molecular pathogenesis of acute transformation in chronic-type ATL is only partially understood. In an effort to determine the molecular pathogeneses of ATL, and especially the molecular mechanism of acute transformation, oligo-array comparative genomic hybridization and comprehensive gene expression profiling were applied to 27 and 35 cases of chronic and acute type ATL, respectively. The genomic profile of the chronic type was nearly identical to that of acute-type ATL, although more genomic alterations characteristic of acute-type ATL were observed. Among the genomic alterations frequently observed in acute-type ATL, the loss of CDKN2A, which is involved in cell-cycle deregulation, was especially characteristic of acute-type ATL compared with chronic-type ATL. Furthermore, we found that genomic alteration of CD58, which is implicated in escape from the immunosurveillance mechanism, is more frequently observed in acute-type ATL than in the chronic-type. Interestingly, the chronic-type cases with cell-cycle deregulation and disruption of immunosurveillance mechanism were associated with earlier progression to acute-type ATL. These findings suggested that cell-cycle deregulation and the immune escape mechanism play important roles in acute transformation of the chronic type and indicated that these alterations are good predictive markers for chronic-type ATL.

Colorectal tumor-initiating cells (CT-ICs) have self-renewal capabilities and have an important role in tumorigenesis, metastasis, recurrence and treatment resistance in colorectal cancer. Multiple cell-surface molecules targeting CT-ICs, possibly representing different CT-IC subpopulations, have been reported. However, whether new surface markers exist, as well as the mechanisms by which the markers regulate self-renewal, remain unclear. In this study, we enriched a CT-IC population through a serum-free low-adhesion system in vitro. Within this population, we found that CD58 and CD44 were upregulated using a cDNA GeneChip, and CD44(high)CD58(high) cancer cells, the common existence of which was demonstrated by flow cytometry in multiple colon cancer cell lines and primary specimens, exhibited enhanced self-renewal ability, epithelial-mesenchymal transition ability and tumorigenicity, both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, activated CD58 upregulated the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and thus promoted self-renewal of CT-ICs; conversely, knockdown of CD58 significantly impaired sphere formation and tumor growth. With immunoprecipitation and western blotting approaches, CD58 was found to upregulate the Wnt pathway by degradation of Dickkopf 3. These results indicate that CD58 is a novel cell-surface marker that functionally regulates self-renewal of CT-ICs, which may provide an intriguing therapeutic target for the efficient killing and elimination of CT-ICs.

While treating stage III melanoma patients with autologous therapeutic TIL in an adjuvant setting, we previously reported a significant benefit of treatment on both progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with only one invaded lymph node (early stage III) compared to patients with more than one invaded lymph nodes (advanced stage III). In this context, in order to understand the difference of activity of TIL therapy according to the progression of the illness at stage III, the first objective of the present study was to determine potential differences in the characteristics of TIL populations obtained from an early stage III and a more advanced stage III when tumor burden is more important. The second objective was to determine possible differences in tissue expression level of several molecules involved in interactions between tumor cells and T cells between early and advanced stage III considering that the tumor microenvironment of invaded lymph nodes could become more tolerant with the progression of the disease. A total of 47 samples of melanoma invaded LN from stage IIIb (AJCC 2007) melanoma patients treated with TIL plus IL-2 were included in this study. We confirmed that both PFS and OS were significantly associated to the presence of tumor-reactive T-cells among TIL injected to the patients and that these tumor reactive T cells were more frequently observed at the early stage III. Moreover, while analyzing the expression of 17 markers on 34/47 tumor specimens using immunohistochemistry, we identified that 3 tissue markers involved in interactions between melanoma cells and T cells have a significant difference of expression between early and advanced stage III: MHC class I, adhesion molecule ICAM-1 and the co-stimulation molecule LFA-3 had a significantly weaker expression in melanoma tissue specimens from advanced stage III. In addition, the expression of the alpha chain of the IL-2 receptor (CD25) and the nuclear transcription factor Foxp3 was significantly increased in the melanoma tissue specimens from advanced stage III. Our results suggest differences in the immunological status of the tumor microenvironment between early and advanced stage III, which could explain the difference in clinical response to TIL infusion in an adjuvant setting between early and advanced stage III.

Thymomas are low-grade epithelial tumors of the anterior mediastinum. The complexity of the disease and the lack of in vitro and in vivo models hamper the development of better therapeutics. In this study, we report a novel cell line, designated as IU-TAB-1, which was established from a patient with stage II thymoma (World Health Organization-type AB). The IU-TAB-1 cell line was established in vitro and characterized using histological and immunohistochemical staining, fluorescence-activated cell sorting, cytogenetic analyses and functional assays including in vitro and a NOD/SCID xenograft model. A whole-genome gene expression analysis (Illumina) was performed on the IU-TAB-1 cell line and 34 thymomas to determine the clinical relevance of the cell line. The IU-TAB-1 cell line was positive for epithelial markers (pan-cytokeratin and EpCAM/CD326) including thymic epithelial (TE) surface markers (such as CD29, CD9, CD54/ICAM-1, CD58 and CD24) and p63, and negative for B- and T-cell lineage markers. Gene expression profiling demonstrated overlapping and distinct genes between IU-TAB-1 and primary thymomas including the primary tumor (from which the cell line was derived). IU-TAB-1 cells are tumorigenic when implanted in immunodeficient mice with tumors reaching a volume of 1000 mm³ at around 130 days. The established cell line represents a biologically relevant new tool to investigate the molecular pathology of thymic malignancies and to evaluate the efficacy of novel therapeutics both in vitro and in vivo.

UNLABELLED: Major finding: The majority of DLBCLs fail to express cell surface–associated B2M and CD58.
CONCEPT: DLBCLs evade immune recognition by both CTLs and NK cells.
IMPACT: Immune escape provides selective pressure during lymphomagenesis.

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease that comprises multiple subtypes. Luminal subtype tumors confer a more favorable patient prognosis, which is, in part, attributed to estrogen receptor (ER)-α positivity and antihormone responsiveness. Expression of the forkhead box transcription factor, FOXA1, similarly correlates with the luminal subtype and patient survival, but is also present in a subset of ER-negative tumors. FOXA1 is also consistently expressed in luminal breast cancer cell lines even in the absence of ER. In contrast, breast cancer cell lines representing the basal subtype do not express FOXA1. To delineate an ER-independent role for FOXA1 in maintaining the luminal phenotype, and hence a more favorable prognosis, we performed expression microarray analyses on FOXA1-positive and ER-positive (MCF7, T47D), or FOXA1-positive and ER-negative (MDA-MB-453, SKBR3) luminal cell lines in the presence or absence of transient FOXA1 silencing. This resulted in three FOXA1 transcriptomes: (1) a luminal signature (consistent across cell lines), (2) an ER-positive signature (restricted to MCF7 and T47D) and (3) an ER-negative signature (restricted to MDA-MB-453 and SKBR3). Gene set enrichment analyses revealed FOXA1 silencing causes a partial transcriptome shift from luminal to basal gene expression signatures. FOXA1 binds to a subset of both luminal and basal genes within luminal breast cancer cells, and loss of FOXA1 increases enhancer RNA transcription for a representative basal gene (CD58). These data suggest FOXA1 directly represses a subset of basal signature genes. Functionally, FOXA1 silencing increases migration and invasion of luminal cancer cells, both of which are characteristics of basal subtype cells. We conclude FOXA1 controls plasticity between basal and luminal breast cancer cells, not only by inducing luminal genes but also by repressing the basal phenotype, and thus aggressiveness. Although it has been proposed that FOXA1-targeting agents may be useful for treating luminal tumors, these data suggest that this approach may promote transitions toward more aggressive cancers.

OBJECTIVES: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection has been suggested to be a causal factor in the development of type 1 diabetes, posttransplantation diabetes, and the failure of islet allografts. This effect of CMV has been interpreted as an indirect effect on the immune system rather than direct infection-induced cell death. In the present study, we investigated (i) the susceptibility of β cells to HCMV infection, (ii) regulation of immune cell-activating ligands, (iii) release of proinflammatory cytokines, and (iv) the effects on peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) activation.
METHODS: CM insulinoma cells and primary β cells were HCMV-infected in vitro using a laboratory and a clinical HCMV strain. The susceptibility to infection was measured by the expression of viral genes and proteins. Furthermore, expression levels of Major Histocompatibility Complex I, Intracellular Adhesion Molecule-1, and Lymphocyte Function Associated Antigen-3 and the release of proinflammatory cytokines were determined. In addition, PBMC activation to HCMV-infected β cells was determined.
RESULTS: β Cells were susceptible to HCMV infection. Moreover, the infection increased the cellular immunogenicity, as demonstrated by an increased MHC I and ICAM-1 expression and an increased proinflammatory cytokine release. Human cytomegalovirus-infected CM cells potently activated PBMCs. The infection-induced effects were dependent on both viral "sensing" and viral replication.
CONCLUSIONS: In vivo β-cell HCMV infection and infection-enhanced cellular immunogenicity may have important consequences for native or transplanted β-cell survival.

We report that diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) commonly fails to express cell-surface molecules necessary for the recognition of tumor cells by immune-effector cells. In 29% of cases, mutations and deletions inactivate the β2-Microglobulin gene, thus preventing the cell-surface expression of the HLA class-I (HLA-I) complex that is necessary for recognition by CD8(+) cytotoxic T cells. In 21% of cases, analogous lesions involve the CD58 gene, which encodes a molecule involved in T and natural killer cell-mediated responses. In addition to gene inactivation, alternative mechanisms lead to aberrant expression of HLA-I and CD58 in >60% of DLBCL. These two events are significantly associated in this disease, suggesting that they are coselected during lymphomagenesis for their combined role in escape from immune-surveillance.