MYH9

Gene Summary

Gene:MYH9; myosin heavy chain 9
Aliases: MHA, FTNS, EPSTS, BDPLT6, DFNA17, MATINS, NMMHCA, NMHC-II-A, NMMHC-IIA
Location:22q12.3
Summary:This gene encodes a conventional non-muscle myosin; this protein should not be confused with the unconventional myosin-9a or 9b (MYO9A or MYO9B). The encoded protein is a myosin IIA heavy chain that contains an IQ domain and a myosin head-like domain which is involved in several important functions, including cytokinesis, cell motility and maintenance of cell shape. Defects in this gene have been associated with non-syndromic sensorineural deafness autosomal dominant type 17, Epstein syndrome, Alport syndrome with macrothrombocytopenia, Sebastian syndrome, Fechtner syndrome and macrothrombocytopenia with progressive sensorineural deafness. [provided by RefSeq, Dec 2011]
Databases:OMIM, HGNC, Ensembl, GeneCard, Gene
Protein:myosin-9
Source:NCBIAccessed: 29 August, 2019

Ontology:

What does this gene/protein do?
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Pathways:What pathways are this gene/protein implicaed in?
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Cancer Overview

Research Indicators

Publications Per Year (1994-2019)
Graph generated 29 August 2019 using data from PubMed using criteria.

Literature Analysis

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Tag cloud generated 29 August, 2019 using data from PubMed, MeSH and CancerIndex

Specific Cancers (8)

Latest Publications: MYH9 (cancer-related)

Liang X, Vacher S, Boulai A, et al.
Targeted next-generation sequencing identifies clinically relevant somatic mutations in a large cohort of inflammatory breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Res. 2018; 20(1):88 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most aggressive form of primary breast cancer. Using a custom-made breast cancer gene sequencing panel, we investigated somatic mutations in IBC to better understand the genomic differences compared with non-IBC and to consider new targeted therapy in IBC patients.
METHODS: Targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) of 91 candidate breast cancer-associated genes was performed on 156 fresh-frozen breast tumor tissues from IBC patients. Mutational profiles from 197 primary breast tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were used as non-IBC controls for comparison analysis. The mutational landscape of IBC was correlated with clinicopathological data and outcomes.
RESULTS: After genotype calling and algorithmic annotations, we identified 392 deleterious variants in IBC and 320 variants in non-IBC cohorts, respectively. IBC tumors harbored more mutations than non-IBC (2.5 per sample vs. 1.6 per sample, p < 0.0001). Eighteen mutated genes were significantly different between the two cohorts, namely TP53, CDH1, NOTCH2, MYH9, BRCA2, ERBB4, POLE, FGFR3, ROS1, NOTCH4, LAMA2, EGFR, BRCA1, TP53BP1, ESR1, THBS1, CASP8, and NOTCH1. In IBC, the most frequently mutated genes were TP53 (43.0%), PIK3CA (29.5%), MYH9 (8.3%), NOTCH2 (8.3%), BRCA2 (7.7%), ERBB4 (7.1%), FGFR3 (6.4%), POLE (6.4%), LAMA2 (5.8%), ARID1A (5.1%), NOTCH4 (5.1%), and ROS1 (5.1%). After grouping 91 genes on 10 signaling pathways, we found that the DNA repair pathway for the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subgroup, the RTK/RAS/MAPK and cell cycle pathways for the HR
CONCLUSIONS: Breast cancer-specific targeted NGS uncovered a high frequency of deleterious somatic mutations in IBC, some of which may be relevant for clinical management.

Pecci A, Ma X, Savoia A, Adelstein RS
MYH9: Structure, functions and role of non-muscle myosin IIA in human disease.
Gene. 2018; 664:152-167 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
The MYH9 gene encodes the heavy chain of non-muscle myosin IIA, a widely expressed cytoplasmic myosin that participates in a variety of processes requiring the generation of intracellular chemomechanical force and translocation of the actin cytoskeleton. Non-muscle myosin IIA functions are regulated by phosphorylation of its 20 kDa light chain, of the heavy chain, and by interactions with other proteins. Variants of MYH9 cause an autosomal-dominant disorder, termed MYH9-related disease, and may be involved in other conditions, such as chronic kidney disease, non-syndromic deafness, and cancer. This review discusses the structure of the MYH9 gene and its protein, as well as the regulation and physiologic functions of non-muscle myosin IIA with particular reference to embryonic development. Moreover, the review focuses on current knowledge about the role of MYH9 variants in human disease.

Engel M, Longden J, Ferkinghoff-Borg J, et al.
Bowhead: Bayesian modelling of cell velocity during concerted cell migration.
PLoS Comput Biol. 2018; 14(1):e1005900 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Cell migration is a central biological process that requires fine coordination of molecular events in time and space. A deregulation of the migratory phenotype is also associated with pathological conditions including cancer where cell motility has a causal role in tumor spreading and metastasis formation. Thus cell migration is of critical and strategic importance across the complex disease spectrum as well as for the basic understanding of cell phenotype. Experimental studies of the migration of cells in monolayers are often conducted with 'wound healing' assays. Analysis of these assays has traditionally relied on how the wound area changes over time. However this method does not take into account the shape of the wound. Given the many options for creating a wound healing assay and the fact that wound shape invariably changes as cells migrate this is a significant flaw. Here we present a novel software package for analyzing concerted cell velocity in wound healing assays. Our method encompasses a wound detection algorithm based on cell confluency thresholding and employs a Bayesian approach in order to estimate concerted cell velocity with an associated likelihood. We have applied this method to study the effect of siRNA knockdown on the migration of a breast cancer cell line and demonstrate that cell velocity can track wound healing independently of wound shape and provides a more robust quantification with significantly higher signal to noise ratios than conventional analyses of wound area. The software presented here will enable other researchers in any field of cell biology to quantitatively analyze and track live cell migratory processes and is therefore expected to have a significant impact on the study of cell migration, including cancer relevant processes. Installation instructions, documentation and source code can be found at http://bowhead.lindinglab.science licensed under GPLv3.

Chang KTE, Goytain A, Tucker T, et al.
Development and Evaluation of a Pan-Sarcoma Fusion Gene Detection Assay Using the NanoString nCounter Platform.
J Mol Diagn. 2018; 20(1):63-77 [PubMed] Related Publications
The NanoString nCounter assay is a high-throughput hybridization technique using target-specific probes that can be customized to test for numerous fusion transcripts in a single assay using RNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded material. We designed a NanoString assay targeting 174 unique fusion junctions in 25 sarcoma types. The study cohort comprised 212 cases, 96 of which showed fusion gene expression by the NanoString assay, including all 20 Ewing sarcomas, 11 synovial sarcomas, and 5 myxoid liposarcomas tested. Among these 96 cases, 15 showed fusion expression not identified by standard clinical assay, including EWSR1-FLI1, EWSR1-ERG, BCOR-CCNB3, ZC3H7B-BCOR, HEY1-NCOA2, CIC-DUX4, COL1A1-PDGFB, MYH9-USP6, YAP1-TFE3, and IRF2BP2-CDX1 fusions. There were no false-positive results; however, four cases were false negative when compared with clinically available fluorescence in situ hybridization or RT-PCR testing. When batched as six cases, the per-sample reagent cost was less than conventional techniques, such as fluorescence in situ hybridization, with technologist hands-on time of 1.2 hours per case and assay time of 36 hours. In summary, the NanoString nCounter Sarcoma Fusion CodeSet reliably and cost-effectively identifies fusion genes in sarcomas using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded material, including many fusions missed by standard clinical assays, and can serve as a first-line clinical diagnostic test for sarcoma fusion gene identification, replacing multiple individual clinical assays.

Ye G, Huang K, Yu J, et al.
MicroRNA-647 Targets SRF-MYH9 Axis to Suppress Invasion and Metastasis of Gastric Cancer.
Theranostics. 2017; 7(13):3338-3353 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in regulating tumour development and progression. Here we show that miR-647 is repressed in gastric cancer (GC), and associated with GC metastasis. Moreover, we identify that miR-647 can suppress GC cell migration and invasion

Kreutzman A, Colom-Fernández B, Jiménez AM, et al.
Dasatinib Reversibly Disrupts Endothelial Vascular Integrity by Increasing Non-Muscle Myosin II Contractility in a ROCK-Dependent Manner.
Clin Cancer Res. 2017; 23(21):6697-6707 [PubMed] Related Publications

Khan GJ, Gao Y, Gu M, et al.
TGF-β1 Causes EMT by Regulating N-Acetyl Glucosaminyl Transferases via Downregulation of Non Muscle Myosin II-A through JNK/P38/PI3K Pathway in Lung Cancer.
Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2018; 18(2):209-219 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a major determinant of cancer metastasis and is closely linked with TGF-β1. Intracellular proteins, including E. Cadherin, N. Cadherin and Vimentin are directly related to EMT that affect cell migration and adhesion; on the other hand, non muscle myosin (NM) has a central role in cytokinesis, migration and adhesion.
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore the association of EMT and metastasis with TGF-β1 through regulation of non-muscle myosin II-A (NMII-A) and its interaction with Hexosamine Biosynthesis Pathway (HBP).
METHOD: Protein expression changes were assessed by western blotting and immunofluorescent staining while transcription level changes were assessed by qRT-PCR. EMT was assessed by phenotypic analysis, wound healing, proliferation and transwell migration assay in vitro while in vivo studies were conducted in BALB/c nude mice for lung orthotopic and tail vein metastasis models.
RESULTS: We demonstrated that regulation of JNK/ P38/PI3K by TGF-β1 led to down expression of NMII-A which promoted EMT and lung cancer metastasis. This down expression of NMII-A conversely upregulated the expression of Core 2 N-acetyl Glucosaminyl Transferase mucin type (C2GnT-M) and further facilitated up-regulation and down-regulation of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT) -V and -III respectively; moreover, NMII-A K.D cells showed 3 times more tendency to migrate towards brain in vivo.
CONCLUSION: The study reports a novel pathway through which NMII-A negatively regulates EMT and metastasis via up regulation of C2GnT-M, GnT-V and down expression of GnT-III. These findings of lung cancer may further be required to study other cancer types.

Patel NR, Chrisinger JSA, Demicco EG, et al.
USP6 activation in nodular fasciitis by promoter-swapping gene fusions.
Mod Pathol. 2017; 30(11):1577-1588 [PubMed] Related Publications
Nodular fasciitis is a self-limited myofibroblastic lesion that can be misdiagnosed as a sarcoma as a result of its rapid growth, cellularity, and sometimes prominent mitotic activity. A recurrent translocation t(17;22) has been identified in nodular fasciitis, fusing the coding region of USP6 to the promoter region of MYH9, and resulting in increased USP6 expression. A subset of cases show USP6 rearrangement without the typical fusion variants by RT-PCR, or any MYH9 rearrangement by FISH. We sought to further characterize such tumors using molecular diagnostic assays. A novel RT-PCR assay was designed to detect the two known MYH9-USP6 fusion types in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded and frozen tissue, and a break-apart FISH assay was designed to detect USP6 rearrangement. Twenty-six cases of nodular fasciitis diagnosed between 2002 and 2013 were retrieved from the pathology files of our institutions and were confirmed to be positive by FISH and/or RT-PCR. Seven samples showed USP6 rearrangement by FISH but were negative for MYH9-USP6 fusion by RT-PCR; these cases were subjected to a next-generation sequencing assay utilizing anchored multiplex PCR technology. This assay targets a single partner gene associated with fusions in bone and soft tissue tumors for agnostic detection of gene fusion partners. Novel fusion partners were identified in all seven cases and confirmed by RT-PCR. Structurally, all fusions consisted of the juxtaposition of the entire coding region of USP6 with the promoter of the partner gene, driving increased USP6 expression. This study confirms the neoplastic nature of nodular fasciitis, defines additional pathogenic fusion partners, and adds to the growing body of literature on USP6-associated neoplasia. Given the diagnostic challenges of these tumors, molecular assays can be useful ancillary tools; however, the prevalence of promoter swapping must be recognized when interpreting results.

Liao Q, Li R, Zhou R, et al.
LIM kinase 1 interacts with myosin-9 and alpha-actinin-4 and promotes colorectal cancer progression.
Br J Cancer. 2017; 117(4):563-571 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: LIM kinase 1 (LIMK1) is a key regulator of the cytoskeletal organisation involved in cell proliferation and migration. Even though LIMK1 is frequently dysregulated in epithelial cancers, the role and mechanisms of LIMK1 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear.
METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to examine the expression and clinical significance of LIMK1 in CRC samples. Loss- and gain-of-function assay was performed to investigate the effects of aberrant expression on cellular biological behaviour of CRC cells in vitro and in vivo. Immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation was used to screen LIMK1-related signalling pathways and downstream factors.
RESULTS: In this study, our results showed that LIMK1 was upregulated in CRC tissues and localised in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus of CRC cells. Overexpression of LIMK1 in cytoplasmic and nuclear subcellular compartments was closely related to tumour metastasis and poor prognosis of CRC patients. Enhanced expression of cytoplasmic and nuclear LIMK1 significantly increased cell proliferation and migration by driving epithelial-mesenchymal transition and activating the PI3K/Akt signal pathway in vitro as well as promoting growth and metastasis of CRC xenografts, whereas opposite effects were achieved in LIMK1-silenced cells. Furthermore, we identified two tumour metastasis-associated proteins, MYH9 and ACTN4, as direct targets of LIMK1, which were required for a LIMK1-mediated aggressive phenotype.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that LIMK1 plays a critical role in promoting CRC progression at subcellular level. Our findings provide new insights into the metastasis of CRC and advocate for the development of clinical intervention strategies against advanced CRC.

Kas SM, de Ruiter JR, Schipper K, et al.
Insertional mutagenesis identifies drivers of a novel oncogenic pathway in invasive lobular breast carcinoma.
Nat Genet. 2017; 49(8):1219-1230 [PubMed] Related Publications
Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the second most common breast cancer subtype and accounts for 8-14% of all cases. Although the majority of human ILCs are characterized by the functional loss of E-cadherin (encoded by CDH1), inactivation of Cdh1 does not predispose mice to develop mammary tumors, implying that mutations in additional genes are required for ILC formation in mice. To identify these genes, we performed an insertional mutagenesis screen using the Sleeping Beauty transposon system in mice with mammary-specific inactivation of Cdh1. These mice developed multiple independent mammary tumors of which the majority resembled human ILC in terms of morphology and gene expression. Recurrent and mutually exclusive transposon insertions were identified in Myh9, Ppp1r12a, Ppp1r12b and Trp53bp2, whose products have been implicated in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. Notably, MYH9, PPP1R12B and TP53BP2 were also frequently aberrated in human ILC, highlighting these genes as drivers of a novel oncogenic pathway underlying ILC development.

Sui W, Shi Z, Xue W, et al.
Circular RNA and gene expression profiles in gastric cancer based on microarray chip technology.
Oncol Rep. 2017; 37(3):1804-1814 [PubMed] Related Publications
The aim of the present study was to screen gastric cancer (GC) tissue and adjacent tissue for differences in mRNA and circular (circRNA) expression, to analyze the differences in circRNA and mRNA expression, and to investigate the circRNA expression in gastric carcinoma and its mechanism. circRNA and mRNA differential expression profiles generated using Agilent microarray technology were analyzed in the GC tissues and adjacent tissues. qRT-PCR was used to verify the differential expression of circRNAs and mRNAs according to the interactions between circRNAs and miRNAs as well as the possible existence of miRNA and mRNA interactions. We found that: i) the circRNA expression profile revealed 1,285 significant differences in circRNA expression, with circRNA expression downregulated in 594 samples and upregulated in 691 samples via interactions with miRNAs. The qRT-PCR validation experiments showed that hsa_circRNA_400071, hsa_circRNA_000543 and hsa_circRNA_001959 expression was consistent with the microarray analysis results. ii) 29,112 genes were found in the GC tissues and adjacent tissues, including 5,460 differentially expressed genes. Among them, 2,390 differentially expressed genes were upregulated and 3,070 genes were downregulated. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis of the differentially expressed genes revealed these genes involved in biological process classification, cellular component classification and molecular function classification. Pathway analysis of the differentially expressed genes identified 83 significantly enriched genes, including 28 upregulated genes and 55 downregulated genes. iii) 69 differentially expressed circRNAs were found that might adsorb specific miRNAs to regulate the expression of their target gene mRNAs. The conclusions are: i) differentially expressed circRNAs had corresponding miRNA binding sites. These circRNAs regulated the expression of target genes through interactions with miRNAs and might become new molecular biomarkers for GC in the future. ii) Differentially expressed genes may be involved in the occurrence of GC via a variety of mechanisms. iii) CD44, CXXC5, MYH9, MALAT1 and other genes may have important implications for the occurrence and development of GC through the regulation, interaction, and mutual influence of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA via different mechanisms.

Coaxum SD, Tiedeken J, Garrett-Mayer E, et al.
The tumor suppressor capability of p53 is dependent on non-muscle myosin IIA function in head and neck cancer.
Oncotarget. 2017; 8(14):22991-23007 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Over 300,000 patients develop squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) worldwide with 25-30% of patients ultimately dying from their disease. Currently, molecular biomarkers are not used in HNSCC but several genes have been identified including mutant TP53 (mutp53). Our recent work has identified an approach to stratify patients with tumors harboring high or low risk TP53 mutations. Non-muscle Myosin IIA (NMIIA) was recently identified as a tumor suppressor in HNSCC. We now demonstrate that low MYH9 expression is associated with decreased survival in patients with head and neck cancer harboring low-risk mutp53 but not high-risk mutp53. Furthermore, inhibition of NMIIA leads to increased invasion in cells harboring wildtype p53 (wtp53), which was not observed in high-risk mutp53 cells. This increased invasiveness of wtp53 following NMIIA inhibition was associated with reduced p53 target gene expression and was absent in cells expressing mutp53. This reduced expression may be due, in part, to a decrease in nuclear localization of wtp53. These findings suggest that the tumor suppressor capability of wtp53 is dependent upon functional NMIIA and that the invasive phenotype of high-risk mutp53 is independent of NMIIA.

Wang Y, He H, Li W, et al.
MYH9 binds to lncRNA gene PTCSC2 and regulates FOXE1 in the 9q22 thyroid cancer risk locus.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017; 114(3):474-479 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
A locus on chromosome 9q22 harbors a SNP (rs965513) firmly associated with risk of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). The locus also comprises the forkhead box E1 (FOXE1) gene, which is implicated in thyroid development, and a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) gene, papillary thyroid cancer susceptibility candidate 2 (PTCSC2). How these might interact is not known. Here we report that PTCSC2 binds myosin-9 (MYH9). In a bidirectional promoter shared by FOXE1 and PTCSC2, MYH9 inhibits the promoter activity in both directions. This inhibition can be reversed by PTCSC2, which acts as a suppressor. RNA knockdown of FOXE1 in primary thyroid cells profoundly interferes with the p53 pathway. We propose that the interaction between the lncRNA, its binding protein MYH9, and the coding gene FOXE1 underlies the predisposition to PTC triggered by rs965513.

Chen Y, Yu Y, Sun S, et al.
Bradykinin promotes migration and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells through TRPM7 and MMP2.
Exp Cell Res. 2016; 349(1):68-76 [PubMed] Related Publications
Tumor metastasis is the main reason of death for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Cell migration and invasion are two prerequisites for tumor metastasis, in which TRPM7 and MMPs play an important role. In our study, we found that bradykinin (BK) could upregulate the expression of TRPM7 and dynamically regulate the phosphorylation of non-muscle myosin IIA heavy chain (NMHC-IIA) Ser-1943 in HepG2 cells. The influx of Ca

Kumar E, Patel NR, Demicco EG, et al.
Cutaneous nodular fasciitis with genetic analysis: a case series.
J Cutan Pathol. 2016; 43(12):1143-1149 [PubMed] Related Publications
Nodular fasciitis is a benign self-limited myofibroblastic neoplasm, which usually involves the upper extremities and trunk of young patients. These tumors have been shown to harbor a translocation involving the MYH9 and USP6 genes, leading to overexpression of the latter. We report seven cases of nodular fasciitis with cutaneous presentations. All cases involved the dermis, with six involving the superficial subcutis, and one auricular tumor extending into cartilage. All cases showed USP6 rearrangement by fluorescence in situ hybridization; in two of three cases, the characteristic MYH9-USP6 fusion was shown by RT-PCR. All patients underwent conservative resection. Nodular fasciitis is an uncommon mesenchymal neoplasm that can occasionally present in superficial locations and is sometimes mistaken for a malignant process. Molecular testing can be useful to distinguish this entity from other cutaneous spindle cell tumors.

Yu M, Wang J, Zhu Z, et al.
Prognostic impact of MYH9 expression on patients with acute myeloid leukemia.
Oncotarget. 2017; 8(1):156-163 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
MYH9 expression has previously been demonstrated as an independent predictor of clinical outcome in solid tumors. However, the prognostic relevance of MYH9 expression in acute myeloid leukemia is still unclear. Here, we found high MYH9 expressers were seen more frequently in females and more frequently in M4 morphology. We also found high MYH9 expressers had lower percentage of bone marrow blasts. In addition, overexpression of MYH9 was associated with an inferior overall survival. Notably, distinct microRNA signatures were seen in high MYH9 expressers. These results were also validated in an independent cohort of AML patients using the published data. In conclusion, gene of MYH9 expression might serve as a reliable predictor for overall survival in AML patients.

Rokutan H, Hosoda F, Hama N, et al.
Comprehensive mutation profiling of mucinous gastric carcinoma.
J Pathol. 2016; 240(2):137-48 [PubMed] Related Publications
Mucinous gastric carcinoma (MGC) is a unique subtype of gastric cancer with a poor survival outcome. Comprehensive molecular profiles and putative therapeutic targets of MGC remain undetermined. We subjected 16 tumour-normal tissue pairs to whole-exome sequencing (WES) and an expanded set of 52 tumour-normal tissue pairs to subsequent targeted sequencing. The latter focused on 114 genes identified by WES. Twenty-two histologically differentiated MGCs (D-MGCs) and 46 undifferentiated MGCs (U-MGCs) were analysed. Chromatin modifier genes, including ARID1A (21%), MLL2 (19%), MLL3 (15%), and KDM6A (7%), were frequently mutated (47%) in MGC. We also identified mutations in potential therapeutic target genes, including MTOR (9%), BRCA2 (9%), BRCA1 (7%), and ERBB3 (6%). RHOA mutation was detected only in 4% of U-MGCs and in no D-MGCs. MYH9 was recurrently (13%) mutated in MGC, with all these being of the U-MGC subtype (p = 0.023). Three U-MGCs harboured MYH9 nonsense mutations. MYH9 knockdown enhanced cell migration and induced intracytoplasmic mucin and cellular elongation. BCOR mutation was associated with improved survival. In U-MGCs, the MLH1 expression status and combined mutation status (TP53/BCL11B or TP53/MLL2) were prognostic factors. A comparative analysis of driver genes revealed that the mutation profile of D-MGC was similar to that of intestinal-type gastric cancer, whereas U-MGC was a distinct entity, harbouring a different mutational profile to intestinal- and diffuse-type gastric cancers. Copyright © 2016 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Carter JM, Wang X, Dong J, et al.
USP6 genetic rearrangements in cellular fibroma of tendon sheath.
Mod Pathol. 2016; 29(8):865-9 [PubMed] Related Publications
Fibroma of tendon sheath is a benign (myo)fibroblastic neoplasm of the tenosynovial soft tissues, typically affecting the distal extremities. It is classically described as a paucicellular, densely collagenized tumor; however, cellular variants have been described. A subset of cellular fibromas of tendon sheath shares similar histological features with nodular fasciitis. As nodular fasciitis very frequently harbors rearrangement of ubiquitin-specific peptidase 6 (USP6), we hypothesized that cellular fibromas of tendon sheath with nodular fasciitis-like features may also contain USP6 rearrangements. Cases of fibroma of tendon sheath (n=19), including cellular (n=9) and classic (n=10) variants, were evaluated for USP6 rearrangement by fluorescence in situ hybridization studies. A subset of cases was tested for MYH9 rearrangements and MYH9-USP6 and CDH11-USP6 fusion products. Classic fibroma of tendon sheath occurred in 5 males and 5 females (median age 67 years, range 23-77 years) as soft tissue masses of the hand (n=4), finger (n=3), forearm (n=1) and foot (n=2). Cellular fibroma of tendon sheath occurred in 5 males and 4 females in a younger age group (median age 32 years, range 12-46 years) as small soft tissue masses of the finger (n=5), hand (n=3) and wrist (n=1). USP6 rearrangements were detected in 6/9 cellular fibromas of tendon sheath. Among cellular fibromas of tendon sheath with USP6 rearrangements, no MYH9 rearrangements were detected. By RT-PCR, neither the MYH9-USP6 or the CDH11-USP6 fusion products were detected in any case. Neither USP6 nor MYH9 rearrangement were detected in any classic fibroma of tendon sheath. We report for the first time the presence of USP6 rearrangements in a subset of cellular fibroma of tendon sheath. Based on the similar morphological and molecular genetic features, we suspect that a subset of cellular fibromas of tendon sheath are under-recognized examples of tenosynovial nodular fasciitis, driven by alternate USP6 fusion genes. Further investigation will delineate how these lesions should best be classified.

Yoshimi A, Toya T, Nannya Y, et al.
Spectrum of clinical and genetic features of patients with inherited platelet disorder with suspected predisposition to hematological malignancies: a nationwide survey in Japan.
Ann Oncol. 2016; 27(5):887-95 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Inherited thrombocytopenia (IT) contains several forms of familial thrombocytopenia and some of them have propensity to hematological malignancies. The etiological and genetic features of this heterogeneous syndrome have not yet been elucidated.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a nationwide survey to collect clinical information and samples from patients with familial thrombocytopenia and/or hematological malignancies in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of IT.
RESULTS: Among the 43 pedigrees with clinical samples, RUNX1 mutations were identified in 8 pedigrees (18.6%). While MYH9 and ANKRD26 mutations were identified in 2 and 1 pedigrees, respectively, no gene mutations were detected in the remaining 32 pedigrees from a panel of previously reported pathogenetic mutations. Clinical data were comparable between FPD/AML and non-FPD/AML probands.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study clarified that it is unexpectedly difficult to diagnose FPD/AML based on clinical information alone, and thus, genetic testing is strongly recommended. Our survey also identified some pedigrees with a strong family history of myelodysplastic syndromes of unknown origin. Additionally, there were 14 pedigrees in which three or more members were affected by immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), and a computer-aided simulation suggested that such a distribution almost never happens by coincidence, which implicates a genetic predisposition to ITP.

De Rienzo A, Archer MA, Yeap BY, et al.
Gender-Specific Molecular and Clinical Features Underlie Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.
Cancer Res. 2016; 76(2):319-28 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive cancer that occurs more frequently in men, but is associated with longer survival in women. Insight into the survival advantage of female patients may advance the molecular understanding of MPM and identify therapeutic interventions that will improve the prognosis for all MPM patients. In this study, we performed whole-genome sequencing of tumor specimens from 10 MPM patients and matched control samples to identify potential driver mutations underlying MPM. We identified molecular differences associated with gender and histology. Specifically, single-nucleotide variants of BAP1 were observed in 21% of cases, with lower mutation rates observed in sarcomatoid MPM (P < 0.001). Chromosome 22q loss was more frequently associated with the epithelioid than that nonepitheliod histology (P = 0.037), whereas CDKN2A deletions occurred more frequently in nonepithelioid subtypes among men (P = 0.021) and were correlated with shorter overall survival for the entire cohort (P = 0.002) and for men (P = 0.012). Furthermore, women were more likely to harbor TP53 mutations (P = 0.004). Novel mutations were found in genes associated with the integrin-linked kinase pathway, including MYH9 and RHOA. Moreover, expression levels of BAP1, MYH9, and RHOA were significantly higher in nonepithelioid tumors, and were associated with significant reduction in survival of the entire cohort and across gender subgroups. Collectively, our findings indicate that diverse mechanisms highly related to gender and histology appear to drive MPM.

He H, Wang D, Yao H, et al.
Transcriptional factors p300 and MRTF-A synergistically enhance the expression of migration-related genes in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2015; 467(4):813-20 [PubMed] Related Publications
The transcriptional coactivator p300 is highly expressed in breast cancer tissues. MRTF-A is a transcription factor governed by the Rho-GTPase-actin signaling pathway. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of p300 in breast cancer metastasis. Here we showed that the motility of breast cancer cells was enhanced by the overexpression of p300, meanwhile, the transcription of migration-related genes was upregulated. Depletion of p300 downregulated the migration-related genes and slowed down the migration of breast cancer cells. p300 worked synergistically with MRTF-A to activate the transcription of MYH9, MYL9 and CYR61. As identified by co-IP, p300 interacted with the C-terminal TAD domain of MRTF-A. And together with MRTF-A, p300 was associated with the target gene promoters. Furthermore, MRTF-A was found to be acetylated in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. These results demonstrated the involvement of p300 in the MRTF-A mediated gene regulation and breast cancer cell migration.

Conti MA, Saleh AD, Brinster LR, et al.
Conditional deletion of nonmuscle myosin II-A in mouse tongue epithelium results in squamous cell carcinoma.
Sci Rep. 2015; 5:14068 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
To investigate the contribution of nonmuscle myosin II-A (NM II-A) to early cardiac development we crossed Myh9 floxed mice and Nkx2.5 cre-recombinase mice. Nkx2.5 is expressed in the early heart (E7.5) and later in the tongue epithelium. Mice homozygous for deletion of NM II-A (A(Nkx)/A(Nkx)) are born at the expected ratio with normal hearts, but consistently develop an invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue (32/32 A(Nkx)/A(Nkx)) as early as E17.5. To assess reproducibility a second, independent line of Myh9 floxed mice derived from a different embryonic stem cell clone was tested. This second line also develops SCC indistinguishable from the first (15/15). In A(Nkx)/A(Nkx) mouse tongue epithelium, genetic deletion of NM II-A does not affect stabilization of TP53, unlike a previous report for SCC. We attribute the consistent, early formation of SCC with high penetrance to the role of NM II in maintaining mitotic stability during karyokinesis.

Iles MM, Bishop DT, Taylor JC, et al.
The effect on melanoma risk of genes previously associated with telomere length.
J Natl Cancer Inst. 2014; 106(10) [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Telomere length has been associated with risk of many cancers, but results are inconsistent. Seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously associated with mean leukocyte telomere length were either genotyped or well-imputed in 11108 case patients and 13933 control patients from Europe, Israel, the United States and Australia, four of the seven SNPs reached a P value under .05 (two-sided). A genetic score that predicts telomere length, derived from these seven SNPs, is strongly associated (P = 8.92x10(-9), two-sided) with melanoma risk. This demonstrates that the previously observed association between longer telomere length and increased melanoma risk is not attributable to confounding via shared environmental effects (such as ultraviolet exposure) or reverse causality. We provide the first proof that multiple germline genetic determinants of telomere length influence cancer risk.

Suetens A, Moreels M, Quintens R, et al.
Dose- and time-dependent gene expression alterations in prostate and colon cancer cells after in vitro exposure to carbon ion and X-irradiation.
J Radiat Res. 2015; 56(1):11-21 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Hadrontherapy is an advanced form of radiotherapy that uses beams of charged particles (such as protons and carbon ions). Compared with conventional radiotherapy, the main advantages of carbon ion therapy are the precise absorbed dose localization, along with an increased relative biological effectiveness (RBE). This high ballistic accuracy of particle beams deposits the maximal dose to the tumor, while damage to the surrounding healthy tissue is limited. Currently, hadrontherapy is being used for the treatment of specific types of cancer. Previous in vitro studies have shown that, under certain circumstances, exposure to charged particles may inhibit cell motility and migration. In the present study, we investigated the expression of four motility-related genes in prostate (PC3) and colon (Caco-2) cancer cell lines after exposure to different radiation types. Cells were irradiated with various absorbed doses (0, 0.5 and 2 Gy) of accelerated (13)C-ions at the GANIL facility (Caen, France) or with X-rays. Clonogenic assays were performed to determine the RBE. RT-qPCR analysis showed dose- and time-dependent changes in the expression of CCDC88A, FN1, MYH9 and ROCK1 in both cell lines. However, whereas in PC3 cells the response to carbon ion irradiation was enhanced compared with X-irradiation, the effect was the opposite in Caco-2 cells, indicating cell-type-specific responses to the different radiation types.

Ma X, Adelstein RS
The role of vertebrate nonmuscle Myosin II in development and human disease.
Bioarchitecture. 2014; 4(3):88-102 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Three different genes each located on a different chromosome encode the heavy chains of nonmuscle myosin II in humans and mice. This review explores the functional consequences of the presence of three isoforms during embryonic development and beyond. The roles of the various isoforms in cell division, cell-cell adhesion, blood vessel formation and neuronal cell migration are addressed in animal models and at the cellular level. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of nonmuscle myosin II during cardiac and brain development, and during closure of the neural tube and body wall. Questions addressed include the consequences on organ development, of lowering or ablating a particular isoform as well as the effect of substituting one isoform for another, all in vivo. Finally the roles of the three isoforms in human diseases such as cancer as well as in syndromes affecting a variety of organs in humans are reviewed.

Alsagaby SA, Khanna S, Hart KW, et al.
Proteomics-based strategies to identify proteins relevant to chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
J Proteome Res. 2014; 13(11):5051-62 [PubMed] Related Publications
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a malignant B-cell disorder, is characterized by a heterogeneous clinical course. Two-dimensional nano liquid chromatography (2D-nano-LC) coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF MS) (LC-MALDI) was used to perform qualitative and quantitative analysis on cellular extracts from 12 primary CLL samples. We identified 728 proteins and quantified 655 proteins using isobaric tag-labeled extracts. Four strategies were used to identify disease-related proteins. First, we integrated our CLL proteome with published gene expression data of normal B-cells and CLL cells to highlight proteins with preferential expression in the transcriptome of CLL. Second, as CLL's outcome is heterogeneous, our quantitative proteomic data were used to indicate heterogeneously expressed proteins. Third, we used the quantitative data to identify proteins with differential abundance in poor prognosis CLL samples. Fourth, hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to identify hidden patterns of protein expression. These strategies identified 63 proteins, and 4 were investigated in a CLL cohort (39 patients). Thyroid hormone receptor-associated protein 3, T-cell leukemia/lymphoma protein 1A, and S100A8 were associated with high-risk CLL. Myosin-9 exhibited reduced expression in CLL samples from high-risk patients. This study shows the usefulness of proteomic approaches, combined with transcriptomics, to identify disease-related proteins.

Park SY, Kim H, Yoon S, et al.
KITENIN-targeting microRNA-124 suppresses colorectal cancer cell motility and tumorigenesis.
Mol Ther. 2014; 22(9):1653-64 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
MicroRNAs are increasingly implicated in the modulation of the progression of various cancers. We previously observed that KAI1 C-terminal interacting tetraspanin (KITENIN) is highly expressed in sporadic human colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues and hence the functional KITENIN complex acts to promote progression of CRC. However, it remains unknown that microRNAs target KITENIN and whether KITENIN-targeting microRNAs modulate CRC cell motility and colorectal tumorigenesis. Here, through bioinformatic analyses and functional studies, we showed that miR-124, miR-27a, and miR-30b negatively regulate KITENIN expression and suppress the migration and invasion of several CRC cell lines via modulation of KITENIN expression. Through in vitro and in vivo induction of mature microRNAs using a tetracycline-inducible system, miR-124 was found to effectively inhibit the invasion of CT-26 colon adenocarcinoma cells and tumor growth in a syngeneic mouse xenograft model. Constitutive overexpression of precursor miR-124 in CT-26 cells suppressed in vivo tumorigenicity and resulted in decreased expression of KITENIN as well as that of MYH9 and SOX9, which are targets of miR-124. Thus, our findings identify that KITENIN-targeting miR-124, miR-27a, and miR-30b function as endogenous inhibitors of CRC cell motility and demonstrate that miR-124 among KITENIN-targeting microRNAs plays a suppressor role in colorectal tumorigenesis.

Konuma T, Kato S, Ooi J, et al.
Impact of sex incompatibility on the outcome of single-unit cord blood transplantation for adult patients with hematological malignancies.
Bone Marrow Transplant. 2014; 49(5):634-9 [PubMed] Related Publications
Donor-recipient sex incompatibility has been associated with transplant outcomes in allogeneic hematopoietic SCT. Such outcomes might be because mHA encoded by Y chromosome genes could be immunological targets for allogeneic T cells and B cells to induce GVHD, GVL effect and graft failure. However, its effect on the outcome of cord blood transplantation (CBT) is yet to be clarified. We retrospectively analyzed 191 adult patients who received single-unit CBT after myeloablative conditioning for malignant disease in our institute. In multivariate analysis, male recipients with female donors had a higher incidence of extensive chronic GVHD (hazard ratio (HR) 2.97, P=0.02), and female recipients with male donors had a lower incidence of platelet engraftment (HR 0.56, P=0.02) compared with female recipients with female donors as the reference. Nevertheless, there was no increase in mortality following sex-incompatible CBT. These data suggested that donor-recipient sex compatibility does not have a significant impact on survival after myeloablative CBT for hematological malignancies.

Suetens A, Moreels M, Quintens R, et al.
Carbon ion irradiation of the human prostate cancer cell line PC3: a whole genome microarray study.
Int J Oncol. 2014; 44(4):1056-72 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Hadrontherapy is a form of external radiation therapy, which uses beams of charged particles such as carbon ions. Compared to conventional radiotherapy with photons, the main advantage of carbon ion therapy is the precise dose localization along with an increased biological effectiveness. The first results obtained from prostate cancer patients treated with carbon ion therapy showed good local tumor control and survival rates. In view of this advanced treatment modality we investigated the effects of irradiation with different beam qualities on gene expression changes in the PC3 prostate adenocarcinoma cell line. For this purpose, PC3 cells were irradiated with various doses (0.0, 0.5 and 2.0 Gy) of carbon ions (LET=33.7 keV/µm) at the beam of the Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (Caen, France). Comparative experiments with X-rays were performed at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre. Genome-wide gene expression was analyzed using microarrays. Our results show a downregulation in many genes involved in cell cycle and cell organization processes after 2.0 Gy irradiation. This effect was more pronounced after carbon ion irradiation compared with X-rays. Furthermore, we found a significant downregulation of many genes related to cell motility. Several of these changes were confirmed using qPCR. In addition, recurrence-free survival analysis of prostate cancer patients based on one of these motility genes (FN1) revealed that patients with low expression levels had a prolonged recurrence-free survival time, indicating that this gene may be a potential prognostic biomarker for prostate cancer. Understanding how different radiation qualities affect the cellular behavior of prostate cancer cells is important to improve the clinical outcome of cancer radiation therapy.

Schramek D, Sendoel A, Segal JP, et al.
Direct in vivo RNAi screen unveils myosin IIa as a tumor suppressor of squamous cell carcinomas.
Science. 2014; 343(6168):309-13 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Mining modern genomics for cancer therapies is predicated on weeding out "bystander" alterations (nonconsequential mutations) and identifying "driver" mutations responsible for tumorigenesis and/or metastasis. We used a direct in vivo RNA interference (RNAi) strategy to screen for genes that upon repression predispose mice to squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Seven of our top hits-including Myh9, which encodes nonmuscle myosin IIa-have not been linked to tumor development, yet tissue-specific Myh9 RNAi and Myh9 knockout trigger invasive SCC formation on tumor-susceptible backgrounds. In human and mouse keratinocytes, myosin IIa's function is manifested not only in conventional actin-related processes but also in regulating posttranscriptional p53 stabilization. Myosin IIa is diminished in human SCCs with poor survival, which suggests that in vivo RNAi technology might be useful for identifying potent but low-penetrance tumor suppressors.

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