George K. Michalopoulos

Gene Expression Alterations in Prostate Cancer Predicting Tumor Aggression and Preceding Development of Malignancy

PURPOSE The incidence of prostate cancer is frequent, occurring in almost one-third of men older than 45 years. Only a fraction of the cases reach the stages displaying clinical significance. Despite the advances in our understanding of prostate carcinogenesis and disease progression, our knowledge of this disease is still fragmented. Identification of the genes and patterns of gene expression will provide a more cohesive picture of prostate cancer biology. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this study, we performed a comprehensive gene expression analysis on 152 human samples including prostate cancer tissues, prostate tissues adjacent to tumor, and organ donor prostate tissues, obtained from men of various ages, using the Affymetrix (Santa Clara, CA) U95a, U95b, and U95c chip sets (37,777 genes and expression sequence tags). RESULTS Our results confirm an alteration of gene expression in prostate cancer when comparing with nontumor adjacent prostate tissues. However, our study also indicates that the gene expression pattern in tissues adjacent to cancer is so substantially altered that it resembles a cancer field effect. CONCLUSION We also found that gene expression patterns can be used to predict the aggressiveness of prostate cancer using a novel model.

Liver Regeneration after Partial Hepatectomy: Critical Analysis of Mechanistic Dilemmas

Liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy is one of the most studied models of cell, organ, and tissue regeneration. The complexity of the signaling pathways initiating and terminating this process have provided paradigms for regenerative medicine. Many aspects of the signaling mechanisms involved in hepatic regeneration are under active investigation. The purpose of this review is to focus on the areas still not well understood. The review also aims to provide insights into the ways by which current concepts of liver regeneration can provide understanding regarding malfunction of the regenerative process in liver diseases, such as acute liver failure.

An Autophagy-Enhancing Drug Promotes Degradation of Mutant α1-Antitrypsin Z and Reduces Hepatic Fibrosis

Correcting a Liver Problem The classical form of α1-antitrypsin (AT) deficiency is caused by a point mutation that alters the folding and causes intracellular aggregation of AT—an abundant liver-derived plasma glycoprotein. AT deficiency is the most common genetic cause of liver disease in childhood and can also lead to cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma in adulthood. Carbamazepine is a drug known to be well tolerated in humans that enhances the intracellular degradation process known as autophagy. Now, Hidvegi et al. (p. 229, published online June 3; see the Perspective by Sifers) show that carbamazepine can reduce the severity of liver disease in a mouse model of AT deficiency by enhancing the degradation of misfolded accumulated AT. A mouse model of a human liver disease can be treated using a drug known to be well tolerated. In the classical form of α1-antitrypsin (AT) deficiency, a point mutation in AT alters the folding of a liver-derived secretory glycoprotein and renders it aggregation-prone. In addition to decreased serum concentrations of AT, the disorder is characterized by accumulation of the mutant α1-antitrypsin Z (ATZ) variant inside cells, causing hepatic fibrosis and/or carcinogenesis by a gain–of–toxic function mechanism. The proteasomal and autophagic pathways are known to mediate degradation of ATZ. Here we show that the autophagy-enhancing drug carbamazepine (CBZ) decreased the hepatic load of ATZ and hepatic fibrosis in a mouse model of AT deficiency–associated liver disease. These results provide a basis for testing CBZ, which has an extensive clinical safety profile, in patients with AT deficiency and also provide a proof of principle for therapeutic use of autophagy enhancers.

Gene expression profiles of prostate cancer reveal involvement of multiple molecular pathways in the metastatic process

BackgroundProstate cancer is characterized by heterogeneity in the clinical course that often does not correlate with morphologic features of the tumor. Metastasis reflects the most adverse outcome of prostate cancer, and to date there are no reliable morphologic features or serum biomarkers that can reliably predict which patients are at higher risk of developing metastatic disease. Understanding the differences in the biology of metastatic and organ confined primary tumors is essential for developing new prognostic markers and therapeutic targets.MethodsUsing Affymetrix oligonucleotide arrays, we analyzed gene expression profiles of 24 androgen-ablation resistant metastatic samples obtained from 4 patients and a previously published dataset of 64 primary prostate tumor samples. Differential gene expression was analyzed after removing potentially uninformative stromal genes, addressing the differences in cellular content between primary and metastatic tumors.ResultsThe metastatic samples are highly heterogenous in expression; however, differential expression analysis shows that 415 genes are upregulated and 364 genes are downregulated at least 2 fold in every patient with metastasis. The expression profile of metastatic samples reveals changes in expression of a unique set of genes representing both the androgen ablation related pathways and other metastasis related gene networks such as cell adhesion, bone remodelling and cell cycle. The differentially expressed genes include metabolic enzymes, transcription factors such as Forkhead Box M1 (FoxM1) and cell adhesion molecules such as Osteopontin (SPP1).ConclusionWe hypothesize that these genes have a role in the biology of metastatic disease and that they represent potential therapeutic targets for prostate cancer.

Gene expression analysis of prostate cancers.

Prostate cancer is a biologically heterogeneous disease with considerable variation in clinical aggressiveness. The behavior of prostate cancer can be considered a direct or indirect result of aberrant alterations of gene expression in prostate epithelial cells. Identification of the patterns of gene‐expression alterations that are related to the aggressiveness of prostate cancers will greatly assist the development of tools for early detection of prostate cancers with poor clinical outcome and identification of targets for future therapeutic intervention. To detect the patterns of gene‐expression alterations of prostate cancers, we performed a comprehensive gene‐expression analysis on 30 prostate tissues of various levels of invasiveness (ranging from those confined to the organ to distant metastases) and Gleason grades (combined scores 4–9), using the Affymetrix chip set Hu35k (A–D) and U95a. Following three sequential selection screens, we identified 84 largely novel genes and expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences whose expression levels were altered significantly in prostate cancer samples compared with control normal tissues. In addition, the expression levels of a group of 12 genes and EST sequences was found to be altered significantly in aggressive type of prostate cancers but not in organ‐confined prostate cancers. Cluster analysis using the 84‐gene list showed that the highly aggressive prostate cancers contained gene‐expression patterns that were distinct from organ‐confined prostate cancers.

A Mechanism of Cell Survival: Sequestration of Fas by the HGF Receptor Met

Death receptors such as Fas are present in a variety of organs including liver and play an important role in homeostasis. What prevents these harmful receptors from forming homooligomers, clustering, and initiating the apoptotic pathway is not known. Here, we report the discovery of a cell survival mechanism by which Met, a growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase, directly binds to and sequesters the death receptor Fas in hepatocytes. This interaction prevents Fas self-aggregation and Fas ligand binding, thus inhibiting Fas activation and apoptosis. Our results describe a direct link between growth factor tyrosine kinase receptors and death receptors to establish a novel paradigm in growth regulation.

Transdifferentiation of Rat Hepatocytes Into Biliary Cells After Bile Duct Ligation and Toxic Biliary Injury

Rats with chimeric livers were generated by using the protocol of injecting hepatocytes from dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV)‐positive donors into retrorsine‐treated DPPIV‐negative recipients subjected to partial hepatectomy. Rats with established chimeric livers were subjected to bile duct ligation, with or without pretreatment with the biliary toxin methylene diamiline (DAPM). Ductules bearing the donor hepatocyte marker DPPIV were seen at 30 days after bile duct ligation. The frequency of the ductules derived from the donor hepatocytes was dramatically enhanced (36‐fold) by the pretreatment with DAPM. In conclusion, our results show that hepatocytes can function as facultative stem cells and rescue the biliary epithelium during repair from injury when its proliferative capacity is being compromised. (HEPATOLOGY 2005;41:535–544.)

Expression of Hepatocyte Growth Factor mRNA in regenerating rat liver after partial hepatectomy

Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) is a potent complete mitogen for primary cultures of hepatocytes in vitro. There is strong evidence that this novel growth factor may mediate hepatocyte regeneration after liver damage. We have shown previously that the amount of immunoreactive HGF markedly increases in the serum of rats soon after partial hepatectomy or CCl4 administration. In the present paper, we demonstrate that the level of HGF mRNA in rat liver also dramatically increases from 3 to 6 hours post hepatectomy, peaks at 12 hr and gradually returns to undetectable levels by 72 to 96 hours post hepatectomy. In separate experiments, DNA synthesis (in vivo) was determined in rat liver remnants after partial hepatectomy. DNA synthesis peaked 24 hr after hepatectomy, 12 hr after the peak of HGF mRNA expression. These results suggest that HGF may be one of the major early signals that triggers hepatocyte proliferation during liver regeneration.

Collagen as a substrate for cell growth and differentiation.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the methods that give the best results in terms of coating plain plastic plates and making collagen gels as substrates for cell culture and presents evidence on the effects of collagen, using examples from normal hepatocytes and hepatoma cells. Regardless of the particular type of collagen gel technique, all collagen gel preparations can be processed by the usual histological techniques for embedding and sectioning. The collagen gels can be fixed in formaldehyde or in ethyl alcohol. Alternatively, the cells can be removed from the gel by treatment with collagenase and processed separately. Subtle changes can be seen when one compares cells grown on collagen-coated plates with cells grown on floating collagen gels. With hepatocytes, it is found that cells growing on floating collagen gels remained viable longer and also maintained inducibility of characteristic hepatocellular enzymes for longer times in culture. When hepatocytes are grown on collagen-coated plates they rapidly lose the levels of cytochrome P-450 within 72 hr. To investigate possible reasons for the differences in behavior of the cells on different types of collagen substrates, the chapter compared hepatocytes grown on collagen-coated plates and collagen gels with hepatocytes grown on confluent monolayers of human fibroblasts.

Glutathione Peroxidase 3, Deleted or Methylated in Prostate Cancer, Suppresses Prostate Cancer Growth and Metastasis

Glutathione peroxidase 3 is a selenium-dependent enzyme playing a critical role in detoxifying reactive oxidative species and maintaining the genetic integrity of mammalian cells. In this report, we found that the expression of glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3) was widely inactivated in prostate cancers. Complete inactivation of GPx3 correlates with a poor clinical outcome. Deletions (hemizygous and homozygous) of GPx3 gene are frequent in prostate cancer samples, occurring in 39% of the samples studied. The rate of methylation of the GPx3 exon 1 region in prostate cancer samples reaches 90%. Overexpression of GPx3 in prostate cancer cell lines induced the suppression of colony formation and anchorage-independent growth of PC3, LNCaP, and Du145 cells. PC3 cells overexpressing GPx3 reduced invasiveness in Matrigel transmigration analysis by an average of 2.7-fold. Xenografted PC3 cells expressing GPx3 showed reduction in tumor volume by 4.8-fold, elimination of metastasis (0/16 versus 7/16), and reduction of animal death (3/16 versus 16/16). The tumor suppressor activity of GPx3 seems to relate to its ability to suppress the expression of c-met. The present findings suggest that GPx3 is a novel tumor suppressor gene.