Guangrong Lu

Metformin treatment reduces temozolomide resistance of glioblastoma cells

It has been reported that metformin acts synergistically with temozolomide (TMZ) to inhibit proliferation of glioma cells including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). However, the molecular mechanism underlying how metformin exerts its anti-cancer effects remains elusive. We used a combined experimental and bioinformatics approach to identify genes and complex regulatory/signal transduction networks that are involved in restoring TMZ sensitivity of GBM cells after metformin treatment. First, we established TMZ resistant GBM cell lines and found that the resistant cells regained TMZ sensitivity after metformin treatment. We further identified that metformin down-regulates SOX2 expression in TMZ-resistant glioma cells, reduces neurosphere formation capacity of glioblastoma cells, and inhibits GBM xenograft growth in vivo. Finally, the global gene expression profiling data reveals that multiple pathways are involved in metformin treatment related gene expression changes, including fatty acid metabolism and RNA binding and splicing pathways. Our work provided insight of the mechanisms on potential synergistic effects of TMZ and metformin in the treatment of glioblastoma, which will in turn yield potentially translational value for clinical applications.

Detection of the MYD88 p.L265P Mutation in the CSF of a Patient With Secondary Central Nervous System Lymphoma

Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL) and Metastatic (or Secondary) Central Nervous System Lymphoma (MCNSL) are rare central nervous system (CNS) malignancies that exhibit aggressive clinical behavior and have a poor prognosis. The majority of CNS lymphomas are histologically classified as diffuse large-B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). DLBCL harbors a high frequency of mutations in MYD88 and CD79b. The MYD88 p.L265P mutation occurs at high frequency in CNS lymphoma and is extremely rare in non-hematologic malignancies. Currently, brain biopsy is considered the gold standard for CNS lymphoma diagnosis. However, brain biopsy is invasive, carries a risk of complications, and can delay initiation of systemic therapy. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can be utilized to detect tumor-derived mutations. Testing of CSF-ctDNA is a minimally-invasive methodology that can be used to assess the genomic alterations present in CNS malignancies. We present a case of an 82-year-old man with a history of testicular lymphoma who presented with speech difficulty and a multifocal enhancing left inferior frontal mass. Analysis for both CSF-cytology and flow cytometry did not show evidence of neoplastic cells. A brain biopsy was performed and microscopic examination showed DLBCL. We isolated CSF-ctDNA and used droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to detect the most common lymphoma-associated mutations in MYD88, L265P, and V217F. In conjunction, we evaluated the patient-matched CNS lymphoma tissue for MYD88 mutations. We detected the MYD88 p.L265P mutation in formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue from the brain biopsy and the CSF-ctDNA. In contrast, both the tumor tissue and the CSF ctDNA were negative for the MYD88 p.V217F mutation. This study shows that testing CSF ctDNA for MYD88 mutations is a potentially minimally-invasive approach to diagnosing patients with suspected CNS lymphomas.

Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid metabolites in patients with primary or metastatic central nervous system tumors

Cancer cells have altered cellular metabolism. Mutations in genes associated with key metabolic pathways (e.g., isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2, IDH1/IDH2) are important drivers of cancer, including central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Therefore, we hypothesized that the abnormal metabolic state of CNS cancer cells leads to abnormal levels of metabolites in the CSF, and different CNS cancer types are associated with specific changes in the levels of CSF metabolites. To test this hypothesis, we used mass spectrometry to analyze 129 distinct metabolites in CSF samples from patients without a history of cancer (n = 8) and with a variety of CNS tumor types (n = 23) (i.e., glioma IDH-mutant, glioma-IDH wildtype, metastatic lung cancer and metastatic breast cancer). Unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis shows tumor-specific metabolic signatures that facilitate differentiation of tumor type from CSF analysis. We identified differences in the abundance of 43 metabolites between CSF from control patients and the CSF of patients with primary or metastatic CNS tumors. Pathway analysis revealed alterations in various metabolic pathways (e.g., glycine, choline and methionine degradation, dipthamide biosynthesis and glycolysis pathways, among others) between IDH-mutant and IDH-wildtype gliomas. Moreover, patients with IDH-mutant gliomas demonstrated higher levels of D-2-hydroxyglutarate in the CSF, in comparison to patients with other tumor types, or controls. This study demonstrates that analysis of CSF metabolites can be a clinically useful tool for diagnosing and monitoring patients with primary or metastatic CNS tumors.