Biomedical subjects

Hanna Vauhkonen

Publications and source records attributed to Hanna Vauhkonen.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Characterizing genetically stable and unstable gastric cancers by microsatellites and array comparative genomic hybridization.

Gastric cancer (GCA) displays a variety of genomic aberrations, including DNA copy number alterations, microsatellite instability (MSI), and loss of heterozygosity (LOH). The main aim of the present work was to determine the copy number aberrations in tumors with and without MSI or LOH. Fifteen fresh-frozen GCA samples, 11 of the intestinal and 4 of the diffuse type, were grouped by microsatellite analysis into high-level MSI (MSI-H, n = 2), LOH (n = 5), and microsatellite stable, LOH not detected (MSS/LOH-N, n = 8) tumors. The DNA samples were subsequently analyzed by array comparative genomic hybridization with 16,000 cDNA clones. As expected, the LOH tumors showed more copy number changes; however, the frequency of small-size amplifications was similar across all tumor groups. In addition, the cDNA arrays detected two apparently single-gene amplicons, at 11q13 (CCND1) and 12p12.1 (K-RAS), the presence of which were confirmed using oligonucleotide arrays. A novel amplicon at 5q13.2 was found only in diffuse-type tumors, which were otherwise genetically stable. The results suggest that DNA copy number changes may also occur in gastric cancers that show genomic stability in microsatellite analysis.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Molecular karyotyping in sarcoma diagnostics and research.

Conventional cytogenetic and molecular genetic studies have both clinical and biological significance in sarcomas. However, the resolution of these methods does not always suffice to screening of novel, specific genetic changes, such as small deletions, amplifications, and fusion genes. Tumor-specific chromosomal translocations revealed by cytogenetic and molecular methods play a decisive role in the differential diagnosis of sarcomas. The novel molecular karyotyping techniques have proven to be powerful in the screening of clinically and biologically relevant molecular changes in human neoplasias. A variety of platforms for molecular karyotyping is available, e.g., arrayed cDNA clones or oligonucleotides that can be used in microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and gene expression analysis. We review here the clinically most relevant cytogenetic and molecular changes in sarcomas and describe latest microarray techniques for screening of clinically relevant gene copy number and expression changes.

Genetic Testing↗

PubMed2006

Pathology and molecular biology of gastric cancer.

Several attempts to classify gastric cancer (GCA) have been made over the past decades. Most successful, and widely used, is the classification by Laurén, which distinguishes, by microscopical morphology alone, two main cancer pathogeneses, diffuse (DGCA) and intestinal (IGCA) subtypes, which appear clearly as dissimilar clinical and epidemiological entities. Here we review the main differences in epidemiology, histopathology, and molecular pathology of the two main subtypes of gastric carcinomas based on Laurén classification. In clinical practice, however, clinical staging, particularly in predicting the survival, still remains superior to all classifications of gastric cancer independent of cancer type. The existence of local precursor lesions or conditions of IGCA tumours, i.e. Helicobacter pylori gastritis, atrophic gastritis (AG), intestinal metaplasia (IM), adenoma, dysplasia, and intramucosal neoplasia, is firmly established. The links of DGCA with intestinal-type epithelium, AG or IM are poor, or do not exist. So far, H. pylori gastritis is the only universal precursor condition for DGCA. It implies that AG and achlorhydria are of minor significance and infrequent in the development of DGCA but are important steps in that of IGCA. Despite an increasing body of data, the overall view on molecular pathology of GCA remains fragmentary. No consistent differences in the molecular pathology of GCA subtypes to meet the Laurén classification have been established. With the exception of TP53, no gene mutation occurring regularly in both histological types of GCA has been reported. Chromosomal aberrations and loss of heterozygosity seem to be non-specific and do not follow any consistent route in the progression of GCA. Microsatellite instability is more commonly found in IGCA than in DGCA. The present epigenetic data suggest that most of the decrease (or loss) of gene expression may be explained by promoter hypermethylation which is more often found in IGCA. In DGCA specific genes such as CDH1 are more often hypermethylated. Compared with GCA, in premalignant condition lesions gene mutations and chromosomal aberrations are infrequent. Epigenetic dysregulation might also represent a major mechanism for altered gene expression in premalignant stages in gastric carcinogenesis.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

PubMed2006

DNA copy number aberrations in intestinal-type gastric cancer revealed by array-based comparative genomic hybridization.

Genomic instability can be divided into 2 categories: chromosomal instability (CIN) and microsatellite instability (MSI). CIN has been linked to aneuploidy and chromosomal aberrations, and high-level loss of heterozygosity (LOH-H) has been suggested to be an indicator of CIN. High-level MSI (MSI-H), which results from nonfunctional mismatch repair, has previously been suggested to be mutually exclusive with CIN. Four MSI-H and three LOH-H primary gastric tumors of intestinal histology were used for copy number analysis by array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) with 13,000 cDNA targets. The MSI-H group showed fewer gains (0-12, average 4.5) and losses (0-10, average 2.5) per tumor as compared to the LOH-H group (9-15 gains, average 11.6 and 1-6 losses, average 4). Two MSI-H tumors did not show any copy number changes and one showed only gains of whole chromosomes. The most common alterations were gains of 20q (5/7 samples), 1q, 8, and 10p (3/7 samples) and losses of 1p and 5p (3/7 samples). The minimal amplified regions in 1q and 20q were localized to 1q21.1 approximately q21.2, 1q21.3, 20q11.2, 20q13.12, and 20q13.3 approximately qter. No copy number change was found to be specific for MSI-H or LOH-H. The results suggest that the LOH-H phenotype revealed by microsatellite analysis predicts reliably copy number abnormalities on aCGH and that a subset of MSI-H and all LOH-H tumors share the CIN phenotype.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Genome-wide differences between microsatellite stable and unstable colorectal tumors.

Genomic copy number changes are frequently found in cancers and they have been demonstrated to contribute to carcinogenesis; and it is widely accepted that tumors with microsatellite instability (MSI) are genetically stable and mostly diploid. In the present study we compared the copy number alterations and the gene-expression profiles of microsatellite stable (MSS) and MSI colorectal tumors. A total number of 31 fresh-frozen primary tumors (16 MSS and 15 MSI) were used. Twenty-eight samples (15 MSS and 13 MSI) were analyzed with metaphase comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), nine of which plus one additional sample (4 MSS and 6 MSI) were further analyzed by cDNA-based array-CGH. Gene expression analysis was performed with six samples [3 MSS and 3 MSI, four of these used in metaphase CGH (mCGH) analysis] to identify differentially expressed genes possibly located in the lost or amplified regions found by CGH, stressing the biological significance of copy number changes. Metaphase and array-CGH analysis of two colon cancer cell lines (HTC116 and SW480, reported as MSI and MSS archetypes) gave comparable results. Alterations found by mCGH in MSS tumors were +20, +8q, -8p and -18q. Interestingly, 1p22, 4q26 and 15q21 were found deleted preferentially in MSS tumors, while 22q13 was found gained in MSI tumors. The regions of alterations identified by array-CGH were gains at 8q24, 16q24.3 and 20q13, and the loss of 5q21, appearing in the both types of tumors. Gene expression analysis revealed genes with specific associations with the copy number changes of the corresponding genomic regions. As a conclusion, colorectal cancer is a heterogeneous disease, demonstrated by the genomic profiles of individual samples. However, our data shows that copy number changes do not occur exclusively in the MSS phenotypes.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Differences in genomic instability between intestinal- and diffuse-type gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Microsatellite instability (MSI) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) are lesions in the genome found with different frequencies in gastric carcinomas (GCAs). Despite a great body of studies, no systematic approach to the detailed classification of MSI and LOH in the two major types of GCA has been published. METHODS: Thirty-seven advanced GCAs, 25 intestinal-type (IGCAs) and 12 diffuse-type (DGCAs), were assayed with 15 autosomal tetranucleotide markers on 14 chromosomal arms. The observed frequencies and types of microsatellite alterations allowed stratification into subgroups, i.e., high- and low-grade MSI (MSI-H, MSI-L) or microsatellite-stable (MSS), and high- or low-grade, or non-detectable LOH (LOH-H, LOH-L, LOH-N). RESULTS: Collectively, the markers detected MSI-H tumors with sensitivity equal to that of BAT-26 (a single marker highly specific for MSI-H). Likewise, the markers detected LOH at chromosomal arms 5q, 18q, and 21q with a sensitivity equal to markers used previously. Seven (19%) MSI-H and six (16%) LOH-H tumors were found, with a significant association (P = 0.027) with IGCA: 92% of MSI-H and LOH-H occurred in IGCA patients only. Conversely, in DGCA, a significantly higher prevalence of a stable (LOH-N/MSS) phenotype was found as compared with IGCA (75.1% vs 28.0%; P = 0.035). The MSI-L phenotype was found in 57.9% of non-MSI-H IGCA tumors and was associated significantly (P = 0.015) with LOH-H. CONCLUSION: A clear difference in genomic instability between IGCA and DGCA was found. In IGCA, the MSI and LOH pathways were more commonly involved, whereas in DGCA, a stable phenotype was predominant. As a novel finding, MSI-L as a true phenomenon and its association with LOH was observed in IGCA.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Typing of XY (male) genotype from malignant neoplastic tissue by the amelogenin-based sex test.

DNA profiling of a cancer tissue can be problematic because of genomic instability. Here we have analyzed gastrointestinal cancer specimens from 46 males, of which seven (15%) showed aberrations in determination of gender by the widely used amelogenin test. The X-type amelogenin allele in all cases remained intact. All male tumor samples showing frequent autosomal loss of heterozygosity had a decreased signal of the Y allele from the amelogenin marker. When tested with an alternate set of primers for the amelogenin locus, the Y-type allele showed loss of heterozygosity in the same seven cases. However, when amplified with 15 Y-specific STR primers, all the cancerous tissue Y chromosomes seemed to be intact. These results indicate when malignant neoplastic tissue specimens are used, that amelogenin-based gender determination should be carefully interpreted.

Amelogenin↗