Spatial analysis of microRNA regulation at defined tumor hypoxia levels reveals biological traits of aggressive prostate cancer.
MYC
PTEN
gene expression
hypoxia
miRNA
pimonidazole
prostate cancer
spatial biology
Journal
The Journal of pathology
ISSN: 1096-9896
Titre abrégé: J Pathol
Pays: England
ID NLM: 0204634
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
27 Sep 2024
27 Sep 2024
Historique:
revised:
27
06
2024
received:
15
04
2024
accepted:
29
07
2024
medline:
27
9
2024
pubmed:
27
9
2024
entrez:
27
9
2024
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
Mechanisms regulating the gene expression program at different hypoxia severity levels in patient tumors are not understood. We aimed to determine microRNA (miRNA) regulation of this program at defined hypoxia levels from moderate to severe in prostate cancer. Biopsies from 95 patients were used, where 83 patients received the hypoxia marker pimonidazole before prostatectomy. Forty hypoxia levels were extracted from pimonidazole-stained histological sections and correlated with miRNA and gene expression profiles determined by RNA sequencing and Illumina bead arrays. This identified miRNAs associated with moderate (n = 7) and severe (n = 28) hypoxia and predicted their target genes. The scores of miRNAs or target genes showed prognostic significance, as validated in an external cohort of 417 patients. The target genes showed enrichment of gene sets for cell proliferation and MYC activation at all hypoxia levels and PTEN inactivation at severe hypoxia. This was confirmed by RT-qPCR for MYC and PTEN, by Ki67 immunohistochemistry, and by gene set analysis in an external cohort. To assess whether miRNA regulation occurred within the predicted hypoxic regions, a method to quantify co-localization of multiple histopathology parameters at defined hypoxia levels was applied. A high Ki67 proliferation index co-localized significantly with hypoxia at all levels. The co-localization index was strongly associated with poor prognosis. Absence of PTEN staining co-localized significantly with severe hypoxia. The scores for miRNAs correlated with the co-localization index for Ki67 staining and hypoxia, consistent with miRNA regulation within the overlapping regions. This was confirmed by showing miR-210-3p expression within severe hypoxia by in situ hybridization. Cell line experiments (22Rv1, PC3) were conducted to determine whether miRNAs and target genes were regulated directly by hypoxia. Most of them were hypoxia-unresponsive, and probably regulated by other mechanisms such as MYC activation. In conclusion, in aggressive, hypoxic prostate tumors, cancer cells exhibit different proliferative gene expression programs that is regulated by miRNAs and depend on whether the cells reside in moderate or severe hypoxic regions. © 2024 The Author(s). The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Subventions
Organisme : The South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority
ID : 2020044
Organisme : The Norwegian Cancer Society
ID : 182451
Informations de copyright
© 2024 The Author(s). The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
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