Biology subjects

Kloor, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Kloor, M..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Lower degree of microsatellite instability in colorectal carcinomas from MSH6-associated Lynch syndrome patients

BackgroundNumerous observational and molecular studies focusing on Lynch syndrome (LS) have revealed significant variation in the phenotype and molecular characteristics among carriers of pathogenic variants in mismatch repair genes (path_MMR). Recently, we demonstrated that colorectal carcinomas in path_MSH6 carriers exhibit fewer insertion/deletion mutations compared to CRCs from other MMR groups, raising the question of whether MSH6-mutated CRCs might display a lower degree of microsatellite instability (MSI). MethodsMutations at twenty coding microsatellites (cMS) were analyzed in 39 MSH6-, 18 MLH1-, 16 MSH2- and 22 PMS2-mutated CRCs and 35 sporadic MSI CRCs, and mutation frequencies and mutant allele ratios were compared among the different MMR-deficient groups. Considering factors such as HLA-A*02:01 type, B2M status, and the anticipated immunogenicity of frameshift peptides derived from cMS mutations, the identified cMS mutation profiles of MSH6-mutated CRCs were further investigated to assess their potential impact on immunotherapeutic strategies. ResultsMSH6-mutated CRCs exhibited lower mutation frequencies and mutant allele ratios across most cMS. The cMS mutations in MSH6-mutated CRCs demonstrated inverse correlations with the predicted immunogenicity of the resulting frameshift peptides, which may suggest negative selection of cell clones bearing highly immunogenic frameshift peptides. ConclusionsMSH6-mutated CRCs display a lower degree of MSI, which may be connected to lower penetrance and later onset of the disease in path_MSH6 carriers. Moreover, this lower MSI level may implicate an altered immune response compared to other MSI CRCs, which could have implications for the success of immunotherapy in MSH6-mutated CRCs. Future studies should carefully evaluate this possibility. If confirmed, these results would reinforce the notion of classifying LS as distinct syndromes associated with specific MMR genes.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2020

Computational model investigates the evolution of colonic crypts during Lynch syndrome carcinogenesis

Lynch syndrome (LS), the most common inherited colorectal cancer (CRC) syndrome, increases the cancer risk in affected individuals. LS is caused by pathogenic germline variants in one of the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes, complete inactivation of which causes numerous mutations in affected cells. As CRC is believed to originate in colonic crypts, understanding the intra-crypt dynamics caused by mutational processes is essential for a complete picture of LS CRC and may have significant implications for cancer prevention. We propose a computational model describing the evolution of colonic crypts during LS carcinogenesis. Extending existing modeling approaches for the non-Lynch scenario, we incorporated MMR deficiency and implemented recent experimental data demonstrating that somatic CTNNB1 mutations are common drivers of LS-associated CRCs, if affecting both alleles of the gene. Further, we simulated the effect of different mutations on the entire crypt, distinguishing non-transforming and transforming mutations. As an example, we analyzed the spread of mutations in the genes APC and CTNNB1, which are frequently mutated in LS tumors, as well as of MMR deficiency itself. We quantified each mutations potential for monoclonal conversion and investigated the influence of the cell location and of stem cell dynamics on mutation spread. The in silico experiments underline the importance of stem cell dynamics for the overall crypt evolution. Further, simulating different mutational processes is essential in LS since mutations without survival advantages (the MMR deficiency-inducing second hit) play a key role. The effect of other mutations can be simulated with the proposed model. Our results provide first mathematical clues towards more effective surveillance protocols for LS carriers.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Pharmacological inhibition of nonsense-mediated RNA decay augments HLA class I-mediated presentation of neoepitopes in MSI CRC

Microsatellite-unstable (MSI) colorectal cancer is characterized by the accumulation of somatic insertion/deletion (InDel) mutations potentially generating tumor-specific, frameshifted protein sequences. Such mutations typically generate premature translation termination codons targeting the affected mRNAs to degradation by nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD), limiting the synthesis and HLA class I-mediated presentation of tumor-specific InDel neoepitopes. We reasoned that the NMD inhibitor 5-azacytidine (5AZA) could serve to increase the expression of NMD-sensitive neoepitopes and analyzed the immunopeptidome of MSI HCT-116 cells using a proteogenomic approach. After immunoprecipitation of HLA:peptide complexes, we identified more than 10,000 HLA class I-presented peptides by LC-MS/MS including five InDel neoepitopes. The InDel neoepitopes were verified on the genomic, transcriptomic, and peptidomic level. Treatment with 5AZA increased the expression of the corresponding frameshift- and premature termination codon-bearing mRNAs and enhanced the presentation of peptides originating from known NMD targets and one of the identified InDel neoepitopes. By analyzing an array of MSI colorectal cancer cell lines and patient samples, we found the underlying frameshift mutation to be highly recurrent and immunization with the corresponding neoepitope induced strong CD8+ T cell responses in an HLA-A*02:01 transgenic mouse model. Our data directly show that peptides originating from frameshifted open reading frames due to InDel mutations in mismatch repair-deficient cells are presented on the cell surface via HLA class I. Moreover, we demonstrate the utility of NMD inhibitor-enhanced HLA class I-mediated presentation of InDel neoepitopes as well as their immunogenicity, uncovering the clinical potential of NMD inhibition in anti-cancer immunotherapy strategies. One Sentence SummaryImmunopeptidomics identified increased HLA class I-mediated presentation of immunogenic, frameshift-derived neoepitopes following NMD inhibition.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Mathematical Modeling of Multiple Pathways in Colorectal Carcinogenesis using Dynamical Systems with Kronecker Structure

Like many other tumors, colorectal cancers develop through multiple pathways containing different driver mutations. This is also true for colorectal carcinogenesis in Lynch syndrome, the most common inherited colorectal cancer syndrome. However, a comprehensive understanding of Lynch syndrome tumor evolution which allows for tailored clinical treatment and even prevention is still lacking. We suggest a linear autonomous dynamical system modeling the evolution of the different pathways. Starting with the gene mutation graphs of the driver genes, we formulate three key assumptions about how these different mutations might be combined. This approach leads to a dynamical system that is built by the Kronecker sum of the adjacency matrices of the gene mutation graphs. This Kronecker structure makes the dynamical system amenable to a thorough mathematical analysis and medical interpretation, even if the number of incorporated genes or possible mutation states is increased. For the case that some of the mathematical key assumptions are not satisfied, we explain possible extensions to our model. Additionally, improved bio-medical measurements or novel medical insights can be integrated into the model in a straightforward manner, as all parameters in the model have a biological interpretation. Modifications of the model are able to account for other forms of colorectal carcinogenesis, such as Lynch-like and familial adenomatous polyposis cases. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=49 SRC="FIGDIR/small/250175v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (19K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1286ef8org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@18d95d2org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@67190corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@9d640f_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOGraphical Abstract:C_FLOATNO From the Medical Hypothesis Over the Modeling Approach To the Mathematical Structure.The medical hypothesis of multiple pathways in carcinogenesis is widely known for various types of cancer. Left: We present a model for this phenomenon at the example of Lynch syndrome, the most common inherited colorectal cancer syndrome, with specific key driver events in the MMR genes, CTNNB1, APC, KRAS and TP53. Middle: This current medical understanding of carcinogenesis is translated into a mathematical model using a specific dynamical system, which can be represented by a graph structure, where each vertex in the graph represents a genotypic state and the edges correspond to the transition probabilities between those states. Starting with all colonic crypts in the state of all genes being wild-type and a single MMR germline mutation due to Lynch syndrome, we are interested in the distribution of the crypts among the graph at different ages of the patient in order to obtain estimates for the number of crypts in specific states, e.g. adenomatous or cancerous states. Right: The underlying matrix of the dynamical system makes use of the Kronecker sum and product. It is a sparse upper triangular matrix accounting for the assumption that mutations cannot be reverted. This allows fast numerical solving by using the matrix exponential. Each nonzero entry of the matrix represents a connection between genotypic states in the graph. C_FIG

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2019

The shared neoantigen landscape of MSI cancers reflects immunoediting during tumor evolution

The immune system can recognize and attack cancer cells, especially those with a high load of mutation-induced neoantigens. Such neoantigens are particularly abundant in DNA mismatch repair (MMR)-deficient, microsatellite-unstable (MSI) cancers. MMR deficiency leads to insertion/deletion (indel) mutations at coding microsatellites (cMS) and to neoantigen-inducing translational frameshifts. The abundance of mutational neoantigens renders MSI cancers sensitive to immune checkpoint blockade. However, the neoantigen landscape of MMR-deficient cancers has not yet been systematically mapped. In the present study, we used a novel tool to monitor neoantigen-inducing indel mutations in MSI colorectal and endometrial cancer. Our results show that MSI cancers share several highly immunogenic neoantigens that result from specific, recurrent indel mutation events. Notably, the frequency of such indel mutations was negatively correlated to the predicted immunogenicity of the resulting neoantigens. These observations suggest continuous immunoediting of emerging MMR-deficient cells during tumor evolution.\n\nOne sentence summaryQuantitative indel mutation analysis reveals evidence of immune selection in mismatch repair-deficient cancers

cancer biology↗