Modification of BRCA1-Associated Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk by BRCA1-Interacting Genes
CANCER RESEARCH
Authors: Rebbeck, Timothy R.; Mitra, Nandita; Domchek, Susan M.; Wan, Fei; Friebel, Tara M.; Tran, Teo V.; Singer, Christian F.; Tea, Muy-Kheng Maria; Blum, Joanne L.; Tung, Nadine; Olopade, Olufunmilayo I.; Weitzel, Jeffrey N.; Lynch, Henry T.; Snyder, Carrie L.; Garber, Judy E.; Antoniou, Antonis C.; Peock, Susan; Evans, D. Gareth; Paterson, Joan; Kennedy, M. John; Donaldson, Alan; Dorkins, Huw; Easton, Douglas F.; Rubinstein, Wendy S.; Daly, Mary B.; Isaacs, Claudine; Nevanlinna, Heli; Couch, Fergus J.; Andrulis, Irene L.; Freidman, Eitan; Laitman, Yael; Ganz, Patricia A.; Tomlinson, Gail E.; Neuhausen, Susan L.; Narod, Steven A.; Phelan, Catherine M.; Greenberg, Roger; Nathanson, Katherine L.
Abstract
Inherited BRCA1 mutations confer elevated cancer risk. Recent studies have identified genes that encode proteins that interact with BRCA1 as modifiers of BRCA1-associated breast cancer. We evaluated a comprehensive set of genes that encode most known BRCA1 interactors to evaluate the role of these genes as modifiers of cancer risk. A cohort of 2,825 BRCA1 mutation carriers was used to evaluate the association of haplotypes at ATM, BRCC36, BRCC45 (BRE), BRIP1 (BACH1/FANCJ), CTIP, ABRA1 (FAM175A), MERIT40, MRE11A, NBS1, PALB2 (FANCN), RAD50, RAD51, RAP80, and TOPBP1, and was associated with time to breast and ovarian cancer diagnosis. Statistically significant false discovery rate (FDR) adjusted P values for overall association of haplotypes (P-FDR) with breast cancer were identified at ATM (P-FDR = 0.029), BRCC45 (P-FDR = 0.019), BRIP1 (P-FDR = 0.008), CTIP (P-FDR = 0.017), MERIT40 (P-FDR = 0.019), NBS1 (P-FDR = 0.003), RAD50 (P-FDR = 0.014), and TOPBP1 (P-FDR = 0.011). Haplotypes at ABRA1 (P-FDR = 0.007), BRCC45 (P-FDR = 0.016 and P-FDR = 0.005 in two haplotype blocks), and RAP80 (P-FDR < 0.001) were associated with ovarian cancer risk. Overall, the data suggest that genomic variation at multiple loci that encode proteins that interact biologically with BRCA1 are associated with modified breast cancer and ovarian cancer risk in women who carry BRCA1 mutations. Cancer Res; 71(17); 5792-805. (C)2011 AACR.
The miR-23a similar to 27a similar to 24-2 microRNA cluster buffers transcription and signaling pathways during hematopoiesis
PLOS GENETICS
Authors: Kurkewich, Jeffrey L.; Hansen, Justin; Klopfenstein, Nathan; Zhang, Helen; Wood, Christian; Boucher, Austin; Hickman, Joseph; Muench, David E.; Grimes, H. Leighton; Dahl, Richard
Abstract
MicroRNA cluster mirn23a has previously been shown to promote myeloid development at the expense of lymphoid development in overexpression and knockout mouse models. This polarization is observed early in hematopoietic development, with an increase in common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) and a decrease in all myeloid progenitor subsets in adult bone marrow. The pool size of multipotential progenitors (MPPs) is unchanged; however, in this report we observe by flow cytometry that polarized subsets of MPPs are changed in the absence of mirn23a. Additionally, in vitro culture of MPPs and sorted MPP transplants showed that these cells have decreased myeloid and increased lymphoid potential in vitro and in vivo. We investigated the mechanism by which mirn23a regulates hematopoietic differentiation and observed that mirn23a promotes myeloid development of hematopoietic progenitors through regulation of hematopoietic transcription factors and signaling pathways. Early transcription factors that direct the commitment of MPPs to CLPs (Ikzf1, Runx1, Satb1, Bach1 and Bach2) are increased in the absence of mirn23a miRNAs as well as factors that commit the CLP to the B cell lineage (FoxO1, Ebf1, and Pax5). Mirn23a appears to buffer transcription factor levels so that they do not stochastically reach a threshold level to direct differentiation. Intriguingly, mirn23a also inversely regulates the PI3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt and BMP/Smad signaling pathways. Pharmacological inhibitor studies, coupled with dominant active/dominant negative biochemical experiments, show that both signaling pathways are critical to mirn23a's regulation of hematopoietic differentiation. Lastly, consistent with mirn23a being a physiological inhibitor of B cell development, we observed that the essential B cell transcription factor EBF1 represses expression of mirn23a. In summary, our data demonstrates that mirn23a regulates a complex array of transcription and signaling pathways to modulate adult hematopoiesis.