BackgroundThe single hotspot mutation AKT1 [G49A:E17K] has been described in several cancers, with the highest incidence observed in breast cancer. However, its precise role in disease etiology remains unknown.MethodsWe analyzed more than 600 breast cancer tumor samples and circulating tumor DNA for AKT1E17K and alterations in other cancer-associated genes using Beads, Emulsions, Amplification, and Magnetics digital polymerase chain reaction technology and targeted exome sequencing.ResultsOverall AKT1E17K mutation prevalence was 6.3 % and not correlated with age or menopausal stage. AKT1E17K mutation frequency tended to be lower in patients with grade 3 disease (1.9 %) compared with those with grade 1 (11.1 %) or grade 2 (6 %) disease. In two cohorts of patients with advanced metastatic disease, 98.0 % (n = 50) and 97.1 % (n = 35) concordance was obtained between tissue and blood samples for the AKT1E17K mutation, and mutation capture rates of 66.7 % (2/3) and 85.7 % (6/7) in blood versus tissue samples were observed. Although AKT1-mutant tumor specimens were often found to harbor concurrent alterations in other driver genes, a subset of specimens harboring AKT1E17K as the only known driver alteration was also identified. Initial follow-up survival data suggest that AKT1E17K could be associated with increased mortality. These findings warrant additional long-term follow-up.ConclusionsThe data suggest that AKT1E17K is the most likely disease driver in certain breast cancer patients. Blood-based mutation detection is achievable in advanced-stage disease. These findings underpin the need for a further enhanced-precision medicine paradigm in the treatment of breast cancer.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2626-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The complex tissue remodeling process of menstruation is experienced by humans and some primates, whereas most placental mammals, including mice, go through an estrous cycle. How menstruation and the underlying mechanisms evolved is still unknown. Here we demonstrate that the process of menstruation is not just species-specific but also depends on factors which can be induced experimentally. In intact female mice endogenous progesterone levels were raised by the induction of pseudopregnancy. Following an intrauterine oil injection, the decidualization of the endometrium was reliably induced as a prerequisite for menstruation. The natural drop of endogenous progesterone led to spontaneous breakdown of endometrial tissue within an average of 3 days post induction of decidualization. Interestingly, morphological changes such as breakdown and repair of the endometrial layer occurred in parallel in the same uterine horn. Most importantly, endometrial breakdown was accompanied by vaginally visible (overt) bleeding and flushing out of shed tissue comparable to human menstruation. Real-time PCR data clearly showed temporal changes in the expression of multiple factors participating in inflammation, angiogenesis, tissue modulation, proliferation, and apoptosis, as has been described for human menstruating endometrium. In conclusion, human menstruation can be mimicked in terms of extravaginally visible bleeding, tissue remodeling, and gene regulation in naturally non-menstruating species such as intact female mice without the need for an exogenous hormone supply.

Cytokines are critical messengers that control the differentiation of Th cells. To evaluate their impact on the fate of human naive CD4+ T cells from cord and adult blood, early T cell differentiation was monitored after T cell activation in the presence of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Interestingly, the analysis of Th cell lineage-specific molecules revealed that IL-1β on its own mediates differentiation of Th cells that secrete a wide range of proinflammatory cytokines and stably express CD69, STAT1, IFN-γ, and IL-17. Notably, our data suggest that IL-1β induces Th17 cells independent of RORC upregulation. In contrast, TGF-β that triggers RORC prevents Th17 cell development. This suppressive function of TGF-β is characterized by inhibition of STAT1, STAT3, and CD69. However, after repeated anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 stimulation, we observe that TGF-β provokes an increase in Th17 cells that presumably relies on reactivation of a default pathway by preferential inhibition of IFN-γ. Hence, our data extend the view that the principal cytokines for determining Th cell fate are IL-12 for the Th1 lineage, IL-4 for the Th2 lineage, and TGF-β in conjunction with IL-6 for the Th17 lineage. We propose that IL-1β induces a general proinflammatory Th cell precursor that, in the presence of the lineage-specifying cytokines, further differentiates into one of the specific Th cell subpopulations.

The prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is the only clinically validated marker for therapeutic decisions in prostate cancer (PC). Characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) obtained from the peripheral blood of PC patients might provide an alternative to tissue biopsies called “liquid biopsy”. The aim of this study was to develop a reliable assay for the determination of PSMA on CTCs. PSMA expression was analyzed on tissue samples (cohort one, n = 75) and CTCs from metastatic PC patients (cohort two, n = 29). Specific signals for the expression of PSMA could be seen for different prostate cancer cell line cells (PC3, LaPC4, 22Rv1, and LNCaP) by Western blot, immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunocytochemistry (ICC), and FACS. PSMA expression was found to be significantly increased in patients with higher Gleason grade (p = 0.0011) and metastases in lymph nodes (p = 0.0000085) or bone (p = 0.0020) (cohort one). In cohort two, CTCs were detectable in 20 out of 29 samples (69 %, range from 1 - 1000 cells). Twelve out of 20 CTC-positive patients showed PSMA-positive CTCs (67 %, score 1+ to 3+). We found intra-patient heterogeneity regarding the PSMA status between CTCs and the corresponding primary tumors. The results of our study could help to address the question whether treatment decisions based on CTC PSMA profiling will lead to a measurable benefit in clinical outcome for prostate cancer patients in the near future.

The expression of CTLA-4 (CD152) on the cell surface of B cells and its consequences for the humoral immune response in vivo are unknown. We investigated the expression of CTLA-4 mRNA and protein in B cells in T cell-independent or -dependent ways. B cells in the presence of Ag-stimulated Th2 cells expressed mRNA of CTLA-4 and up-regulated intracellular CTLA-4 protein. Using a liposome-enhanced staining technique, we show for the first time, that surface CTLA-4 protein is expressed by 11–15% of B cells in a T cell-dependent culture system. To dissect the role of CTLA-4 on B cells in vivo, we used bone marrow chimeric mice in which only B cells were CTLA-4 deficient. These mice showed that early B cell development and homeostasis is not influenced by CTLA-4 deficiency of B cells. Ag-specific responses after immunization of the chimeric mice revealed elevated levels of IgM Abs in mice deficient for B cell CTLA-4. We propose that CTLA-4 signals on B cells determine the early fate of B cells in thymus-dependent immune responses.