Like other cancers, uveal melanomas (UM) are characterised by an uncontrolled, clonal, cellular proliferation, occurring as a result of numerous genetic, and epigenetic aberrations. Signalling pathways known to be disrupted in UM include: (1) the retinoblastoma pathway, probably as a result of cyclin D1 overexpression; p53 signalling, possibly as a consequence of MDM2 overexpression; and the P13K/AKT and mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-related kinase pathway pathways that are disturbed as a result of PTEN and GNAQ/11 mutations, respectively. Characteristic chromosomal abnormalities are common and include 6p gain, associated with a good prognosis, as well as 1p loss, 3 loss, and 8q gain, which correlate with high mortality. These are identified by techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridisation, comparative genomic hybridisation, microsatellite analysis, multiplex ligationdependent probe amplification, and singlenucleotide polymorphisms. UM can also be categorised by their gene expression profiles as class 1 or class 2, the latter correlating with poor survival, as do BRCA1-associated protein-1 (BAP1) inactivating mutations. Genetic testing of UM has enhanced prognostication, especially when results are integrated with histological and clinical data. The identification of abnormal signalling pathways, genes and proteins in UM opens the way for target-based therapies, improving prospects for conserving vision and prolonging life.
Heterogeneity of chromosomal abnormalities of chromosomes 1, 3, 6, and 8 is present in most UMs. This heterogeneity causes equivocal MLPA results. One random tumor sample may not be representative of the whole tumor and, therefore, may be insufficient for prognostic testing.
No copy number changes were associated exclusively with metastatic CoMs. However, further investigation of the role of CDKN1A and RUNX2 in CoMs development and that of MLH1, TIMP2, MGMT, and ECHS1 in metastatic CoMs is warranted. Validation of the observed gene and chromosome arm copy number changes in a larger cohort of primary and metastatic CoMs is necessary to identify the patients at highest risk for CoMs metastasis.
Communication and material transfer between membranes and organelles take place at membrane contact sites (MCSs). MCSs between the ER and PM, the ER/PM junctions, are the sites where the ER Ca2+ sensor STIM1 and the PM Ca2+ influx channel Orai1 cluster. MCSs are formed by tether proteins that bridge the opposing membranes, but the identity and role of these tethers in receptor‐evoked Ca2+ signaling is not well understood. Here, we identified Anoctamin 8 (ANO8) as a key tether in the formation of the ER/PM junctions that is essential for STIM1‐STIM1 interaction and STIM1‐Orai1 interaction and channel activation at a ER/PM PI(4,5)P2‐rich compartment. Moreover, ANO8 assembles all core Ca2+ signaling proteins: Orai1, PMCA, STIM1, IP3 receptors, and SERCA2 at the ER/PM junctions to mediate a novel form of Orai1 channel inactivation by markedly facilitating SERCA2‐mediated Ca2+ influx into the ER. This controls the efficiency of receptor‐stimulated Ca2+ signaling, Ca2+ oscillations, and duration of Orai1 activity to prevent Ca2+ toxicity. These findings reveal the central role of MCSs in determining efficiency and fidelity of cell signaling.
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