Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal of malignancies and a major health burden. We performed whole-genome sequencing and copy number variation (CNV) analysis of 100 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs). Chromosomal rearrangements leading to gene disruption were prevalent, affecting genes known to be important in pancreatic cancer (TP53, SMAD4, CDKN2A, ARID1A and ROBO2) and new candidate drivers of pancreatic carcinogenesis (KDM6A and PREX2). Patterns of structural variation (variation in chromosomal structure) classified PDACs into 4 subtypes with potential clinical utility: the subtypes were termed stable, locally rearranged, scattered and unstable. A significant proportion harboured focal amplifications, many of which contained druggable oncogenes (ERBB2, MET, FGFR1, CDK6, PIK3R3 and PIK3CA), but at low individual patient prevalence. Genomic instability co-segregated with inactivation of DNA maintenance genes (BRCA1, BRCA2 or PALB2) and a mutational signature of DNA damage repair deficiency. Of 8 patients who received platinum therapy, 4 of 5 individuals with these measures of defective DNA maintenance responded.

L-Glutamine (Gln) functions physiologically to balance tissue requirements of carbon and nitrogen. It has been proposed that in cancer cells undergoing aerobic glycolysis, accelerated anabolism is sustained by Gln-derived carbons, which replenish the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (anaplerosis). However, it is shown here that in glioblastoma (GBM) cells, almost half of the Gln-derived glutamate (Glu) is secreted and does not enter the TCA cycle and, that inhibiting glutaminolysis does not affect proliferation. Moreover, Gln-starved cells are not rescued by TCA cycle replenishment. Instead, the conversion of Glu to Gln by Glutamine Synthetase (GS) (cataplerosis) confers Gln prototrophy, and fuels de novo purine biosynthesis. In both orthotopic GBM models and in patients, 13C-glucose tracing showed that GS produces Gln from TCA cycle-derived carbons. Finally, while it is contributed only marginally by the circulation, the Gln required for the growth of GBM tumours is either autonomously synthesized by GS-positive glioma cells, or supplied by astrocytes.

Bevacizumab, an antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), is a promising, yet controversial, drug in human glioblastoma treatment (GBM). Its effects on tumor burden, recurrence, and vascular physiology are unclear. We therefore determined the tumor response to bevacizumab at the phenotypic, physiological, and molecular level in a clinically relevant intracranial GBM xenograft model derived from patient tumor spheroids. Using anatomical and physiological magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we show that bevacizumab causes a strong decrease in contrast enhancement while having only a marginal effect on tumor growth. Interestingly, dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI revealed a significant reduction of the vascular supply, as evidenced by a decrease in intratumoral blood flow and volume and, at the morphological level, by a strong reduction of large-and medium-sized blood vessels. Electron microscopy revealed fewer mitochondria in the treated tumor cells. Importantly, this was accompanied by a 68% increase in infiltrating tumor cells in the brain parenchyma. At the molecular level we observed an increase in lactate and alanine metabolites, together with an induction of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α and an activation of the phosphatidyl-inositol-3-kinase pathway. These data strongly suggest that vascular remodeling induced by anti-VEGF treatment leads to a more hypoxic tumor microenvironment. This favors a metabolic change in the tumor cells toward glycolysis, which leads to enhanced tumor cell invasion into the normal brain. The present work underlines the need to combine anti-angiogenic treatment in GBMs with drugs targeting specific signaling or metabolic pathways linked to the glycolytic phenotype.angiogenesis | glioma | metabolism | perfusion G lioblastomas (GBMs) are highly vascularized brain tumors and are therefore attractive targets for anti-angiogenic therapies (1). In particular, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been identified as a critical regulator of angiogenesis, and currently a number of clinical trials targeting the VEGFsignaling pathways are under development (2, 3). Bevacizumab (bev), a humanized anti-VEGF antibody, has shown promising results in exploratory phase II trials of recurrent GBM. Alone or in combination with irinotecan, it is well tolerated and shows a high radiological response rate and possibly an increase in median progression-free survival compared with historical controls (4-7), although no impact on overall survival has been reported (8). However, these results are based on small patient cohorts and, because anti-angiogenic agents directly affect vessel permeability, the imaging response assessment based on contrast enhancement (CE) is highly ambiguous (9). Indeed, a direct antitumor effect of bev has remained elusive and the infiltrative part of the tumor may even increase (10,11). In addition to a lack of robust clinical data, the cellular and molecular consequences of anti-VEGF treatment have not been outlined (12). Detailed information on how bev affects ...

The identity and unique capacity of cancer stem cells (CSC) to drive tumor growth and resistance have been challenged in brain tumors. Here we report that cells expressing CSC-associated cell membrane markers in Glioblastoma (GBM) do not represent a clonal entity defined by distinct functional properties and transcriptomic profiles, but rather a plastic state that most cancer cells can adopt. We show that phenotypic heterogeneity arises from non-hierarchical, reversible state transitions, instructed by the microenvironment and is predictable by mathematical modeling. Although functional stem cell properties were similar in vitro, accelerated reconstitution of heterogeneity provides a growth advantage in vivo, suggesting that tumorigenic potential is linked to intrinsic plasticity rather than CSC multipotency. The capacity of any given cancer cell to reconstitute tumor heterogeneity cautions against therapies targeting CSC-associated membrane epitopes. Instead inherent cancer cell plasticity emerges as a novel relevant target for treatment.

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