A missense somatic mutation in the FOXL2 gene affecting codon 134 has recently been reported in granulosa cell tumour (GCT) and thecoma of the ovary. Such a recurrent nature of the mutation strongly suggests that the FOXL2 mutation may play an important role in the development of ovarian sex cord-stromal tumours. The aim of this study was to characterize the FOXL2 mutation in human tumour tissues. We analysed 1353 tumour tissues from various origins, including ovarian tumours and other common cancers, by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis. We found the FOXL2 codon 134 missense mutation in 53 of 56 adult GCTs (94.6%) and two of the 16 thecomas (12.5%), but none in other tumours. Histologically, FOXL2 mutation-negative adult GCT showed that GCT cells were admixed with fibrothecomatous cells, and FOXL2 mutation-positive thecomas showed that luteinized theca cells were predominant. However, immunostaining of either inhibin alpha or FOXL2 did not differentiate the FOXL2 mutation status of adult GCTs and thecomas. There was no FOXL1 mutation and no common oncogenic mutation in the adult GCTs and thecomas. Our data indicate that the FOXL2 codon 134 mutation occurs exclusively in GCT and thecoma, and suggest the possibility that the development of most GCTs and a fraction of thecomas may be dependent on this mutation. Our data also suggest that the FOXL2 mutation status, as well as some histological features, may be important in the diagnosis of ovarian sex cord-stromal tumours.

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to identify an unique gene that shows cancer-associated expression, evaluates its potential usefulness in cancer diagnosis, and characterizes its function related to human carcinogenesis.Experimental Design: We used the differential display reverse transcription-PCR method with normal cervical, cervical cancer and metastatic tissues, and cervical cancer cell line to identify genes overexpressed in cancers.Results: We identified a minichromosome maintenance 3 (MCM3) gene that was overexpressed in various human cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma, and carcinomas of the uterine cervix, colon, lung, stomach, kidney and breast, and malignant melanoma. Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses also revealed that MCM3 protein was elevated in most of human cancer tissues tested. We compared the MCM3 protein expression levels in human cancers with conventional proliferation markers, Ki-67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen. MCM3 antibody was the most specific for multiple human cancers, whereas proliferating cell nuclear antigen was relatively less effective in specificity, and Ki-67 failed to detect several human cancers. The down-regulation of MCM3 protein level was examined under serum starvation in both normal and cancer cells. Interestingly, MCM3 protein was stable in MCF-7 breast cancer cells even up to 96 hours after serum starvation, whereas it was gradually degraded in normal BJ fibroblast cells. Nude mice who received injections of HEK 293 cells stably transfected with MCM3 formed tumors in 6 weeks.Conclusions: Our study indicates that determination of MCM3 expression level will facilitate the assessment of many different human malignancies in tumor diagnosis, and MCM3 is involved in multiple types of human carcinogenesis.

BackgroundBasic studies of oncogenesis have demonstrated that either the elevated production of particular oncogene proteins or the occurrence of qualitative abnormalities in oncogenes can contribute to neoplastic cellular transformation. The purpose of our study was to identify an unique gene that shows cancer-associated expression, and characterizes its function related to human carcinogenesis.MethodsWe used the differential display (DD) RT-PCR method using normal cervical, cervical cancer, metastatic cervical tissues, and cervical cancer cell lines to identify genes overexpressed in cervical cancers and identified gremlin 1 which was overexpressed in cervical cancers. We determined expression levels of gremlin 1 using Northern blot analysis and immunohistochemical study in various types of human normal and cancer tissues. To understand the tumorigenesis pathway of identified gremlin 1 protein, we performed a yeast two-hybrid screen, GST pull down assay, and immunoprecipitation to identify gremlin 1 interacting proteins.ResultsDDRT-PCR analysis revealed that gremlin 1 was overexpressed in uterine cervical cancer. We also identified a human gremlin 1 that was overexpressed in various human tumors including carcinomas of the lung, ovary, kidney, breast, colon, pancreas, and sarcoma. PIG-2-transfected HEK 293 cells exhibited growth stimulation and increased telomerase activity. Gremlin 1 interacted with homo sapiens tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein, eta polypeptide (14-3-3 eta; YWHAH). YWHAH protein binding site for gremlin 1 was located between residues 61–80 and gremlin 1 binding site for YWHAH was found to be located between residues 1 to 67.ConclusionGremlin 1 may play an oncogenic role especially in carcinomas of the uterine cervix, lung, ovary, kidney, breast, colon, pancreas, and sarcoma. Over-expressed gremlin 1 functions by interaction with YWHAH. Therefore, Gremlin 1 and its binding protein YWHAH could be good targets for developing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies against human cancers.

Adjuvant radiotherapy was significantly associated with development of LEL in women who had undergone radical surgery with lymphadenectomy for FIGO stage I to stage IIA cervical cancer. The possibility for the occurrence of LEL must be fully explained before treatment and patients should be provided with the appropriate preventive education. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm the incidence and risk factors for LEL.

Purpose: To determine the efficacy of the therapeutic DNA vaccine GX-188E for inducing regression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 3. Patients and Methods: We conducted a prospective, randomized, multicenter, open-label, phase II clinical trial of GX-188E in CIN3 patients positive for human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16/ 18. The primary endpoint was to determine the histopathologic regression to CIN1 at visit seven (V7; 20 weeks after the first GX-188E injection), and an extension study was pursued until visit 8 (V8; 36 weeks after the first GX-188E injection). HPVsequencing analysis and an ex vivo IFNg ELISpot assay were performed using the collected cervical biopsy and blood samples from patients. Results: In total, 72 patients were enrolled and underwent randomization. Of them, 64 patients were included in per-protocol analysis (V7) and 52 in extension analysis (V8). Our data showed 52% (33/64) of patients at V7 and 67% (35/52) of patients at V8 presented histopathologic regression after receiving the GX-188E injection. We found that 73% (V7) and 77% (V8) of the patients with histologic regression showed HPV clearance. HPV clearance and histopathologic regression were significantly associated at V7 and at V8. Compared with the measurements at V1 (baseline), the patients at V8 with HPV clearance showed significantly higher fold changes in their IFNg ELISpot responses compared with those without HPV clearance. The HPV sequence analysis revealed that the HPV type 16 E6/E7 variants D25E, V83L, and N29S were inversely associated with histopathologic regression at V8. Conclusions: GX-188E is an effective therapeutic vaccine against a cohort containing only CIN3 patients.