Gastric cancer is a heterogeneous disease with diverse molecular and histological subtypes. We performed whole-genome sequencing in 100 tumor-normal pairs, along with DNA copy number, gene expression and methylation profiling, for integrative genomic analysis. We found subtype-specific genetic and epigenetic perturbations and unique mutational signatures. We identified previously known (TP53, ARID1A and CDH1) and new (MUC6, CTNNA2, GLI3, RNF43 and others) significantly mutated driver genes. Specifically, we found RHOA mutations in 14.3% of diffuse-type tumors but not in intestinal-type tumors (P < 0.001). The mutations clustered in recurrent hotspots affecting functional domains and caused defective RHOA signaling, promoting escape from anoikis in organoid cultures. The top perturbed pathways in gastric cancer included adherens junction and focal adhesion, in which RHOA and other mutated genes we identified participate as key players. These findings illustrate a multidimensional and comprehensive genomic landscape that highlights the molecular complexity of gastric cancer and provides a road map to facilitate genome-guided personalized therapy.

Adiponectin (ADN) is an adipocyte-secreted protein with insulinsensitizing, antidiabetic, antiinflammatory, and antiatherogenic properties. Evidence is also accumulating that ADN has neuroprotective activities, yet the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here we show that ADN could pass through the bloodbrain barrier, and elevating its levels in the brain increased cell proliferation and decreased depression-like behaviors. ADN deficiency did not reduce the basal hippocampal neurogenesis or neuronal differentiation but diminished the effectiveness of exercise in increasing hippocampal neurogenesis. Furthermore, exerciseinduced reduction in depression-like behaviors was abrogated in ADN-deficient mice, and this impairment in ADN-deficient mice was accompanied by defective running-induced phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in the hippocampal tissue. In vitro analyses indicated that ADN itself could increase cell proliferation of both hippocampal progenitor cells and Neuro2a neuroblastoma cells. The neurogenic effects of ADN were mediated by the ADN receptor 1 (ADNR1), because siRNA targeting ADNR1, but not ADNR2, inhibited the capacity of ADN to enhance cell proliferation. These data suggest that adiponectin may play a significant role in mediating the effects of exercise on hippocampal neurogenesis and depression, possibly by activation of the ADNR1/AMPK signaling pathways, and also raise the possibility that adiponectin and its agonists may represent a promising therapeutic treatment for depression.adiponectin | adiponectin receptor | physical exercise | hippocampal neurogenesis | depression-like behavior

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major malignancy in many parts of the world, especially in Asia and Africa. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on the long arm of chromosome 13 has been reported in HCC. In search of tumor suppressor genes in this region, here we have identified DLC2 (for deleted in liver cancer 2) at 13q12.3 encoding a novel Rho family GTPase-activating protein (GAP). DLC2 mRNA is ubiquitously expressed in normal tissues but was significantly underexpressed in 18% (8/ 45) of human HCCs. DLC2 is homologous to DLC1, a previously identified tumor suppressor gene at 8p22-p21.3 frequently deleted in HCC. DLC2 encodes a novel protein with a RhoGAP domain, a SAM (sterile ␣ motif) domain related to p73/p63, and a lipid-binding StARrelated lipid transfer (START) domain. Biochemical analysis indicates that DLC2 protein has GAP activity specific for small GTPases RhoA and Cdc42. Expression of the GAP domain of DLC2 sufficiently inhibits the Rho-mediated formation of actin stress fibers. Introduction of human DLC2 into mouse fibroblasts suppresses Ras signaling and Ras-induced cellular transformation in a GAP-dependent manner. Taken together, our findings suggest a role for DLC2 in growth suppression and hepatocarcinogenesis.

Mammalian Dicer interacts with double-stranded RNA-binding protein TRBP or PACT to mediate RNA interference and micro-RNA processing. TRBP and PACT are structurally related but exert opposite regulatory activities on PKR. It is not understood whether TRBP and PACT are simultaneously required for Dicer. Here we show that TRBP directly interacts with PACT in vitro and in mammalian cells. TRBP and PACT form a triple complex with Dicer and facilitate the production of small interfering RNA (siRNA) by Dicer. Knockdown of both TRBP and PACT in cultured cells leads to significant inhibition of gene silencing mediated by short hairpin RNA but not by siRNA, suggesting that TRBP and PACT function primarily at the step of siRNA production. Taken together, these findings indicate that human TRBP and PACT directly interact with each other and associate with Dicer to stimulate the cleavage of double-stranded or short hairpin RNA to siRNA. Our work significantly alters the current model for the assembly and function of the Dicer-containing complex that generates siRNA and micro-RNA in human. RNA interference (RNAi)2 is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for gene silencing mediated through small RNAs of ϳ22 nucleotides in length (1). At least two classes of small RNAs have been described in mammals, micro-RNAs (miRNA) produced from hairpin precursors and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) derived from long double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) (2). Both miRNAs and siRNAs are generated by RNase III-type nuclease Dicer, and they are assembled into effector complex termed RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) (3, 4). Although two Dicer enzymes Dcr1 and Dcr2 have been found in fruit flies and are responsible for the generation of miRNAs and siRNAs, respectively, there exists only one single Dicer in humans, which produces both miRNAs and siRNAs (3). Dcr2 is known to associate with a dsRNA-binding protein (dsRBP) termed R2D2, which binds to siRNA and facilitates its passage from Dcr2 to RISC (5, 6).A new family of dsRBPs, which includes Loquacious in Drosophila as well as TRBP and PACT in humans, has been shown recently to interact with Dicer and be required for its function in RNAi (7-12). Unlike its counterparts in Drosophila that have only one dsRBP partner, human Dicer appears to associate with two closely related dsRBPs, TRBP and PACT (10 -12). TRBP was originally identified and characterized by its high affinity for TAR, a hairpin RNA encoded by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (13). PACT was initially cloned as a cellular protein activator of PKR kinase (14, 15). Although both PACT and TRBP bind to PKR and have three similar dsRNA-binding domains (dsRBDs), TRBP exerts an inhibitory effect on PKR (16 -20).Although both TRBP and PACT interact with and support the function of human Dicer in RNAi (10 -12), it is not understood whether their binding with Dicer is simultaneous or mutually exclusive. TRBP and PACT are closely related, and both are capable of homodimerization (21,22). In addition, they share two binding partners, [16][17][...

Deleted in liver cancer (DLC1) is a candidate tumor suppressor gene recently isolated from human hepatocellular carcinoma. Structurally, DLC1 protein contains a conserved GTPase-activating protein for Rho family protein (RhoGAP) domain, which has been thought to regulate the activity of Rho family proteins. Previous studies indicated that DLC1 was frequently inactivated in cancer cells. In the present study, we aimed to characterize the tumor suppressor roles of DLC1 in hepatocellular carcinoma. We showed that DLC1 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, anchorage-independent growth, and in vivo tumorigenicity when stably expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Moreover, DLC1 expression greatly reduced the motility and invasiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. With RhoGAP-deficient DLC1 mutant (DLC1-K714E), we showed that the RhoGAP activity was essential for DLC1-mediated tumor suppressor function. Furthermore, the 292-to 648-amino acid region and the steroidogenic acute regulatory related lipid transfer domain played an auxiliary role to RhoGAP and tumor suppressor function of DLC1. Taken together, our findings showed that DLC1 functions as a tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma and provide the first evidence to support the hypothesis that DLC1 suppresses cancer cell growth by negatively regulating the activity of Rho proteins. (Cancer Res 2005; 65(19): 8861-8)