TYMS

Gene Summary

Gene:TYMS; thymidylate synthetase
Aliases: TS, TMS, HST422
Location:18p11.32
Summary:Thymidylate synthase catalyzes the methylation of deoxyuridylate to deoxythymidylate using, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (methylene-THF) as a cofactor. This function maintains the dTMP (thymidine-5-prime monophosphate) pool critical for DNA replication and repair. The enzyme has been of interest as a target for cancer chemotherapeutic agents. It is considered to be the primary site of action for 5-fluorouracil, 5-fluoro-2-prime-deoxyuridine, and some folate analogs. Expression of this gene and that of a naturally occurring antisense transcript, mitochondrial enolase superfamily member 1 (GeneID:55556), vary inversely when cell-growth progresses from late-log to plateau phase. Polymorphisms in this gene may be associated with etiology of neoplasia, including breast cancer, and response to chemotherapy. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2017]
Databases:OMIM, HGNC, Ensembl, GeneCard, Gene
Protein:thymidylate synthase
Source:NCBIAccessed: 30 August, 2019

Ontology:

What does this gene/protein do?
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Pathways:What pathways are this gene/protein implicaed in?
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Cancer Overview

Research Indicators

Publications Per Year (1994-2019)
Graph generated 30 August 2019 using data from PubMed using criteria.

Literature Analysis

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Tag cloud generated 30 August, 2019 using data from PubMed, MeSH and CancerIndex

Specific Cancers (7)

Data table showing topics related to specific cancers and associated disorders. Scope includes mutations and abnormal protein expression.

Note: list is not exhaustive. Number of papers are based on searches of PubMed (click on topic title for arbitrary criteria used).

Latest Publications: TYMS (cancer-related)

Wińska P, Widło Ł, Skierka K, et al.
Simultaneous Inhibition of Protein Kinase CK2 and Dihydrofolate Reductase Results in Synergistic Effect on Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells.
Anticancer Res. 2019; 39(7):3531-3542 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND/AIM: Recently, we demonstrated the ability of inhibitors of protein kinase 2 (casein kinase II; CK2) to enhance the efficacy of 5-fluorouracil, a thymidylate synthase (TYMS)-directed drug for anticancer treatment. The present study aimed to investigate the antileukemic effect of simultaneous inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), another enzyme involved in the thymidylate biosynthesis cycle, and CK2 in CCRF-CEM acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The influence of combined treatment on apoptosis and cell-cycle progression, as well as the endocellular level of DHFR protein and inhibition of CK2 were determined using flow cytometry and western blot analysis, respectively. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to examine the influence of silmitasertib (CX-4945), a selective inhibitor of CK2 on the expression of DHFR and TYMS genes.
RESULTS: The synergistic effect was correlated with the increase of annexin V-binding cell fraction, caspase 3/7 activation and a significant reduce in the activity of CK2. An increase of DHFR protein level was observed in CCRF-CEM cells after CX-4945 treatment, with the mRNA level remaining relatively constant.
CONCLUSION: The obtained results demonstrate a possibility to improve methotrexate-based anti-leukemia therapy by simultaneous inhibition of CK2. The effect of CK2 inhibition on DHFR expression suggests the important regulatory role of CK2-mediated phosphorylation of DHFR inside cells.

Dusek J, Skoda J, Holas O, et al.
Stilbene compound trans-3,4,5,4´-tetramethoxystilbene, a potential anticancer drug, regulates constitutive androstane receptor (Car) target genes, but does not possess proliferative activity in mouse liver.
Toxicol Lett. 2019; 313:1-10 [PubMed] Related Publications
The constitutive androstane receptor(CAR) activation is connected with mitogenic effects leading to liver hyperplasia and tumorigenesis in rodents. CAR activators, including phenobarbital, are considered rodent non-genotoxic carcinogens. Recently, trans-3,4,5,4´-tetramethoxystilbene(TMS), a potential anticancer drug (DMU-212), have been shown to alleviate N-nitrosodiethylamine/phenobarbital-induced liver carcinogenesis. We studied whether TMS inhibits mouse Car to protect from the PB-induced tumorigenesis. Unexpectedly, we identified TMS as a murine CAR agonist in reporter gene experiments, in mouse hepatocytes, and in C57BL/6 mice in vivo. TMS up-regulated Car target genes Cyp2b10, Cyp2c29 and Cyp2c55 mRNAs, but down-regulated expression of genes involved in gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis. TMS did not change or down-regulate genes involved in liver proliferation or apoptosis such as Mki67, Foxm1, Myc, Mcl1, Pcna, Bcl2, or Mdm2, which were up-regulated by another Car ligand TCPOBOP. TMS did not increase liver weight and had no significant effect on Ki67 and Pcna labeling indices in mouse liver in vivo. In murine hepatic AML12 cells, we confirmed a Car-independent proapoptotic effect of TMS. We conclude that TMS is a Car ligand with limited effects on hepatocyte proliferation, likely due to promoting apoptosis in mouse hepatic cells, while controlling Car target genes involved in xenobiotic and endobiotic metabolism.

Verma R, Agarwal AK, Sakhuja P, Sharma PC
Microsatellite instability in mismatch repair and tumor suppressor genes and their expression profiling provide important targets for the development of biomarkers in gastric cancer.
Gene. 2019; 710:48-58 [PubMed] Related Publications
We evaluated microsatellite instability (MSI) in selected mismatch repair (MMR) and tumor suppressor (TS) genes with a view to exploring genetic changes associated with the occurrence of gastric cancer (GC). Moreover, expression of MSI positive genes was measured to get insights into molecular events operating in the tumor microenvironment. We anticipated discovering new molecular targets with potential as molecular biomarkers of gastric cancer. Of the 13 genes screened, we observed 15% to 52.5% MSI at eight microsatellite loci located in 3' UTR and coding regions of six genes (TGFBR2, PDCD4, MLH3, DLC1, MSH6, and MSH3). The union probability of different combinations of unstable microsatellite loci unveiled a set of four MSI markers from TGFBR2, PDCD4, MLH3, and MSH3 genes that allows detection of up to 85% incidences of GC. Significant downregulation of MLH3, PDCD4, TGFBR2, and DLC1 genes was observed in tumor tissues. Protein structure analyses of two unexplored targets, MSH3 (TG

Iida-Norita R, Kawamura M, Suzuki Y, et al.
Vasohibin-2 plays an essential role in metastasis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
Cancer Sci. 2019; 110(7):2296-2308 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Vasohibin-2 (VASH2) is expressed in various cancers and promotes their progression. We recently reported that pancreatic cancer patients with higher VASH2 expression show poorer prognosis. Herein, we sought to characterize the role of VASH2 in pancreatic cancer. We used LSL-Kras

Liang W, Guo M, Pan Z, et al.
Association between certain non-small cell lung cancer driver mutations and predictive markers for chemotherapy or programmed death-ligand 1 inhibition.
Cancer Sci. 2019; 110(6):2014-2021 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
This study aimed to analyze the association between driver mutations and predictive markers for some anti-tumor agents in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A cohort of 785 Chinese patients with NSCLC who underwent resection from March 2016 to November 2017 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University was investigated. The specimens were subjected to hybridization capture and sequence of 8 important NSCLC-related driver genes. In addition, the slides were tested for PD-L1, excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1), ribonucleotide reductase subunit M1 (RRM1), thymidylate synthase (TS) and β-tubulin III by immunohistochemical staining. A total of 498 (63.4%) patients had at least 1 driver gene alteration. Wild-type, EGFR rare mutation (mut), ALK fusion (fus), RAS mut, RET fus and MET mut had relatively higher proportions of lower ERCC1 expression. EGFR 19del, EGFR L858R, EGFR rare mut, ALK fus, HER2 mut, ROS1 fus and MET mut were more likely to have TS low expression. Wild-type, EGFR L858R, EGFR rare mut and BRAF mut were associated with lower β-tubulin III expression. In addition, wild-type, RAS mut, ROS1 fus, BRAF and MET mut had higher proportion of PD-L1 high expression. As a pilot validation, 21 wild-type patients with advanced NSCLC showed better depth of response and response rate to taxanes compared with pemetrexed/gemcitabine (31.2%/60.0% vs 26.6%/45.5%). Our study may aid in selecting the optimal salvage regimen after targeted therapy failure, or the chemo-regimen where targeted therapy has not been a routine option. Further validation is warranted.

Xia Y, Lam CS, Li W, et al.
Flexicaulin A, An
Int J Mol Sci. 2019; 20(8) [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Natural products, explicitly medicinal plants, are an important source of inspiration of antitumor drugs, because they contain astounding amounts of small molecules that possess diversifying chemical entities. For instance,

Shi DB, Ma RR, Zhang H, et al.
GAGE7B promotes tumor metastasis and growth via activating the p38δ/pMAPKAPK2/pHSP27 pathway in gastric cancer.
J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2019; 38(1):124 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related mortality; thus, the mechanisms underlying tumor metastasis and growth in gastric cancer need to be extensively explored.
METHODS: Differentially expressed genes were examined in gastric cancer samples with lymph node metastasis (LNM) and without LNM using mRNA microarray and RT-qPCR. The effects of G antigen 7B (GAGE7B) on the metastasis, growth, and angiogenesis of gastric cancer were investigated in vitro and in vivo. GAGE7B protein expression was detected by immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis. Microarray, RT-qPCR, and western blot assays were performed to detect downstream target genes of GAGE7B. Dual-luciferase reporter and western blot assays were used to identify miRNAs that could negatively regulate GAGE7B.
RESULTS: GAGE7B was significantly overexpressed in samples with LNM. High expression levels of GAGE7B were associated with advanced clinical stage and poor patient survival. GAGE7B dramatically enhanced the metastasis, growth, and angiogenesis ability of gastric cancer. GAGE7B was further demonstrated to promote the progression of gastric cancer by activating the p38δ/pMAPKAPK2/pHSP27 pathway. However, the GAGE7B-induced p38δ/pMAPKAPK2/pHSP27 pathway was inactivated by miR-30c, as the expression levels of both GAGE7B and p38δ were found to be directly suppressed by miR-30c. Intriguingly, GAGE7B was found to be a ceRNA for p38δ, as it activated the p38δ/pMAPKAPK2/pHSP27 pathway by competitively binding miR-30c.
CONCLUSIONS: GAGE7B may serve as a prognostic indicator in gastric cancer. GAGE7B significantly promotes gastric cancer progression by upregulating the p38δ/pMAPKAPK2/pHSP27 pathway, but it is negatively regulated by miR-30c. GAGE7B and miR-30c may be potential therapeutic targets in gastric cancer.

Kumagai-Togashi A, Uozaki H, Kikuchi Y, et al.
Tumorous CD10 Is More Strongly Related to the Progression of Urothelial Carcinoma than Stromal CD10.
Anticancer Res. 2019; 39(2):635-640 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND/AIM: CD10 function in urothelial carcinoma (UC) remains controversial. We previously reported that miR-21 in UC may be a prognostic marker for cancer progression. The aim of this study was to examine the clinicopathological significance of CD10 expression in UC and its relationship with miR-21 expression.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemistry for CD10 was performed on 232 UCs. CD10 expression in TCs and stroma was evaluated respectively, and its association with carcinogenesis and survival was analyzed.
RESULTS: High tumorous CD10 was significantly associated with higher tumor stage, histological grade and vessel infiltration, and poorer prognosis, whereas stromal CD10 was significantly associated with younger age, higher tumor stage, and vessel infiltration. On multivariable analysis, CD10 expression in TCs, miR-21 expression in TCs and TS, and tumor stage were independent prognostic factors.
CONCLUSION: Tumorous CD10 is more strongly related to progression of UC than stromal CD10 and is an independent factor for UC prognosis.

Kurnaz E, Çetinkaya S, Savaş-Erdeve Ş, Aycan Z
Detection of the SRY gene in patients with Turner Syndrome.
J Gynecol Obstet Hum Reprod. 2019; 48(4):265-267 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: If turner syndrome (TS) patients have a Y-containing cell line, they have an increased risk for gonadal tumors. TS patients are therefore screened for Y-chromosome and Y-specific sequences, such as SRY, DYZ1, DYZ3, DYS132, ZFY, TSPY, etc. In addition, since the dysgenetic gonad may include the stroma and granulosa/sertoli cells, which produce androgens, virilization can seen in girls with Y-chromosomal material. Prophylactic gonadectomy may therefore be required for optimal management in such patients. Our aim is to discuss our observations in the follow-up of TS patients.
METHODS: SRY was investigated in 71 out of 85 TS cases (aged 3 months-27 years) between 2005 and 2017. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was used until 2014, after which SRY analysis was performed using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. SRY analysis was performed a second time using PCR in 25 cases previously investigated with FISH.
RESULTS: We identified no positive cases. No pathological findings in terms of virilization, clitoromegaly, or posterior labial adhesions were also determined in our TS cases. Further studies were not required since no pathological findings also were detected at ultrasonography.
CONCLUSION: If Y-chromosome material has not been detected by conventional cytogenetic methods in TS patients with masculine features, further techniques should be applied to prevent the risk of invasive tumors, such as multiple sequences beside the Y centromere. This approach will prevent overtreatment.

Wu YF, Ou CC, Chien PJ, et al.
Chidamide-induced ROS accumulation and miR-129-3p-dependent cell cycle arrest in non-small lung cancer cells.
Phytomedicine. 2019; 56:94-102 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Epigenetic therapy is a promising popular treatment modality for various cancers. Histone modification and miRNA should not be underestimated in lung cancer. This study aimed to investigate whether chidamide, a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), which inhibits telomerase activity and induces cell cycle arrest, influences ROS and miRNA production in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells.
METHODS: H1355 and A549 were treated with chidamide. The analysis of DNA content was measured by FACSCalibur equipped with a 488 nm laser. H1355 cells were transfected with miR-129-3p mimic by Lipofectamine2000. Telomerase activity was performed on the telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay. Detection of thymidylate synthase (TS), p21, p53, pRB, and β-actin, were performed by western blot analysis.
RESULTS: Our data showed that expression of TS, p21, and pRB were altered in the presence of chidamide by PCR and western blot. Using BrdU-incorporation analysis, we found that chidamide induced G1 arrest through the regulation of the TS gene by miR-129-3p. Chidamide was shown to suppress telomerase activity in the TRAP assay and reduced the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) by PCR and q-PCR in H1355 and A549 cells. Chidamide increased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by flow cytometry. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), a ROS scavenger, attenuated chidamide-induced telomerase activity inhibition.
CONCLUSION: Chidamide repressed telomerase activity through ROS accumulation and cell cycle arrest by miR-129-3p upregulation in both H1355 and A549 cells. This is the first study to demonstrate that chidamide induces miR-129-3p upregulation and ROS accumulation, leading to cell cycle arrest.

Zhou Y, Niu W, Luo Y, et al.
p53/Lactate dehydrogenase A axis negatively regulates aerobic glycolysis and tumor progression in breast cancer expressing wild-type p53.
Cancer Sci. 2019; 110(3):939-949 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Tumor suppressor p53 is a master regulator of apoptosis and plays key roles in cell cycle checkpoints. p53 responds to metabolic changes and alters metabolism through several mechanisms in cancer. Lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), a key enzyme in glycolysis, is highly expressed in a variety of tumors and catalyzes pyruvate to lactate. In the present study, we first analyzed the association and clinical significance of p53 and LDHA in breast cancer expressing wild-type p53 (wt-p53) and found that LDHA mRNA levels are negatively correlated with wt-p53 but not with mutation p53 mRNA levels, and low p53 and high LDHA expression are significantly associated with poor overall survival rates. Furthermore, p53 negatively regulates LDHA expression by directly binding its promoter region. Moreover, a series of LDHA gain-of-function and rescore experiments were carried out in breast cancer MCF7 cells expressing endogenous wt-p53, showing that ectopic expression of p53 decreases aerobic glycolysis, cell proliferation, migration, invasion and tumor formation of breast cancer cells and that restoration of the expression of LDHA in p53-overexpressing cells could abolish the suppressive effect of p53 on aerobic glycolysis and other malignant phenotypes. In conclusion, our findings showed that repression of LDHA induced by wt-p53 blocks tumor growth and invasion through downregulation of aerobic glycolysis in breast cancer, providing new insights into the mechanism by which p53 contributes to the development and progression of breast cancer.

Chi KC, Tsai WC, Wu CL, et al.
An Adult Drosophila Glioma Model for Studying Pathometabolic Pathways of Gliomagenesis.
Mol Neurobiol. 2019; 56(6):4589-4599 [PubMed] Related Publications
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most prevalent brain tumor in adults, has extremely poor prognosis. Frequent genetic alterations that activate epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) signaling, as well as metabolic remodeling, have been associated with gliomagenesis. To establish a whole-animal approach that can be used to readily identify individual pathometabolic signaling factors, we induced glioma formation in the adult Drosophila brain by activating the EGFR-PI3K pathway. Glioma-induced animals showed significantly enlarged brain volume, early locomotor abnormalities, memory deficits, and a shorter lifespan. Combining bioinformatics analysis and glial-specific gene knockdown in the adult fly glioma model, we identified four evolutionarily conserved metabolic genes, including ALDOA, ACAT1, ELOVL6, and LOX, that were involved in gliomagenesis. Silencing of ACAT1, which controls cholesterol homeostasis, reduced brain enlargement and increased the lifespan of the glioma-bearing flies. In GBM patients, ACAT1 is overexpressed and correlates with poor survival outcomes. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of ACAT1 in human glioma cell lines revealed that it is essential for tumor proliferation. Collectively, these results imply that ACAT1 is a potential therapeutic target, and cholesterol homeostasis is strongly related to glioma formation. This in vivo model provides several rapid and robust phenotypic readouts, allowing determination of the pathometabolic pathways involved in gliomagenesis, as well as providing valuable information for novel therapeutic strategies.

Chang CC, Su KM, Lu KH, et al.
Key Immunological Functions Involved in the Progression of Epithelial Ovarian Serous Carcinoma Discovered by the Gene Ontology-Based Immunofunctionome Analysis.
Int J Mol Sci. 2018; 19(11) [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Serous carcinoma (SC) is the most common and lethal subtype of epithelial ovarian carcinoma; immunotherapy is a potential treatment for SC, however, the global immunological functions of SC as well as their change during the progression of SC have not been investigated in detail till now. We conducted a genome-wide integrative analysis to investigate the immunofunctionomes of SC at four tumor stages by quantifying the immunological functions defined by the Gene Ontology gene sets. DNA microarray gene expression profiles of 1100 SCs and 136 normal ovarian tissue controls were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and converted to the functionome. Then the immunofunctionomes were reconstructed by extracting the offspring from the functionome for the four SC staging groups. The key immunological functions extracted from immunofunctionomes with a series of filters revealed that the immunopathy of SC consisted of a group of deregulated functions with the core members including B cell activation and differentiation, regulation of leukocyte chemotaxis/cellular extravasation, antigen receptor mediated signaling pathway, T helper mediated immunity and macrophage activation; and the auxiliary elements included leukocyte mediated immunity, regulation of inflammatory response, T cell differentiation, mononuclear cell migration, megakaryocyte differentiation, complement activation and cytokine production. These deregulated immunological functions reveal the candidates to target in the immunotherapy.

Xie XN, Yu J, Zhang LH, et al.
Relationship between polymorphisms of the lipid metabolism-related gene PLA2G16 and risk of colorectal cancer in the Chinese population.
Funct Integr Genomics. 2019; 19(2):227-236 [PubMed] Related Publications
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between polymorphisms in the lipid metabolism-related gene PLA2G16 encoding Group XVI phospholipase A2 and the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the Chinese population. A total of 185 patients with CRC and 313 healthy controls were enrolled. Thirteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of PLA2G16 were genotyped with SNPscan™. Linkage disequilibrium and haplotypes were analysed using Haploview software. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the association between the various genotypes and CRC risk. We identified five PLA2G16 SNPs (rs11600655, rs3809072, rs3809073, rs640908 and rs66475048) that were associated with CRC risk after adjusting for age, sex and body mass index. Two haplotypes (CTC and GGA) of rs11600655, rs3809073 and rs3809072, were relevant to CRC risk. The rs11600655 polymorphism was also associated with lymph node metastasis and CRC staging, while rs3809073 and rs3809072 may affect transcriptional regulation of PLA2G16 by altering transcription factor binding. These findings suggest that PLA2G16 polymorphisms-especially CTC and GGA haplotypes-increase CRC susceptibility. Importantly, we showed that the rs11600655 CC, rs640908 CT and rs66475048 GA genotypes are independent risk factors for CRC in the Chinese population.

Geeviman K, Babu D, Prakash Babu P
Pantoprazole Induces Mitochondrial Apoptosis and Attenuates NF-κB Signaling in Glioma Cells.
Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2018; 38(8):1491-1504 [PubMed] Related Publications
Gastric H

Zhou C, Gao X, Hu S, et al.
RBM-5 modulates U2AF large subunit-dependent alternative splicing in C. elegans.
RNA Biol. 2018; 15(10):1295-1308 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
A key step in pre-mRNA splicing is the recognition of 3' splicing sites by the U2AF large and small subunits, a process regulated by numerous trans-acting splicing factors. How these trans-acting factors interact with U2AF in vivo is unclear. From a screen for suppressors of the temperature-sensitive (ts) lethality of the C. elegans U2AF large subunit gene uaf-1(n4588) mutants, we identified mutations in the RNA binding motif gene rbm-5, a homolog of the tumor suppressor gene RBM5. rbm-5 mutations can suppress uaf-1(n4588) ts-lethality by loss of function and neuronal expression of rbm-5 was sufficient to rescue the suppression. Transcriptome analyses indicate that uaf-1(n4588) affected the expression of numerous genes and rbm-5 mutations can partially reverse the abnormal gene expression to levels similar to that of wild type. Though rbm-5 mutations did not obviously affect alternative splicing per se, they can suppress or enhance, in a gene-specific manner, the altered splicing of genes in uaf-1(n4588) mutants. Specifically, the recognition of a weak 3' splice site was more susceptible to the effect of rbm-5. Our findings provide novel in vivo evidence that RBM-5 can modulate UAF-1-dependent RNA splicing and suggest that RBM5 might interact with U2AF large subunit to affect tumor formation.

Gerashchenko TS, Denisov EV, Novikov NM, et al.
Different morphological structures of breast tumors demonstrate individual drug resistance gene expression profiles.
Exp Oncol. 2018; 40(3):228-234 [PubMed] Related Publications
AIM: To identify gene expression profiles involved in drug resistance of different morphological structures (tubular, alveolar, solid, trabecular, and discrete) presented in breast cancer.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ten patients with luminal breast cancer have been included. A laser microdissection-assisted microarrays and qRT-PCR were used to perform whole-transcriptome profiling of different morphological structures, to select differentially expressed drug response genes, and to validate their expression.
RESULTS: We found 27 differentially expressed genes (p < 0.05) encoding drug uptake (SLC1A3, SLC23A2, etc.) and efflux (ABCC1, ABCG1, etc.) transporters, drug targets (TOP2A, TYMS, and Tubb3), and proteins that are involved in drug detoxification (NAT1 and ALDH1B1), cell cycle progression (CCND1, AKT1, etc.), apoptosis (CASP3, TXN2, etc.), and DNA repair (BRCA1 and USP11). Each type of structures showed an individual gene expression profile related to resistance and sensitivity to anticancer drugs. However, most of the genes (19/27; p < 0.05) were expressed in alveolar structures. Functional enrichment analysis showed that drug resistance is significantly associated with alveolar structures. Other structures demonstrated the similar number (10-13 out of 27) of expressed genes; however, the spectrum of resistance and sensitivity to different anticancer drugs varied.
CONCLUSION: Different morphological structures of breast cancer show individual expression of drug resistance genes.

Dragoumi P, O'Callaghan F, Zafeiriou DI
Diagnosis of tuberous sclerosis complex in the fetus.
Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2018; 22(6):1027-1034 [PubMed] Related Publications
Tuberous sclerosis complex is a dominantly inherited genetic disorder of striking clinical variability. It is caused by mutations in either TSC1 or TSC2 gene, which regulate cell growth and proliferation by inhibition of mTORC1 signaling. TS is characterized by the development of benign tumors in many tissues and organs and its neurological manifestations include epilepsy, autism, cognitive and behavioral dysfunction, and giant cell tumors. With mechanism-based mTOR inhibitors therapy now available for many of its manifestations, early diagnosis of TSC is very important in order to offer appropriate care, long-term surveillance and parental counseling. Fetal ultrasound and MRI imaging techniques have evolved and may capture even earlier the following TSC-associated lesions: cardiac rhabdomyomas, subependymal nodules, cortical tubers and renal cysts. Often these represent an incidental finding during a routine ultrasound. Furthermore, in the past decades prenatal molecular diagnosis of TSC has emerged as an important option for families with a known affected member; however, the existing evidence with regards to the clinical characteristics and long-term outcome of babies diagnosed prenatally with TSC is yet limited and the path that follows early TSC detection merits further research.

McLaughlin LP, Rouce R, Gottschalk S, et al.
EBV/LMP-specific T cells maintain remissions of T- and B-cell EBV lymphomas after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.
Blood. 2018; 132(22):2351-2361 [PubMed] Article available free on PMC after 29/11/2019 Related Publications
Autologous T cells targeting Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent membrane proteins (LMPs) have shown safety and efficacy in the treatment of patients with type 2 latency EBV-associated lymphomas for whom standard therapies have failed, including high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem-cell rescue. However, the safety and efficacy of allogeneic donor-derived LMP-specific T cells (LMP-Ts) have not been established for patients who have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT). Therefore, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of donor-derived LMP-Ts in 26 patients who had undergone allogeneic HSCT for EBV-associated natural killer/T-cell or B-cell lymphomas. Seven patients received LMP-Ts as therapy for active disease, and 19 were treated with adjuvant therapy for high-risk disease. There were no immediate infusion-related toxicities, and only 1 dose-limiting toxicity potentially related to T-cell infusion was seen. The 2-year overall survival (OS) was 68%. Additionally, patients who received T-cell therapy while in complete remission after allogeneic HSCT had a 78% OS at 2 years. Patients treated for B-cell disease (n = 10) had a 2-year OS of 80%. Patients with T-cell disease had a 2-year OS of 60%, which suggests an improvement compared with published posttransplantation 2-year OS rates of 30% to 50%. Hence, this study shows that donor-derived LMP-Ts are a safe and effective therapy to prevent relapse after transplantation in patients with B cell- or T cell-derived EBV-associated lymphoma or lymphoproliferative disorder and supports the infusion of LMP-Ts as adjuvant therapy to improve outcomes in the posttransplantation setting. These trials were registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00062868 and #NCT01956084.

Oosterom N, Berrevoets M, den Hoed MAH, et al.
The role of genetic polymorphisms in the thymidylate synthase (TYMS) gene in methotrexate-induced oral mucositis in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Pharmacogenet Genomics. 2018; 28(10):223-229 [PubMed] Related Publications
OBJECTIVE: Methotrexate (MTX) is an important drug in the treatment of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). MTX is cytotoxic as it impairs DNA and RNA synthesis by inhibiting the enzymes dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and thymidylate synthase (TYMS). The association between genetic variants within the TYMS gene and MTX-induced toxicity has been studied, but results are inconsistent. We determined the role of three previously described variants within the TYMS gene and MTX-induced oral mucositis in a prospective cohort of Dutch children with ALL and performed a meta-analysis of the previous results.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the presence of a 28-base pair tandem repeat (rs34743033; 2R3R), a single nucleotide polymorphism present within the 28-base pair repeat on the 3R allele (rs2853542; 3RG>C) and a 6-base pair deletion (rs15126436; TTAAAG) within the TYMS gene in germline DNA of 117 pediatric patients with ALL. Oral mucositis was defined as grade≥3 according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v.3.0. Data were analyzed for the individual rs34743033 (2R3R) and rs151264360 (6 bp deletion) polymorphisms, whereas rs2853542 (3RG>C) was combined with rs34743033 (2R3R) and analyzed according to predicted expression levels of TYMS: low expression (2R/2R, 2R/3RC and 3RC/3RC), median expression (2R/3RG and 3RC/3RG) and high expression (3RG/3RG). We performed a meta-analysis of the current literature on these polymorphisms in relation to oral mucositis using a fixed effects model.
RESULTS: The 2R2R genotype (rs34743033) was not significantly associated with developing MTX-induced oral mucositis compared with the 2R3R/3R3R genotypes, which was confirmed in a meta-analysis [odds ratio (OR): 1.17 (0.62-2.19)]. Patients carrying the low-expression TYMS genotype (2R2R, 2R3RC, 3RC3RC) had an increased odds of developing MTX-induced oral mucositis [OR: 2.42 (0.86-6.80)], which did not reach statistical significance. The 6-bp deletion [rs151264360, OR: 0.79 (0.20-3.19)] was not associated with the development of MTX-induced oral mucositis.
CONCLUSION: The TYMS 6-bp deletion and 2R3R polymorphism were not associated with MTX-induced oral mucositis. Validation studies in prospective cohorts are necessary to assess the possible role of the low-expression TYMS genotypes in relation to MTX-induced oral mucositis.

Zawiah M, Yousef AM, Kadi T, et al.
Early disease relapse in a patient with colorectal cancer who harbors genetic variants of DPYD, TYMS, MTHFR and DHFR after treatment with 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy.
Drug Metab Pers Ther. 2018; 33(4):201-205 [PubMed] Related Publications
Background Early relapse in colorectal cancer (CRC) after curative resection is mainly attributed to the key determinants such as tumor histology, stage, lymphovascular invasion, and the response to chemotherapy. Case presentation Interindividual variability in the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy between patients receiving the same treatment may be ascribed to the patients' genetic profile. In this report, we highlight a clinical case of a patient with stage II CRC who relapsed within a short period after starting adjuvant chemotherapy and was later found to have multiple genetic polymorphisms in the DPYD, TYMS, MTHFR, and DHFR genes. Conclusions Based on the clinical data of the patient and the key role of these genes in 5-fluorouracil pathway, we hypothesize that these variants may contribute to the drug response and early relapse in CRC.

Shang HS, Lu HF, Lee CH, et al.
Quercetin induced cell apoptosis and altered gene expression in AGS human gastric cancer cells.
Environ Toxicol. 2018; 33(11):1168-1181 [PubMed] Related Publications
Quercetin is one of the natural components from natural plant and it induces cell apoptosis in many human cancer cell lines. However, no available reports show that quercetin induces apoptosis and altered associated gene expressions in human gastric cancer cells, thus, we investigated the effect of quercetin on the apoptotic cell death and associated gene expression in human gastric cancer AGS cells. Results indicated that quercetin induced cell morphological changes and reduced total viability via apoptotic cell death in AGS cells. Furthermore, results from flow cytometric assay indicated that quercetin increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, decreased the levels of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ

Xu R, Feng F, Yu X, et al.
LncRNA SNHG4 promotes tumour growth by sponging miR-224-3p and predicts poor survival and recurrence in human osteosarcoma.
Cell Prolif. 2018; 51(6):e12515 [PubMed] Related Publications
OBJECTIVE: Accumulating data show that dysregulation of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) acts a critical role in a variety of malignancies. Among these lncRNAs, small nucleolar RNA host genes (SNHGs) are associated with tumour growth and progression. But, the molecular mechanisms by which SNHG4 contributes to osteosarcoma remain undocumented.
METHODS: The association between lncRNA SNHG4 expression and clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis in patients with osteosarcoma was analysed by TCGA RNA-sequencing data. Cell viability and colony formation abilities were respectively assessed by MTT and colony formation assays. LncRNA SNHG4-specific binding with miR-224-3p was verified by bioinformatic analysis, luciferase gene report, and RNA immunoprecipitation assays. Regulation relationship between SNHG4 and miR-224-3p expression was further evaluated by the rescue experiments.
RESULTS: The expression level of lncRNA SNHG4 was significantly elevated in osteosarcoma samples and cell lines as compared with the adjacent normal tissues, and SNHG4 high expression was associated with tumour size (TS) and poor prognosis in patients with osteosarcoma. Knockdown of SNHG4 suppressed cell viability and invasive potential, whereas ectopic SNHG4 expression displayed the opposite effects. Moreover, we found that lncRNA SNHG4 acted as a sponge of miR-224-3p, and miR-224-3p mimic reversed SNHG4 induced tumour-promoting effects in osteosarcoma cells. The expression of miR-224-3p depicted a negative correlation with SNHG4 in osteosarcoma samples and miR-224-3p low expression was associated with TS and poor survival in patients with osteosarcoma.
CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrated that LncRNA SNHG4 promoted tumour growth by sponging miR-224-3p and represented a poor prognostic factor in patients with osteosarcoma.

Hu T, Kumar Y, Shazia I, et al.
Forward and reverse mutations in stages of cancer development.
Hum Genomics. 2018; 12(1):40 [PubMed] Article available free on PMC after 29/11/2019 Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Massive occurrences of interstitial loss of heterozygosity (LOH) likely resulting from gene conversions were found by us in different cancers as a type of single-nucleotide variations (SNVs), comparable in abundance to the commonly investigated gain of heterozygosity (GOH) type of SNVs, raising the question of the relationships between these two opposing types of cancer mutations.
METHODS: In the present study, SNVs in 12 tetra sample and 17 trio sample sets from four cancer types along with copy number variations (CNVs) were analyzed by AluScan sequencing, comparing tumor with white blood cells as well as tissues vicinal to the tumor. Four published "nontumor"-tumor metastasis trios and 246 pan-cancer pairs analyzed by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and 67 trios by whole-exome sequencing (WES) were also examined.
RESULTS: Widespread GOHs enriched with CG-to-TG changes and associated with nearby CNVs and LOHs enriched with TG-to-CG changes were observed. Occurrences of GOH were 1.9-fold higher than LOH in "nontumor" tissues more than 2 cm away from the tumors, and a majority of these GOHs and LOHs were reversed in "paratumor" tissues within 2 cm of the tumors, forming forward-reverse mutation cycles where the revertant LOHs displayed strong lineage effects that pointed to a sequential instead of parallel development from "nontumor" to "paratumor" and onto tumor cells, which was also supported by the relative frequencies of 26 distinct classes of CNVs between these three types of cell populations.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that developing cancer cells undergo sequential changes that enable the "nontumor" cells to acquire a wide range of forward mutations including ones that are essential for oncogenicity, followed by revertant mutations in the "paratumor" cells to avoid growth retardation by excessive mutation load. Such utilization of forward-reverse mutation cycles as an adaptive mechanism was also observed in cultured HeLa cells upon successive replatings. An understanding of forward-reverse mutation cycles in cancer development could provide a genomic basis for improved early diagnosis, staging, and treatment of cancers.

Kelemen LE, Earp M, Fridley BL, et al.
rs495139 in the TYMS-ENOSF1 Region and Risk of Ovarian Carcinoma of Mucinous Histology.
Int J Mol Sci. 2018; 19(9) [PubMed] Article available free on PMC after 29/11/2019 Related Publications
Thymidylate synthase (TYMS) is a crucial enzyme for DNA synthesis. TYMS expression is regulated by its antisense mRNA, ENOSF1. Disrupted regulation may promote uncontrolled DNA synthesis and tumor growth. We sought to replicate our previously reported association between rs495139 in the

Tan B, Li Y, Zhao Q, et al.
ZNF139 increases multidrug resistance in gastric cancer cells by inhibiting
Biosci Rep. 2018; 38(5) [PubMed] Article available free on PMC after 29/11/2019 Related Publications
It has been reported that the expression of zinc finger protein 139 (ZNF139) and

Ferrer I, Quintanal-Villalonga Á, Molina-Pinelo S, et al.
MAP17 predicts sensitivity to platinum-based therapy, EGFR inhibitors and the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib in lung adenocarcinoma.
J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2018; 37(1):195 [PubMed] Article available free on PMC after 29/11/2019 Related Publications
BACKGROUND: The high incidence and mortality of lung tumours is a major health problem. Therefore, the identification both of biomarkers predicting efficacy for therapies in use and of novel efficacious therapeutic agents is crucial to increase patient survival. MAP17 (PDZK1IP1) is a small membrane-bound protein whose upregulation is reported as a common feature in tumours from diverse histological origins. Furthermore, MAP17 is correlated with tumour progression.
METHODS: We assessed the expression of MAP17 in preclinical models, including cell lines and patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), assessing its correlation with sensitivity to different standard-of-care drugs in lung adenocarcinoma, as well as novel drugs. At the clinical level, we subsequently correlated MAP17 expression in human tumours with patient response to these therapies.
RESULTS: We show that MAP17 expression is induced during lung tumourigenesis, particularly in lung adenocarcinomas, and provide in vitro and in vivo evidence that MAP17 levels predict sensitivity to therapies currently under clinical use in adenocarcinoma tumours, including cisplatin, carboplatin and EGFR inhibitors. In addition, we show that MAP17 expression predicts proteasome inhibitor efficacy in this context and that bortezomib, an FDA-approved drug, may be a novel therapeutic approach for MAP17-overexpressing lung adenocarcinomas.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate a potential prognostic role for MAP17 in lung tumours, with particular relevance in lung adenocarcinomas, and highlight the predictive pot0065ntial of this membrane-associated protein for platinum-based therapy and EGFR inhibitor efficacy. Furthermore, we propose bortezomib treatment as a novel and efficacious therapy for lung adenocarcinomas exhibiting high MAP17 expression.

Hu X, Akutsu Y, Suganami A, et al.
Low-dose hyperthermia enhances the antitumor effects of chemotherapy in squamous cell carcinoma.
Dis Esophagus. 2017; 30(7):1-7 [PubMed] Related Publications
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is a highly aggressive neoplasm and the sixth leading cause of global cancer-related death; the 5-year survival rate for esophageal cancer is only about 20%-25% for all stages. Therefore, improving the therapeutic effect is important. This study assessed whether low-dose hyperthermia (LDH) enhances the antitumor effects of chemotherapy. The antitumor effect of chemotherapy with/without LDH in the squamous cell carcinoma cell line SCCVII was evaluated. A comprehensive analysis was performed with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to study the hyperthermia-induced changes in the gene expression of SCCVII cell lines. In addition, the cytotoxic and apoptotic changes in the cells treated with LDH combined with/without 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) were measured. LDH combined with 5-FU (10 nM) strongly inhibited the cell growth of SCCVII, with flow cytometry showing an increased population of apoptotic cells. PCR showed that LDH promoted a 25.22-fold increase of p53 mRNA and 18.08-fold increase of Bax mRNA in vitro. MDR1 expression was decreased to 28.7% after LDH. This treatment can result in much higher efficacy of antitumor drugs. After LDH, the expressions of TS decreased to 12.06%, OPRT increased by 4.17-fold, and DPD did not change (1.03-fold). This transformations will induce susceptibility to 5-FU. LDH may be a useful enhancer of chemotherapy drugs for squamous cell carcinoma.

Fujiwara Y, Saito M, Robles AI, et al.
A Nucleolar Stress-Specific p53-miR-101 Molecular Circuit Functions as an Intrinsic Tumor-Suppressor Network.
EBioMedicine. 2018; 33:33-48 [PubMed] Article available free on PMC after 29/11/2019 Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Activation of intrinsic p53 tumor-suppressor (TS) pathways is an important principle underlying cancer chemotherapy. It is necessary to elucidate the precise regulatory mechanisms of these networks to create new treatment strategies.
METHODS: Comprehensive analyses were carried out by microarray. Expression of miR-101 was analyzed by clinical samples of lung adenocarcinomas.
FINDINGS: We discovered a functional link between p53 and miR-101, which form a molecular circuit in response to nucleolar stress. Inhibition of RNA polymerase I (Pol I) transcription resulted in the post-transcriptional activation of miR-101 in a p53-dependent manner. miR-101 induced G2 phase-specific feedback regulation of p53 through direct repression of its target, EG5, resulting in elevated phosphorylation of ATM. In lung cancer patients, low expression of miR-101 was associated with significantly poorer prognosis exclusively in p53 WT cases. miR-101 sensitized cancer cells to Pol I transcription inhibitors and strongly repressed xenograft growth in mice. Interestingly, the most downstream targets of this circuit included the inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs). Repression of cIAP1 by a selective inhibitor, birinapant, promoted activation of the apoptosis induced by Pol I transcription inhibitor in p53 WT cancer cells.
INTERPRETATION: Our findings indicate that the p53-miR-101 circuit is a component of an intrinsic TS network formed by nucleolar stress, and that mimicking activation of this circuit represents a promising strategy for cancer therapy. FUND: National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports & Technology of Japan, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development.

Liu M, Zhang H, Li Y, et al.
HOTAIR, a long noncoding RNA, is a marker of abnormal cell cycle regulation in lung cancer.
Cancer Sci. 2018; 109(9):2717-2733 [PubMed] Article available free on PMC after 29/11/2019 Related Publications
Dysregulation of the cell cycle is a key indicator of tumors, including lung cancer. Recently, the study of cell cycle inhibitors has made great progress in relation to lung cancer. However, the question of what kinds of patients can use cell cycle inhibitors has plagued us. Therefore, seeking an accurate and convenient marker for the abnormal cell cycle in lung cancer is very important. In the present research, we showed that lncRNA HOTAIR is an optimal indicator of cell cycle dysregulation in lung cancer. In the present study, we investigated HOTAIR-specific expression in lung primary tumor samples by analyzing the TCGA public database and 67 pairs of patients' tissues collected from our department. Through the TCGA public database KEGG analysis, HOTAIR correlates with the cell cycle pathway. We identified that HOTAIR and its 2 segments, HOTAIR3' and HOTAIR5', promote the cell cycle passing through the restriction point during G1-S phase by regulating the Rb-E2F pathway and influence non-small-cell lung cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion through epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the β-catenin pathway in vitro and vivo. Finally, we showed that the high expression of HOTAIR was associated with resistance to gefitinib through the dysregulated cell cycle. In conclusion, HOTAIR could be an ideal indicator of cell cycle dysregulation and guide the use of cell cycle inhibitors.

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Cite this page: Cotterill SJ. TYMS, Cancer Genetics Web: http://www.cancer-genetics.org/TYMS.htm Accessed:

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