Identification of a Notch transcriptomic signature for breast cancer

Bibliographic Details
Title: Identification of a Notch transcriptomic signature for breast cancer
Authors: Eike-Benjamin Braune, Felix Geist, Xiaojia Tang, Krishna Kalari, Judy Boughey, Liewei Wang, Roberto A. Leon-Ferre, Antonino B. D’Assoro, James N. Ingle, Matthew P. Goetz, Julian Kreis, Kang Wang, Theodoros Foukakis, Anita Seshire, Dirk Wienke, Urban Lendahl
Source: Breast Cancer Research, Vol 26, Iss 1, Pp 1-22 (2024)
Publisher Information: BMC, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens
Subject Terms: Breast cancer, Basal-like, Breast cancer stem cell, Notch signalling, Transcriptomic signature, Therapy, Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens, RC254-282
More Details: Abstract Background Dysregulated Notch signalling contributes to breast cancer development and progression, but validated tools to measure the level of Notch signalling in breast cancer subtypes and in response to systemic therapy are largely lacking. A transcriptomic signature of Notch signalling would be warranted, for example to monitor the effects of future Notch-targeting therapies and to learn whether altered Notch signalling is an off-target effect of current breast cancer therapies. In this report, we have established such a classifier. Methods To generate the signature, we first identified Notch-regulated genes from six basal-like breast cancer cell lines subjected to elevated or reduced Notch signalling by culturing on immobilized Notch ligand Jagged1 or blockade of Notch by γ-secretase inhibitors, respectively. From this cadre of Notch-regulated genes, we developed candidate transcriptomic signatures that were trained on a breast cancer patient dataset (the TCGA-BRCA cohort) and a broader breast cancer cell line cohort and sought to validate in independent datasets. Results An optimal 20-gene transcriptomic signature was selected. We validated the signature on two independent patient datasets (METABRIC and Oslo2), and it showed an improved coherence score and tumour specificity compared with previously published signatures. Furthermore, the signature score was particularly high for basal-like breast cancer, indicating an enhanced level of Notch signalling in this subtype. The signature score was increased after neoadjuvant treatment in the PROMIX and BEAUTY patient cohorts, and a lower signature score generally correlated with better clinical outcome. Conclusions The 20-gene transcriptional signature will be a valuable tool to evaluate the response of future Notch-targeting therapies for breast cancer, to learn about potential effects on Notch signalling from conventional breast cancer therapies and to better stratify patients for therapy considerations.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1465-542X
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/1465-542X
DOI: 10.1186/s13058-023-01757-7
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/f8003a5a92c14e34b1fab373cd274d48
Accession Number: edsdoj.f8003a5a92c14e34b1fab373cd274d48
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:1465542X
DOI:10.1186/s13058-023-01757-7
Published in:Breast Cancer Research
Language:English