Melanoma-Derived BRAFV600E Mutation in Peritumoral Stromal Cells: Implications for in Vivo Cell Fusion
Melanoma often recurs in patients after the removal of the primary tumor, suggesting the presence of recurrent tumor-initiating cells that are undetectable using standard diagnostic methods. As cell fusion has been implicated to facilitate the alteration of a cell’s phenotype, we hypothesized that c...
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MDPI AG
2016-06-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/17/6/980 |
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| author | Zsuzsanna Kurgyis Lajos V. Kemény Tünde Buknicz Gergely Groma Judit Oláh Ádám Jakab Hilda Polyánka Kurt Zänker Thomas Dittmar Lajos Kemény István B. Németh |
| author_facet | Zsuzsanna Kurgyis Lajos V. Kemény Tünde Buknicz Gergely Groma Judit Oláh Ádám Jakab Hilda Polyánka Kurt Zänker Thomas Dittmar Lajos Kemény István B. Németh |
| author_sort | Zsuzsanna Kurgyis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Melanoma often recurs in patients after the removal of the primary tumor, suggesting the presence of recurrent tumor-initiating cells that are undetectable using standard diagnostic methods. As cell fusion has been implicated to facilitate the alteration of a cell’s phenotype, we hypothesized that cells in the peritumoral stroma having a stromal phenotype that initiate recurrent tumors might originate from the fusion of tumor and stromal cells. Here, we show that in patients with BRAFV600E melanoma, melanoma antigen recognized by T-cells (MART1)-negative peritumoral stromal cells express BRAFV600E protein. To confirm the presence of the oncogene at the genetic level, peritumoral stromal cells were microdissected and screened for the presence of BRAFV600E with a mutation-specific polymerase chain reaction. Interestingly, cells carrying the BRAFV600E mutation were not only found among cells surrounding the primary tumor but were also present in the stroma of melanoma metastases as well as in a histologically tumor-free re-excision sample from a patient who subsequently developed a local recurrence. We did not detect any BRAFV600E mutation or protein in the peritumoral stroma of BRAFWT melanoma. Therefore, our results suggest that peritumoral stromal cells contain melanoma-derived oncogenic information, potentially as a result of cell fusion. These hybrid cells display the phenotype of stromal cells and are therefore undetectable using routine histological assessments. Our results highlight the importance of genetic analyses and the application of mutation-specific antibodies in the identification of potentially recurrent-tumor-initiating cells, which may help better predict patient survival and disease outcome. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T07:12:06Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T07:12:06Z |
| publishDate | 2016-06-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-2dfda976af6f4075b4ec52624073ce7d2022-12-22T02:56:50ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1422-00672016-06-0117698010.3390/ijms17060980ijms17060980Melanoma-Derived BRAFV600E Mutation in Peritumoral Stromal Cells: Implications for in Vivo Cell FusionZsuzsanna Kurgyis0Lajos V. Kemény1Tünde Buknicz2Gergely Groma3Judit Oláh4Ádám Jakab5Hilda Polyánka6Kurt Zänker7Thomas Dittmar8Lajos Kemény9István B. Németh10Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, HungaryDepartment of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, HungaryDepartment of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, HungaryMTA-SZTE Dermatological Research Group, Szeged 6720, HungaryDepartment of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, HungaryDepartment of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, HungaryMTA-SZTE Dermatological Research Group, Szeged 6720, HungaryInstitute of Immunology & Experimental Oncology, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten 58453, GermanyInstitute of Immunology & Experimental Oncology, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten 58453, GermanyDepartment of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, HungaryDepartment of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, HungaryMelanoma often recurs in patients after the removal of the primary tumor, suggesting the presence of recurrent tumor-initiating cells that are undetectable using standard diagnostic methods. As cell fusion has been implicated to facilitate the alteration of a cell’s phenotype, we hypothesized that cells in the peritumoral stroma having a stromal phenotype that initiate recurrent tumors might originate from the fusion of tumor and stromal cells. Here, we show that in patients with BRAFV600E melanoma, melanoma antigen recognized by T-cells (MART1)-negative peritumoral stromal cells express BRAFV600E protein. To confirm the presence of the oncogene at the genetic level, peritumoral stromal cells were microdissected and screened for the presence of BRAFV600E with a mutation-specific polymerase chain reaction. Interestingly, cells carrying the BRAFV600E mutation were not only found among cells surrounding the primary tumor but were also present in the stroma of melanoma metastases as well as in a histologically tumor-free re-excision sample from a patient who subsequently developed a local recurrence. We did not detect any BRAFV600E mutation or protein in the peritumoral stroma of BRAFWT melanoma. Therefore, our results suggest that peritumoral stromal cells contain melanoma-derived oncogenic information, potentially as a result of cell fusion. These hybrid cells display the phenotype of stromal cells and are therefore undetectable using routine histological assessments. Our results highlight the importance of genetic analyses and the application of mutation-specific antibodies in the identification of potentially recurrent-tumor-initiating cells, which may help better predict patient survival and disease outcome.http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/17/6/980cell fusionmelanomamutation detectionmacrophagefibroblastBRAFV600E |
| spellingShingle | Zsuzsanna Kurgyis Lajos V. Kemény Tünde Buknicz Gergely Groma Judit Oláh Ádám Jakab Hilda Polyánka Kurt Zänker Thomas Dittmar Lajos Kemény István B. Németh Melanoma-Derived BRAFV600E Mutation in Peritumoral Stromal Cells: Implications for in Vivo Cell Fusion International Journal of Molecular Sciences cell fusion melanoma mutation detection macrophage fibroblast BRAFV600E |
| title | Melanoma-Derived BRAFV600E Mutation in Peritumoral Stromal Cells: Implications for in Vivo Cell Fusion |
| title_full | Melanoma-Derived BRAFV600E Mutation in Peritumoral Stromal Cells: Implications for in Vivo Cell Fusion |
| title_fullStr | Melanoma-Derived BRAFV600E Mutation in Peritumoral Stromal Cells: Implications for in Vivo Cell Fusion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Melanoma-Derived BRAFV600E Mutation in Peritumoral Stromal Cells: Implications for in Vivo Cell Fusion |
| title_short | Melanoma-Derived BRAFV600E Mutation in Peritumoral Stromal Cells: Implications for in Vivo Cell Fusion |
| title_sort | melanoma derived brafv600e mutation in peritumoral stromal cells implications for in vivo cell fusion |
| topic | cell fusion melanoma mutation detection macrophage fibroblast BRAFV600E |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/17/6/980 |
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