Université de Fribourg

Putative cancer stem cells may be the key target to inhibit cancer cell repopulation between the intervals of chemoradiation in murine mesothelioma

Wu, Licun ; Blum, Walter ; Zhu, Chang-Qi ; Yun, Zhihong ; Pecze, Laszlo ; Kohno, Mikihiro ; Chan, Mei-Lin ; Zhao, Yidan ; Felley-Bosco, Emanuela ; Schwaller, Beat ; Perrot, Marc de

In: BMC Cancer, 2018, vol. 18, p. 471

Cancer cell repopulation during chemotherapy or radiotherapy is a major factor limiting the efficacy of treatment. Cancer stem cells (CSC) may play critical roles during this process. We aim to demonstrate the role of mesothelioma stem cells (MSC) in treatment failure and eventually to design specific target therapies against MSC to improve the efficacy of treatment in malignant mesothelioma.

Université de Fribourg

How asbestos drives the tissue towards tumors: YAP activation, macrophage and mesothelial precursor recruitment, RNA editing, and somatic mutations

Rehrauer, Hubert ; Wu, Licun ; Blum, Walter ; Pecze, Lazslo ; Henzi, Thomas ; Serre-Beinier, Véronique ; Aquino, Catherine ; Vrugt, Bart ; Perrot, Marc de ; Schwaller, Beat ; Felley-Bosco, Emanuela

In: Oncogene, 2018, vol. 37, no. 20, p. 2645–2659

Chronic exposure to intraperitoneal asbestos triggered a marked response in the mesothelium well before tumor development. Macrophages, mesothelial precursor cells, cytokines, and growth factors accumulated in the peritoneal lavage. Transcriptome profiling revealed YAP/TAZ activation in inflamed mesothelium with further activation in tumors, paralleled by increased levels of cells with...

Université de Fribourg

Stem cell factor-based identification and functional properties of in vitro-selected subpopulations of malignant mesothelioma cells

Blum, Walter ; Pecze, , László ; Felley-Bosco, Emanuela ; Wu, Licun ; Perrot, Marc de ; Schwaller, Beat

In: Stem Cell Reports, 2017, vol. 8, no. 4, p. 1005–1017

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an aggressive neoplasm characterized by a poor patient survival rate, because of rapid tumor recurrence following first-line therapy. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are assumed to be responsible for initiating tumorigenesis and driving relapse after therapeutic interventions. CSC-enriched MM cell subpopulations were identified by an OCT4/SOX2 reporter approach and...

Université de Fribourg

Identification of cis- and trans-acting elements regulating calretinin expression in mesothelioma cells

Kresoja-Rakic, Jelena ; Kapaklikaya, Esra ; Ziltener, Gabriela ; Dalcher, Damian ; Santoro, Raffaella ; Christensen, Brock C. ; Johnson, Kevin C. ; Schwaller, Beat ; Weder, Walter ; Stahel, Rolf A. ; Felley-Bosco, Emanuela

In: Oncotarget, 2016, vol. 7, no. 16, p. 21272–21286

Calretinin (CALB2) is a diagnostic marker for epithelioid mesothelioma. It is also a prognostic marker since patients with tumors expressing high calretinin levels have better overall survival. Silencing of calretinin decreases viability of epithelioid mesothelioma cells. Our aim was to elucidate mechanisms regulating calretinin expression in mesothelioma. Analysis of calretinin transcript...

Université de Fribourg

Establishment of immortalized murine mesothelial cells and a novel mesothelioma cell line

Blum, Walter ; Pecze, László ; Felley-Bosco, Emanuela ; Worthmüller-Rodriguez, Janine ; Wu, Licun ; Vrugt, Bart ; Perrot, Marc de ; Schwaller, Beat

In: In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Animal, 2015, p. 1–8

Mesothelial cells are susceptible to 10:38 05.06.2015asbestos fiber-induced cytotoxicity and on longer time scales to transformation; the resulting mesothelioma is a highly aggressive neoplasm that is considered as incurable at the present time Zucali et al. (Cancer Treatment Reviews 37:543–558, 2011). Only few murine cell culture models of immortalized mesothelial cells and mesothelioma...