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Infertility is a risk factor for ovarian cancer (OvCa). The goal was to determine if antibodies to selenium-binding protein 1 (SBP1), an autoantibody we identified in patients with premature ovarian failure (POF), occurs in both infertility and OvCa patients, and thus could be associated with preneoplasia. Anti-SBP1 was measured by immunoassay against recombinant SBP1, in sera from OvCa (n = 41), infertility (n = 92) and control (n = 87) patients. Infertility causes were POF, unexplained, irregular ovulation or endometriosis. The percent of anti-SBP1-positive sera was higher in POF (P = 0.02), irregular ovulation (P = 0.001), unexplained causes (P = 0.02), late (III-IV)-stage OvCa (P = 0.02) but was not significant in endometriosis, benign ovarian tumors/cysts, early stage (I-II) OvCa or uterine cancer compared to healthy controls. Anti-SBP1 was significantly higher in women with serous (P = 0.04) but not non-serous (P = 0.33) OvCa compared to controls. Also, we determined if anti-SBP1 was associated with CA125 or anti-TP53, markers often studied in OvCa. Anti-TP53 and CA125 were measured by established immunoassays. The ability of anti-SBP1 alone to discriminate infertility or OvCa from controls or when combined with anti-TP53 and CA125, to identify OvCa was evaluated by comparing the area under the curve (AUC) in ROC analysis. Anti-SBP1 alone discriminated infertility (AUC = 0.7; P = 0.001) or OvCa (AUC = 0.67; P = 0.03) from controls. The sensitivity and specificity of OvCa identification was increased by combining CA125, anti-TP53 and anti-SBP1 (AUC = 0.96). Therefore, anti-SBP1 occurs in infertile women with POF, ovulatory disturbances or unexplained infertility and in serous OvCa. This suggests an autoimmune process is associated with the development of serous OvCa., (© 2017 Society for Reproduction and Fertility.)

Breast cancers arising in the setting of the hereditary breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are most commonly classified as basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) or luminal breast cancer, respectively. BLBC is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer associated with liver and lung metastases and poorer prognosis than other subtypes and for which chemotherapy is the only systemic therapy. Multiple immunohistochemical markers are used to identify the basal-like subtype, including the absence of estrogen receptor alpha, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. Forkhead box C1 (FOXC1) has been identified as a specific marker expressed in BLBC in general breast cancer cohorts. We examined an institutional cohort of breast cancer patients with germline BRCA1 (n=46) and BRCA2 (n=35) mutations and found that FOXC1 expression on immunohistochemical staining is associated with BRCA1 vs BRCA2 mutations [30/46 vs. 6/35]. In BRCA1 mutant tumors, FOXC1 was expressed in 28/31 BLBC tumors and 2/13 non-BLBC tumors, In BRCA2 mutant tumors, FOXC1 was expressed in 5/5 BLBC tumors and 1/30 non-BLBC tumors. In cell culture models of BRCA1-mutant breast cancer, FOXC1 is associated with increased proliferation and may serve as a marker for sensitivity to PARP-inhibitor therapy with olaparib.

Surface ectoderm (SE) cells give rise to structures including the epidermis and ectodermal associated appendages such as hair, eye, and the mammary gland. In this study, we validate a protocol that utilizes BMP4 and the γ-secretase inhibitor DAPT to induce SE differentiation from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). hiPSC-differentiated SE cells expressed markers suggesting their commitment to the SE lineage. Computational analyses using integrated quantitative transcriptomic and proteomic profiling reveal that TGFβ superfamily signaling pathways are preferentially activated in SE cells compared with hiPSCs. SE differentiation can be enhanced by selectively blocking TGFβ-RI signaling. We also show that SE cells and neural ectoderm cells possess distinct gene expression patterns and signaling networks as indicated by functional Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Our findings advance current understanding of early human SE cell development and pave the way for modeling of SE-derived tissue development, studying disease pathogenesis, and development of regenerative medicine approaches.

The Forkhead box C1 (FOXC1) transcriptional factor is a critical biomarker for basal-like breast cancer (BLBC). We recently reported that FOXC1 promotes cancer stem cell properties in BLBC by activating Smoothened (SMO)-independent Hedgehog (Hh) signaling, suggesting a FOXC1-mediated mechanism for BLBC cell function and anti-Hh therapy resistance.