Cancer articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    PALB2 is a BRCA1-/BRCA2-interacting protein and heterozygous mutations in PALB2 are associated with hereditary breast cancer predisposition. Here the authors show that human lymphoblastoid cells from heterozygous PALB2mutation carriers display abnormal DNA replication dynamics and DNA damage response.

    • Jenni Nikkilä
    • , Ann Christin Parplys
    •  & Robert Winqvist

  • Article |

    Loss of the tumour suppressor Rb1 alone is thought to be insufficient for tumorigenesis. In this study, Liu et al. demonstrate that cells in which all three Rb1 family members are inactivated can initiate tumour formation, but only if cell survival is ensured by the retention of cell–cell contacts.

    • Yongqing Liu
    • , Ester Sánchez-Tilló
    •  & Douglas C. Dean

  • Article |

    Hodgkin’s lymphoma has a genetic component that is poorly understood. In this study, Frampton et al. perform a genome-wide association study in German patients and combine the results with a previously published UK genome-wide association study to identify susceptibility loci at 3p24.1 and 6q23.3.

    • Matthew Frampton
    • , Miguel Inacio da Silva Filho
    •  & Richard S. Houlston

  • Article |

    Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) that harbour mutations in KRas can be separated into KRas-dependent and -independent subsets. By analysing transcriptome, proteome and phosphoproteome data from NSCLC cell lines, Balbin et al. show that KRas-dependent cell lines activate the Lck pathway.

    • O. Alejandro Balbin
    • , John R. Prensner
    •  & Arul M. Chinnaiyan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tumour biopsies contain contaminating normal cells and these can influence the analysis of tumour samples. In this study, Yoshihara et al.develop an algorithm based on gene expression profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas to estimate the number of contaminating normal cells in tumour samples.

    • Kosuke Yoshihara
    • , Maria Shahmoradgoli
    •  & Roel G.W. Verhaak

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hyaluronan is a component of the tumour extracellular matrix. Here, Chauhan et al. show that hyaluronan increases blood pressure in collagen-rich tumours by compressing vessel walls, and that reducing the level of hyaluranon with an angiotensin II inhibitor increases blood flow and drug penetrance in tumours.

    • Vikash P. Chauhan
    • , John D. Martin
    •  & Rakesh K. Jain

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Viruses contribute to the pathogenesis of certain cancers. Using massively parallel sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas to analyse viral expression in 19 tumour types, Tang et al. both confirm and reject previously described viral associations and present new information on viral integration and host interaction.

    • Ka-Wei Tang
    • , Babak Alaei-Mahabadi
    •  & Erik Larsson

  • Article |

    Many different factors contribute to the acquisition of drug resistance in cancer cells. Using single-cell analyses of leukaemia cells, the authors here provide evidence for an inductive mode of resistance, where cells express MDR1 in response to drug exposure, rather than selection of pre-existing, partially resistant cells.

    • Angela Oliveira Pisco
    • , Amy Brock
    •  & Sui Huang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    FGFR2 gene variation is associated with breast cancer risk but the molecular mechanism is unknown. Fletcher et al. provide a link between FGFR2 signalling and breast cancer susceptibility by demonstrating that FGFR2 signalling activates the ERa transcriptional network, which drives transcription of risk genes.

    • Michael N. C. Fletcher
    • , Mauro A. A. Castro
    •  & Kerstin B. Meyer

  • Article |

    The metabolic reaction catalysed by the isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) enzyme is commonly perturbed in some glioma subtypes due to gain-of-function mutations in the IDH1 gene. Here, Chaumeil et al.present a method that detects mutant IDH1 activity by measuring the levels of different hyperpolarized metabolites produced by wild-type and mutant IDH1.

    • Myriam M. Chaumeil
    • , Peder E. Z. Larson
    •  & Sabrina M. Ronen

  • Article |

    The microRNA-200 family members have a role in regulating tumour angiogenesis but the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this study, Pecot et al.demonstrate that miR-200 affects angiogenesis by altering endothelial and cancer cell cytokine secretion.

    • Chad V. Pecot
    • , Rajesha Rupaimoole
    •  & Anil K. Sood

  • Article |

    Pipecolidepsin A—commonly isolated from a marine sponge—is a promising anticancer agent but is challenging to synthesise in the lab. Here the authors describe the first total synthesis of this cyclodepsipeptide using a versatile strategy applicable to other similar compounds.

    • Marta Pelay-Gimeno
    • , Yésica García-Ramos
    •  & Fernando Albericio

  • Article |

    Aggressive types of breast cancer often exhibit constitutive activation of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB. Here, Yamamoto et al. show that, in basal-like breast cancer, NF-κB upregulates the Notch receptor ligand JAG1 in non-cancer stem cells and thereby induces proliferation of breast cancer stem cells.

    • Mizuki Yamamoto
    • , Yuu Taguchi
    •  & Jun-ichiro Inoue

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mutations in the metalloproteinase Zmpste24 preclude prelamin A processing and cause premature ageing. Here, de la Rosaet al.create mosaic Zmpste24 mice, revealing that cell-extrinsic effects are essential for accelerated ageing caused by prelamin A accumulation and that prelamin A reduces invasiveness of cancer cells.

    • Jorge de la Rosa
    • , José M.P. Freije
    •  & Carlos López-Otín

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Telomerase reverse-trancriptase promoter mutations have been recently found in human melanomas. Here, Nault et al.identify telomerase reverse-trancriptase promoter mutations as the most frequent somatic genetic alterations in hepatocellular carcinomas and as the first mutation identified in cirrhotic preneoplastic lesions.

    • Jean Charles Nault
    • , Maxime Mallet
    •  & Jessica Zucman-Rossi

  • Article |

    Reactivation of telomerase has been implicated in human tumorigenesis. Here, somatic mutations in the TERT promoter are reported in cancers of the central nervous system, bladder, follicular cell-derived thyroid and melanoma, thus demonstrating that TERTpromoter mutations are a frequent event in human cancer.

    • João Vinagre
    • , Ana Almeida
    •  & Paula Soares

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many patients with breast cancer develop resistance to the drug tamoxifen and relapse. Here Johansson et al. identify the nuclear receptor retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) as a marker of tamoxifen resistance and show that RARA expression correlates negatively with relapse-free survival of patients.

    • Henrik J. Johansson
    • , Betzabe C. Sanchez
    •  & Janne Lehtiö

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cancer-associated mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase are proposed to impair TET2-dependent DNA demethylation. By comparing the methylomes of IDH-mutant cancers, the authors identify the transcription factor EBF1 as a partner of TET2, suggesting a possible means for targeting TET2 to specific DNA sequences.

    • Paul Guilhamon
    • , Malihe Eskandarpour
    •  & Stephan Beck

  • Article |

    Tumour cells utilize a pool of the molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 to ensure correct protein folding in mitochondria. Here, the authors demonstrate that mitochondrial heat shock protein 90 regulates the folding of a subunit of the electron transport chain and that this can contribute to tumorigenesis.

    • Young Chan Chae
    • , Alessia Angelin
    •  & Dario C. Altieri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cell lines are widely used in cancer research to study tumour biology. Here Domcke et al.compare genomic data from ovarian cancer cell lines with those from clinical ovarian tumour samples and identify cell lines that most closely resemble the genomic features of high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

    • Silvia Domcke
    • , Rileen Sinha
    •  & Nikolaus Schultz

  • Article |

    Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) regulates angiogenesis and FAK inhibitors are currently developed as anticancer drugs. Here Kostourou and colleagues show that genetic FAK heterozygosity or low doses of a pharmacological FAK inhibitor unexpectedly increase angiogenesis and tumour growth in vitro and in vivo.

    • Vassiliki Kostourou
    • , Tanguy Lechertier
    •  & Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke

  • Article |

    The protein PHF20 is expressed in various cancers, but little is known about its cellular function. Here, Zhang and colleagues show that PHF20 regulates NF-κB signalling by inhibiting the interaction between its subunit p65 and the phosphatase PP2A, thereby maintaining NF-κB in an active state in the nucleus.

    • Tiejun Zhang
    • , Kyeong Ah Park
    •  & Gang Min Hur

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It has been hypothesized that the steroidal alkaloid dendrogenin A (DDA) is a natural metabolite. de Medina et al.show that DDA is produced in mammalian tissues from 5,6α-epoxy-cholesterol and histamine metabolism, and that the compound displays cell differentiation and anti-tumour activities.

    • Philippe de Medina
    • , Michael R. Paillasse
    •  & Marc Poirot

  • Article |

    Aberrant production of oestrogens by adipose stromal cells is a driving factor in oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Here the authors discover that oestrogen synthesis in adipose tissue is regulated by mechanical stress, and reveal how this effect is mediated.

    • Sagar Ghosh
    • , Keith Ashcraft
    •  & Rong Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tumour suppressors can be inactivated in cancer not only as a result of mutation, but also by proteolytic degradation. Here the authors show that, during glioma development, the accumulation of the ubiquitin ligase praja2 sustains tumour growth by degrading MOB1—a core component of the Hippo pathway.

    • Luca Lignitto
    • , Antonietta Arcella
    •  & Antonio Feliciello

  • Article |

    Cancer-associated fibroblasts promote tumour growth and metastasis by secreting signalling molecules. Jung and colleagues show that prostate cancer cells secrete CXC chemokine ligand 16, which recruits mesenchymal stem cells and converts them into cancer-associated fibroblasts.

    • Younghun Jung
    • , Jin Koo Kim
    •  & Russell S. Taichman

  • Article |

    Centrosome duplication during cell division is controlled by the polo-like kinase PLK4. Nakamura et al. reveal how stress-activated protein kinase and the tumour suppressor p53 act together to regulate PLK4, and show that their combined loss in cancer cells leads to the appearance of supernumerary centrosomes.

    • Takanori Nakamura
    • , Haruo Saito
    •  & Mutsuhiro Takekawa

  • Article |

    Directly comparing patterns of gene expression in matched normal and cancerous tissues provides a powerful tool to identify drivers of tumour progression. Here the authors discover genes that are recruited into mitotic signalling networks in lung adenocarcinoma.

    • Il-Jin Kim
    • , David Quigley
    •  & Allan Balmain

  • Article |

    Epithelial cells in the colon mainly use microbial fermentation products as energy sources. Here Okada et al. find that lactate produced by commensal Lactobacillus murinusregulates colonic epithelial cell proliferation and show that mice are more susceptible to carcinogens when refed after a period of starvation.

    • Toshihiko Okada
    • , Shinji Fukuda
    •  & Taeko Dohi

  • Article |

    The TMPRSS2/ERG gene fusion is frequently expressed in prostate cancers, however, its clinical significance is unclear. Polsen et al. show that this gene fusion is expressed monoallelically in prostate cancer stem cells, and may influence their self-renewal and maintenance.

    • Euan S. Polson
    • , John L. Lewis
    •  & Norman J. Maitland

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