The T‐box transcription factor brachyury behaves as a tumor suppressor in gliomas

The oncogene brachyury (TBXT) is a T‐box transcription factor that is overexpressed in multiple solid tumors and is associated with tumor aggressiveness and poor patient prognosis. Gliomas comprise the most common and aggressive group of brain tumors, and at the present time the functional and clini...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of pathology 2020-05, Vol.251 (1), p.87-99
Main Authors: Pinto, Filipe, Costa, Ângela M, Santos, Gisele C, Matsushita, Marcus M, Costa, Sandra, Silva, Viviane AO, Miranda‐Gonçalves, Vera, Lopes, Celeste M, Clara, Carlos A, Becker, Aline P, Neder, Luciano, Hajj, Glaucia NM, Cunha, Isabela W, Jones, Chris, Andrade, Raquel P, Reis, Rui M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autophagy
biomarker
brachyury
Brachyury gene
Brain cancer
Brain tumors
Cell death
Copy number
DNA methylation
EMT
Gene deletion
glioblastoma
Glioma
Glioma cells
gliomas
Medical prognosis
Mutation
Neoplasia
Phagocytosis
Prognosis
Solid tumors
TBXT
Transcription factors
tumor suppressor
Tumor suppressor genes
Tumorigenesis
Tumors
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Summary:The oncogene brachyury (TBXT) is a T‐box transcription factor that is overexpressed in multiple solid tumors and is associated with tumor aggressiveness and poor patient prognosis. Gliomas comprise the most common and aggressive group of brain tumors, and at the present time the functional and clinical impact of brachyury expression has not been investigated previously in these neoplasms. Brachyury expression (mRNA and protein) was assessed in normal brain (n = 67), glioma tissues (n = 716) and cell lines (n = 42), and further in silico studies were undertaken using genomic databases totaling 3115 samples. Our glioma samples were analyzed for copy number (n = 372), promoter methylation status (n = 170), and mutation status (n = 1569 tissues and n = 52 cell lines) of the brachyury gene. The prognostic impact of brachyury expression was studied in 1524 glioma patient tumors. The functional impact of brachyury on glioma proliferation, viability, and cell death was evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. Brachyury was expressed in the normal brain, and significantly downregulated in glioma tissues. Loss of brachyury was associated with tumor aggressiveness and poor survival in glioma patients. Downregulation of brachyury was not associated with gene deletion, promoter methylation, or inactivating point mutations. Brachyury re‐expression in glioma cells was found to decrease glioma tumorigenesis by induction of autophagy. These data strongly suggest that brachyury behaves as a tumor suppressor gene in gliomas by modulating autophagy. It is important to note that brachyury constitutes an independent positive biomarker of patient prognosis. Our findings indicate that the role of brachyury in tumorigenesis may be tissue‐dependent and demands additional investigation to guide rational interventions. © 2020 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:0022-3417
1096-9896
DOI:10.1002/path.5419