Epigenetic Factors In Pathogenesis Research Articles

TAMI-60. EXPLORING METABOLIC DIFFERENCES IN VARYING GRADES OF MENINGIOMAS THROUGH NONTARGETED MASS SPECTROMETRY

Abstract Emerging molecular data demonstrates the importance of genomic and epigenetic factors in pathogenesis of meningioma. Understanding the metabolic landscape using mass spectrometry is needed to overcome significant uncertainty in predicting tumor behavior and the risk of recurrence. Current technologies lack sensitivity and selectivity, which hinders the discovery of potential novel diagnostic and prognostic features. Here, we present a nontargeted metabolomics approach applied to meningiomas for biomarker discovery and identification of potential therapeutic targets. Fresh frozen tissue from 36 patients (57% women, 43% men; mean age: 48) who underwent surgical resection for newly diagnosed meningiomas and 9 patient samples with non-neoplastic dura were used for case/control comparison. Additionally, 16 patient-derived meningioma cell lines (Grade I-III), 2 immortalized human cell lines (IOMM-Lee and Ch157MN) and immortalized arachnoid cells were used to further explore metabolic changes in meningiomas. Metabolites were extracted from tissue and cells for GC-TOF (primary metabolism), RPLC ESI (±) (lipidomics) and HILIC ESI (±) (biogenic amines) coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry for analysis. Metabolites were identified using authentic standards, retention time, and MS2 fragmentation. Over one thousand known metabolites were identified and annotated as well as over 300 unknown metabolites. Metabolites were grouped into one of fifteen classes based on chemical ontology and function. Bis(monoacylglycero)phosphates were over 2-fold increase in atypical (Grade II) meningiomas versus Grade I, indicating lysosomal activation. One carbon metabolism pathway showed significant upregulation in neoplastic tissue vs. tumor involved dura, as well as neoplastic cells compared to arachnoid cells, indicating folate-dependent pathways as a potential therapeutic target. Using novel combined untargeted metabolomics, we found multiple classes of metabolites that were either enriched or suppressed in neoplastic tissue and cells compared to non-neoplastic cells. Further studies are warranted for a better understanding of possible oncogenic signaling pathways and to detect potential biomarkers useful for diagnosis and treatment.

"RADIOTRANSCRIPTOMICS": A synergy of imaging and transcriptomics in clinical assessment.

Recent advances in quantitative imaging and "omics" technology have generated a wealth of mineable biological "big data". With the push towards a P4 "predictive, preventive, personalized, and participatory" approach to medicine, researchers began integrating complementary tools to further tune existing diagnostic and therapeutic models. The field of radiogenomics has long pioneered such multidisciplinary investigations in neuroscience and oncology, correlating genotypic and phenotypic signatures to study structural and functional changes in relation to altered molecular behavior. Given the innate dynamic nature of complex disorders and the role of environmental and epigenetic factors in pathogenesis, the transcriptome can further elucidate serial modifications undetected at the genome level. We therefore propose "radiotranscriptomics" as a new member of the P4 medicine initiative, combining transcriptome information, including gene expression and isoform variation, and quantitative image annotations.