scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Author

Jonathan W. Simons

Bio: Jonathan W. Simons is an academic researcher from Prostate Cancer Foundation. The author has contributed to research in topics: Prostate cancer & Cancer. The author has an hindex of 54, co-authored 139 publications receiving 23331 citations. Previous affiliations of Jonathan W. Simons include Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine & Emory University.
Topics: Prostate cancer, Cancer, Prostate, Immunotherapy, GVAX


Papers
More filters
Journal Article
TL;DR: The first clinical data indicating that HIF-1alpha may play an important role in human cancer progression are provided, indicating adaptations to a hypoxic microenvironment that are correlated with tumor invasion, metastasis, and lethality.
Abstract: Neovascularization and increased glycolysis, two universal characteristics of solid tumors, represent adaptations to a hypoxic microenvironment that are correlated with tumor invasion, metastasis, and lethality. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) activates transcription of genes encoding glucose transporters, glycolytic enzymes, and vascular endothelial growth factor. HIF-1 transcriptional activity is determined by regulated expression of the HIF-1α subunit. In this study, HIF-1α expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 179 tumor specimens. HIF-1α was overexpressed in 13 of 19 tumor types compared with the respective normal tissues, including colon, breast, gastric, lung, skin, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, and renal carcinomas. HIF-1α expression was correlated with aberrant p53 accumulation and cell proliferation. Preneoplastic lesions in breast, colon, and prostate overexpressed HIF-1α, whereas benign tumors in breast and uterus did not. HIF-1α overexpression was detected in only 29% of primary breast cancers but in 69% of breast cancer metastases. In brain tumors, HIF-1α immunohistochemistry demarcated areas of angiogenesis. These results provide the first clinical data indicating that HIF-1α may play an important role in human cancer progression.

2,338 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
05 Jan 1990-Science
TL;DR: A contiguous stretch of DNA comprising 370 kilobase pairs has now been cloned from a region of chromosome 18q suspected to reside near the DCC gene, which may play a role in the pathogenesis of human colorectal neoplasia, perhaps through alteration of the normal cell-cell interactions controlling growth.
Abstract: Allelic deletions involving chromosome 18q occur in more than 70 percent of colorectal cancers. Such deletions are thought to signal the existence of a tumor suppressor gene in the affected region, but until now a candidate suppressor gene on this chromosomal arm had not been identified. A contiguous stretch of DNA comprising 370 kilobase pairs (kb) has now been cloned from a region of chromosome 18q suspected to reside near this gene. Potential exons in the 370-kb region were defined by human-rodent sequence identities, and the expression of potential exons was assessed by an "exon-connection" strategy based on the polymerase chain reaction. Expressed exons were used as probes for cDNA screening to obtain clones that encoded a portion of a gene termed DCC; this cDNA was encoded by at least eight exons within the 370-kb genomic region. The predicted amino acid sequence of the cDNA specified a protein with sequence similarity to neural cell adhesion molecules and other related cell surface glycoproteins. While the DCC gene was expressed in most normal tissues, including colonic mucosa, its expression was greatly reduced or absent in most colorectal carcinomas tested. Somatic mutations within the DCC gene observed in colorectal cancers included a homozygous deletion of the 5' end of the gene, a point mutation within one of the introns, and ten examples of DNA insertions within a 0.17-kb fragment immediately downstream of one of the exons. The DCC gene may play a role in the pathogenesis of human colorectal neoplasia, perhaps through alteration of the normal cell-cell interactions controlling growth.

1,716 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that in human prostate cancer cells, basal-, growth factor- and mitogen-induced expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) alpha, the regulated subunit of the transcription factor Hif-1, is blocked by LY294002 and rapamycin, inhibitors of PI3K and FRAP, respectively.
Abstract: Dysregulated signal transduction from receptor tyrosine kinases to phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), AKT (protein kinase B), and its effector FKBP-rapamycin-associated protein (FRAP) occurs via autocrine stimulation or inactivation of the tumor suppressor PTEN in many cancers. Here we demonstrate that in human prostate cancer cells, basal-, growth factor-, and mitogen-induced expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) alpha, the regulated subunit of the transcription factor HIF-1, is blocked by LY294002 and rapamycin, inhibitors of PI3K and FRAP, respectively. HIF-1-dependent gene transcription is blocked by dominant-negative AKT or PI3K and by wild-type PTEN, whereas transcription is stimulated by constitutively active AKT or dominant-negative PTEN. LY294002 and rapamycin also inhibit growth factor- and mitogen-induced secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor, the product of a known HIF-1 target gene, thus linking the PI3K/PTEN/AKT/FRAP pathway, HIF-1, and tumor angiogenesis. These data indicate that pharmacological agents that target PI3K, AKT, or FRAP in tumor cells inhibit HIF-1alpha expression and that such inhibition may contribute to therapeutic efficacy.

1,487 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
10 Feb 2011-Nature
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented the complete sequence of seven primary human prostate cancers and their paired normal counterparts and revealed previously unknown balanced rearrangements, at which multiple intra-and inter-chromosomal loci exchange their breakpoint arms without any loss of genetic material.
Abstract: Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of male cancer deaths in the United States. However, the full range of prostate cancer genomic alterations is incompletely characterized. Here we present the complete sequence of seven primary human prostate cancers and their paired normal counterparts. Several tumours contained complex chains of balanced (that is, ‘copy-neutral’) rearrangements that occurred within or adjacent to known cancer genes. Rearrangement breakpoints were enriched near open chromatin, androgen receptor and ERG DNA binding sites in the setting of the ETS gene fusion TMPRSS2–ERG, but inversely correlated with these regions in tumours lacking ETS fusions. This observation suggests a link between chromatin or transcriptional regulation and the genesis of genomic aberrations. Three tumours contained rearrangements that disrupted CADM2, and four harboured events disrupting either PTEN (unbalanced events), a prostate tumour suppressor, or MAGI2 (balanced events), a PTEN interacting protein not previously implicated in prostate tumorigenesis. Thus, genomic rearrangements may arise from transcriptional or chromatin aberrancies and engage prostate tumorigenic mechanisms. Prostate cancer is a common cause of male cancer-related deaths. Complete genome sequencing of seven 'high-risk' primary prostate cancers and their paired normal counterparts now reveals previously unknown balanced rearrangements, at which multiple intra- and inter-chromosomal loci exchange their breakpoint arms without any loss of genetic material. The anomalies seem to arise through errors in transcription or abnormal chromatin structure, and genes affected include the known prostate tumour suppressor PTEN as well as MAG12, a gene not previously implicated in prostate tumorigenesis. Prostate cancer is a common cause of male cancer-related deaths. Complete sequencing of prostate cancer genomes now reveals previously unknown balanced rearrangements. Single-nucleotide resolution afforded by sequencing indicates that complex rearrangements may arise from transcriptional or chromatin aberrancies and engage prostate tumorigenic mechanisms.

1,189 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A new structural design involves encapsulating luminescent QDs with amphiphilic block copolymers and linking the polymer coating to tumor-targeting ligands and drug delivery functionalities, which raised new possibilities for ultrasensitive and multiplexed imaging of molecular targets in living cells, animal models and possibly in humans.

1,188 citations


Cited by
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The revised RECIST includes a new imaging appendix with updated recommendations on the optimal anatomical assessment of lesions, and a section on detection of new lesions, including the interpretation of FDG-PET scan assessment is included.

20,760 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 1990-Cell
TL;DR: A model for the genetic basis of colorectal neoplasia that includes the following salient features is presented, which may be applicable to other common epithelial neoplasms, in which tumors of varying stage are more difficult to study.

11,576 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
25 Nov 2009-Cell
TL;DR: The mesenchymal state is associated with the capacity of cells to migrate to distant organs and maintain stemness, allowing their subsequent differentiation into multiple cell types during development and the initiation of metastasis.

8,642 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Ludmil B. Alexandrov1, Serena Nik-Zainal2, Serena Nik-Zainal3, David C. Wedge1, Samuel Aparicio4, Sam Behjati1, Sam Behjati5, Andrew V. Biankin, Graham R. Bignell1, Niccolo Bolli1, Niccolo Bolli5, Åke Borg2, Anne Lise Børresen-Dale6, Anne Lise Børresen-Dale7, Sandrine Boyault8, Birgit Burkhardt8, Adam Butler1, Carlos Caldas9, Helen Davies1, Christine Desmedt, Roland Eils5, Jorunn E. Eyfjord10, John A. Foekens11, Mel Greaves12, Fumie Hosoda13, Barbara Hutter5, Tomislav Ilicic1, Sandrine Imbeaud14, Sandrine Imbeaud15, Marcin Imielinsk15, Natalie Jäger5, David T. W. Jones16, David T. Jones1, Stian Knappskog17, Stian Knappskog11, Marcel Kool11, Sunil R. Lakhani18, Carlos López-Otín18, Sancha Martin1, Nikhil C. Munshi19, Nikhil C. Munshi20, Hiromi Nakamura13, Paul A. Northcott16, Marina Pajic21, Elli Papaemmanuil1, Angelo Paradiso22, John V. Pearson23, Xose S. Puente18, Keiran Raine1, Manasa Ramakrishna1, Andrea L. Richardson19, Andrea L. Richardson22, Julia Richter22, Philip Rosenstiel22, Matthias Schlesner5, Ton N. Schumacher24, Paul N. Span25, Jon W. Teague1, Yasushi Totoki13, Andrew Tutt24, Rafael Valdés-Mas18, Marit M. van Buuren25, Laura van ’t Veer26, Anne Vincent-Salomon27, Nicola Waddell23, Lucy R. Yates1, Icgc PedBrain24, Jessica Zucman-Rossi15, Jessica Zucman-Rossi14, P. Andrew Futreal1, Ultan McDermott1, Peter Lichter24, Matthew Meyerson19, Matthew Meyerson15, Sean M. Grimmond23, Reiner Siebert22, Elias Campo28, Tatsuhiro Shibata13, Stefan M. Pfister16, Stefan M. Pfister11, Peter J. Campbell29, Peter J. Campbell30, Peter J. Campbell3, Michael R. Stratton31, Michael R. Stratton3 
22 Aug 2013-Nature
TL;DR: It is shown that hypermutation localized to small genomic regions, ‘kataegis’, is found in many cancer types, and this results reveal the diversity of mutational processes underlying the development of cancer.
Abstract: All cancers are caused by somatic mutations; however, understanding of the biological processes generating these mutations is limited. The catalogue of somatic mutations from a cancer genome bears the signatures of the mutational processes that have been operative. Here we analysed 4,938,362 mutations from 7,042 cancers and extracted more than 20 distinct mutational signatures. Some are present in many cancer types, notably a signature attributed to the APOBEC family of cytidine deaminases, whereas others are confined to a single cancer class. Certain signatures are associated with age of the patient at cancer diagnosis, known mutagenic exposures or defects in DNA maintenance, but many are of cryptic origin. In addition to these genome-wide mutational signatures, hypermutation localized to small genomic regions, 'kataegis', is found in many cancer types. The results reveal the diversity of mutational processes underlying the development of cancer, with potential implications for understanding of cancer aetiology, prevention and therapy.

7,904 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The reprogramming of gene expression during EMT, as well as non-transcriptional changes, are initiated and controlled by signalling pathways that respond to extracellular cues, and the convergence of signalling pathways is essential for EMT.
Abstract: The transdifferentiation of epithelial cells into motile mesenchymal cells, a process known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), is integral in development, wound healing and stem cell behaviour, and contributes pathologically to fibrosis and cancer progression. This switch in cell differentiation and behaviour is mediated by key transcription factors, including SNAIL, zinc-finger E-box-binding (ZEB) and basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, the functions of which are finely regulated at the transcriptional, translational and post-translational levels. The reprogramming of gene expression during EMT, as well as non-transcriptional changes, are initiated and controlled by signalling pathways that respond to extracellular cues. Among these, transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) family signalling has a predominant role; however, the convergence of signalling pathways is essential for EMT.

6,036 citations