| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
Regular Articles |
From the Institute of Pathology,*
University of
Regensburg, Regensburg, and the Department of
Urology,
Ludwig Maximilian University,
Munich, Germany
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
To test this hypothesis, simple hyperplasia must be distinguished from flat or polypoid inflammatory lesions with reactive urothelial hyperplasia, which have been grouped under cystitis in our study. We investigated 12 patients with simple urothelial hyperplasias and simultaneously or consecutively biopsied papillary tumors using dual-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). FISH is a powerful tool for visualizing quantitative genomic alterations in single cells. Key changes in bladder cancer development are deletions on both arms of chromosome 9 and p53 gene alterations, possibly representing alternative pathways to malignant progression.7-9 Chromosome 9 deletions occur in 70% of all bladder cancers, whereas inactivation of the p53 tumor suppressor gene occurs in a high frequency in transitional carcinoma in situ and invasive bladder cancer.10 There is evidence that chromosome 9 deletions are an early event in papillary bladder cancer with involvement of at least three different loci (9p21, 9q13-31, and 9q32-33).11,12 Using gene-specific probes for 9q22 (Fanconi anemia complementation group C, or FACC),13 9p21 (CDKI2), and 17p13 (p53) and centromere probes for enumeration of chromosomes 17 and 9, we studied cells of 14 hyperplasias and 17 papillary tumors by FISH to detect deletions within these genomic regions. Furthermore, 12 AFE-positive biopsies of normal urothelium were investigated. In order to analyze urothelial cells without contaminating stromal cells, the urothelium was microdissected from the adjacent stromal cells. Ten of 14 simple hyperplasias showed evidence for genetic alterations involving chromosome 9, which were also found in the papillary tumors of these patients. Furthermore, 6 of 12 samples of normal urothelium showed chromosome 9 alterations. Using AFE-positive biopsies with normal histology and FISH after careful microdissection of the urothelial cells, we could show for the first time alterations of chromosome 9 in biopsies considered normal by histopathological examination.
| Materials and Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Cystoscopy was performed after intravesical instillation of 5-ALA
in patients participating in a clinical trial evaluating the
photodynamic diagnosis of bladder cancer.2
All patients
gave written informed consent for the study. Biopsies were obtained
from fluorescent lesions, immediately snap-frozen in the operating
room, and shipped on dry ice. Histologic diagnosis was established on
serial frozen sections stained with hematoxylin-eosin. Staging was
performed according to Union Internationale Contre le
Cancer14
and grading according to the World Health
Organization.6
Twelve patients with 14 simple urothelial
hyperplasias (two patients had two consecutive hyperplasias) and
simultaneously (n = 10) or consecutively
(n = 7) biopsied AFE-positive papillary
superficial tumors (15 pTaG1, 1 pTaG2, and 1 pT1G2) were selected for
genetic analyses (Table 1)
. Simple
hyperplasia was diagnosed as a lesion with thickened urothelium (>7
layers) in serial sections, excluding cases with significant
inflammatory infiltrate and edema in the adjacent stroma, as well as
cases with urothelial atypia.6
Samples were intentionally
limited to flat urothelial hyperplasia (Figure 1A)
because
intraepithelial papillary lesions, especially papillary
hyperplasia,15
often could not be separated from a pTaG1
tumor when small branches of urothelium were found in serial sections.
Four patients had lesions with identical locations in the bladder,
whereas the locations differed in eight patients. Also, 12 AFE-positive
biopsies of normal urothelium of seven patients with bladder cancer
were examined. Histology of these biopsies showed neither dysplasia nor
reactive inflammatory changes.
|
From each frozen sample a 4-µm frozen section was stained with
hematoxylin-eosin and the presence of tumor or hyperplasia was
confirmed. Two consecutive 15-µm sections were stained with methylene
blue for approximately 15 seconds. The tumor or hyperplasia was
separated from stromal cells by microdissection with a needle (22G)
under an inverted microscope (40x magnification). The microdissected
probes contained at least 90% urothelial cells (Figure 1C)
. The cells
were incubated in CT100 (citric acid/0.5% Tween) for 60180 minutes
at room temperature until cytoplasm of cells was dissolved. The cells
were pelleted on silanized glass slides by standard
microcentrifugation, fixed in freshly prepared methanol/acetic acid
(3:1), air-dried, and stored at -20°C for up to 3 months.
DNA Probes and Probe Labeling
For counts of chromosomes 9 and 17, biotin-labeled centromeric probes (D9Z1 and D17Z1, Oncor, Gaithersburg, MD) were used. These probes were combined with P1 probes, obtained from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/University of California San Francisco Resource for Molecular Cytogenetics. These probes have a length of approximately 6080 kb and are cloned in pAd10SacBII.16 The following probes were used: RMC09P007 for chromosome 9p21 (CDKI2/p16 locus), RMC09P008 for chromosome 9q22 (FACC locus), and RMC17P078 for chromosome 17p13 (p53 gene locus). DNA was isolated with alkaline lysis17 and labeled with digoxigenin-11-dUTP using standard nick translation protocols (Boehringer Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany).
Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization
FISH was performed as described by Sauter et al.18,19
Briefly, cells on slides were denatured in 70% formamide/2x SSC, pH
7.0, at 75°C for 2.5 minutes. After dehydration in graded ethanol
(70%, 80%, and 100% for 2 minutes each), samples were treated with
proteinase K (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) for 7 minutes at 37°C,
followed again by ethanol dehydration. Proteinase K concentration
varied between 0.4 and 0.8 µg/ml, depending on tissue preservation
and duration of slide storage. The hybridization mixture was denatured
for 5 minutes at 75°C and subsequently reannealed for 40 minutes at
37°C. Ten microliters of hybridization mixture (2030 ng
gene-specific probe, 510 ng unlabeled sonicated human placental DNA
(Sigma), 1 µl centromeric probe (Oncor) in 50% formamide, 10%
dextran sulfate and 2x SSC, pH 7.0) were applied to each cytospin.
Hybridization was overnight at 37°C. Metaphase spreads were used as
controls to assure specificity of the probes (Figure 1D)
. Furthermore,
for every hybridization cytospins of cultured urothelial cells (Urotsa,
John Masters, University Hospital, London) without any
alterations at the investigated gene loci were included to assure an
estimation of hybridization efficiency. The probes were visualized by
immunostaining in three steps: 10 µg/ml FITC-conjugated
anti-digoxigenin (Boehringer Mannheim), 0.3 µg/ml FITC-conjugated
anti-sheep IgG (Sigma), and 0.3 µg/ml Texas Red avidin (Vector,
Burlingame, CA) (eg, Figure 1E
). Counterstaining was performed with
DAPI in Vectashield mounting medium (Vector).
Scoring of FISH Signals
Cells were selected for scoring with DAPI staining according to morphological criteria. Clearly distinguishable small lymphocytes were disregarded and all other cells were scored. Slides were analyzed if >75% of cells were interpretable. Copy numbers for centromeres and specific gene regions were counted in 200 cells, if possible (minimum 60 cells for hyperplasias and papillary tumors, 45 cells for normal urothelium). Only cells with nonoverlapping and intact nuclei were counted. Cells without any signal were disregarded. All hybridizations were evaluated independently by two of the investigators (A.H. and K.M.) and the mean of both counts was used. As a measure of deletion, the percentage of cells containing either one copy of centromere 9 or 17 or fewer gene-specific signals than centromeric signals (defined as percentage of deletion) was calculated for each hybridization. The average percentage of deletion of 10 hybridizations of a normal urothelial cell line (Urotsa) and 6 hybridizations of dissociated normal urothelium from patients without bladder cancer was less than 15 ± 5% for every probe. Because there was no normal tissue available from patients treated in exactly the same manner as the investigated ones, a tumor was considered deleted for a specific chromosomal locus if the percentage of deletion was >40% (equivalent 2x mean ± SD), a conservative evaluation of the results. Monosomy and homozygous deletion were defined as more than 2/3 of all deleted cells having either of these two alterations.
| Results |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
|
| Discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
With these techniques, genetic alterations similar to papillary urothelial carcinomas were found in simple urothelial hyperplasias. Deletions of genetic material of chromosome 9 can be demonstrated in more than 70% of AFE-positive hyperplasias. The frequency of chromosome 9 deletions in the papillary tumors of these patients was 76%. The majority of these tumors (64%) showed a monosomy 9. In contrast, deletions of the p53 locus were rare in both simple hyperplasias and papillary tumors. These results are comparable with other studies using both FISH and loss of heterozygosity analyses for detection of chromosome 9 and p53 deletions in bladder cancer.7,9,11,12,18-21 Furthermore, in two of six investigated patients, chromosome 9 deletions were also detected in biopsies of normal urothelium. FISH results with the gene locus probe of p53 were counted normal in these biopsies.
It has recently been hypothesized that chromosome 9 alterations are an early event in the development of papillary bladder cancer.7,9,11 The finding that simple urothelial hyperplasias in patients with papillary bladder cancer have the same frequency of chromosome 9 alterations and are clonally related to the corresponding tumors provides strong evidence for this hypothesis. At least a subset of urothelial hyperplasias seems to represent preneoplastic lesions showing the same molecular alterations as related tumors. The increase of genetic alterations in papillary tumors versus hyperplasias in 50% of the patients may be interpreted as the existence of subclones, which may have accumulated genetic alterations progressively. Chatuverdi et al5 showed, in a study using a genetic-histological mapping approach of the entire bladder in bladder cancer patients, that there are deletions at several loci of chromosome 17 detected by loss of heterozygosity analysis in areas of urothelium which are considered benign by conventional histology. These data, together with the results of our study, support the hypothesis that many areas of the bladder are genetically altered in patients with bladder cancer. Genetic investigation of areas with different histology and large series of normal urothelial biopsies in bladder cancer patients could prove this hypothesis and provide insights into the first steps of bladder carcinogenesis. The methodology used in this study is considered of significant help in this regard.
Interestingly, in 1/3 of the investigated hyperplasias, deletions on chromosome 9p21/p16 seem to precede the deletion on chromosome 9q, whereas in only one case was a 9q alteration the earlier event. This is in contrast to data of Simoneau et al11 who found deletions in 9q without alteration of 9p in 4 of 37 papillary tumors. However, 11 cases in 110 transitional cell carcinomas (10%) having 9p deletions without 9q alterations are reported in the literature.22 In a series of multifocal papillary urothelial cancers, 9p21 deletions without alterations on 9q22 were found in an additional 8 tumors using the same methodology (data not shown). Recently, loss of heterozygosity studies demonstrated that inactivation of multiple tumor suppressors on chromosome 9 may occur during bladder cancer development.11,12 One of the two defined loci on chromosome 9q is located on 9q13-31 and is covered by the FACC probe for 9q22 used in this study. The other locus was mapped to 9q32-3312 and a novel gene, DBCCR1, showing frequent methylation-based silencing, was recently cloned in this region.23 Small subchromosomal deletions in this region would have been missed in this study. However, we do not assume to have underestimated the frequency of deletions at 9q because the majority of deletions involve the whole chromosome arm. Larger sample numbers need to be analyzed to clarify which of the deletions on chromosome 9 occurs first during tumorigenesis.
Thorough molecular investigation of AFE-positive simple hyperplasias using microdissection of these lesions, whole genome amplification by primer extension preamplification-polymerase chain reaction,24,25 and subsequent deletion mapping of chromosome 9 and other regions, combined with comparative genomic hybridization26 and FISH, will provide a broader picture of the molecular alterations already present in these lesions. The fact that in patients with 9p21 deletion as single genetic event in 3 of 4 corresponding papillary tumors a deletion of chromosome 9q or monosomy 9 was detectable, provides evidence that AFE-positive hyperplasias could be indeed an early neoplastic lesion in the urinary bladder and a good source of material to reveal the earliest molecular alterations in bladder carcinogenesis. In most patients in this study, the locations of hyperplasias and papillary tumors within the urinary bladder differed. This finding strengthens the argument that the simple hyperplasia may be a precursor lesion for bladder cancer.
Our findings may further support the hypothesis that AFE enables more complete excision of bladder lesions, including lesions that are invisible in white light endoscopy. While genetic alterations of simple urothelial hyperplasias and normal urothelium have been documented for the first time with this study, investigations of large series of patients with AFE-positive and -negative hyperplasias as well as normal urothelium and clinical follow-up of these patients are necessary to completely define the importance of urothelial hyperplasias in the multistep process of tumorigenesis in the urinary bladder.
| Acknowledgements |
|---|
| Footnotes |
|---|
Supported by Deutsche Forschungs Gemeinschaft grant 263/7-1 (to R.K. and M.K.) and grant 10-1096-Ha I from the Dr. Mildred Scheel Foundation of Cancer Research (to A.H. and R.K.).
Accepted for publication December 6, 1998.
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
M. J.H. Coenen, M. Ploeg, M. M.V.A.P. Schijvenaars, E. B. Cornel, H. F.M. Karthaus, H. Scheffer, J. A. Witjes, B. Franke, and L. A.L.M. Kiemeney Allelic Imbalance Analysis Using a Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Microarray for the Detection of Bladder Cancer Recurrence Clin. Cancer Res., December 15, 2008; 14(24): 8198 - 8204. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Gu, Y. Horikawa, M. Chen, C. P. Dinney, and X. Wu Benzo(a)pyrene Diol Epoxide-Induced Chromosome 9p21 Aberrations Are Associated with Increased Risk of Bladder Cancer Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., September 1, 2008; 17(9): 2445 - 2450. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S Schwarz, M Rechenmacher, T Filbeck, R Knuechel, H Blaszyk, A Hartmann, and G Brockhoff Value of multicolour fluorescence in situ hybridisation (UroVysion) in the differential diagnosis of flat urothelial lesions J. Clin. Pathol., March 1, 2008; 61(3): 272 - 277. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R Montironi, R Mazzucchelli, M Scarpelli, A Lopez-Beltran, and L Cheng Morphological diagnosis of urothelial neoplasms J. Clin. Pathol., January 1, 2008; 61(1): 3 - 10. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
T. D. Jones, M. Wang, J. N. Eble, G. T. MacLennan, A. Lopez-Beltran, S. Zhang, A. Cocco, and L. Cheng Molecular Evidence Supporting Field Effect in Urothelial Carcinogenesis Clin. Cancer Res., September 15, 2005; 11(18): 6512 - 6519. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Montironi and A. Lopez-Beltran The 2004 WHO Classification of Bladder Tumors: A Summary and Commentary International Journal of Surgical Pathology, April 1, 2005; 13(2): 143 - 153. [Abstract] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. Wallerand, A. A. Bakkar, S. G. D. de Medina, J.-C. Pairon, Y.-C. Yang, D. Vordos, H. Bittard, S. Fauconnet, J.-C. Kouyoumdjian, M.-C. Jaurand, et al. Mutations in TP53, but not FGFR3, in urothelial cell carcinoma of the bladder are influenced by smoking: contribution of exogenous versus endogenous carcinogens Carcinogenesis, January 1, 2005; 26(1): 177 - 184. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. Dyrskjot, M. Kruhoffer, T. Thykjaer, N. Marcussen, J. L. Jensen, K. Moller, and T. F. Orntoft Gene Expression in the Urinary Bladder: A Common Carcinoma in Situ Gene Expression Signature Exists Disregarding Histopathological Classification Cancer Res., June 1, 2004; 64(11): 4040 - 4048. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R Montironi, A Lopez-Beltran, R Mazzucchelli, and D G Bostwick Classification and grading of the non-invasive urothelial neoplasms: recent advances and controversies J. Clin. Pathol., February 1, 2003; 56(2): 91 - 95. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. H. N. Hopman, M. A. F. Kamps, E. J. M. Speel, R. F. M. Schapers, G. Sauter, and F. C. S. Ramaekers Identification of Chromosome 9 Alterations and p53 Accumulation in Isolated Carcinoma in Situ of the Urinary Bladder versus Carcinoma in Situ Associated with Carcinoma Am. J. Pathol., October 1, 2002; 161(4): 1119 - 1125. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Hartmann, G. Schlake, D. Zaak, E. Hungerhuber, A. Hofstetter, F. Hofstaedter, and R. Knuechel Occurrence of Chromosome 9 and p53 Alterations in Multifocal Dysplasia and Carcinoma in Situ of Human Urinary Bladder Cancer Res., February 1, 2002; 62(3): 809 - 818. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |