N-Myc is a downstream target of RET signaling and is required for transcriptional regulation of p18(Ink4c) by the transforming mutant RET(C634R)

Does subtyping of high-grade pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinomas have an impact on therapy selection?

Background

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (LCNEC) are characterized by a rapid progressive course. Therapy for SCLC has not much changed for decades, and in LCNEC controversies exist, favoring either SCLC-like or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)-like therapy. Three subtypes of SCLC identified in cell cultures, namely ASCL1, NeuroD1, and POU2F3 have been confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The fourth type based on the expression of YAP1 was questioned, and another type, inflamed SCLC, was proposed.

Methods

SCLC and LCNEC samples were investigated by immunohistochemistry for different subtypes. Additionally, immunohistochemical markers as potential tools to identify patients who might respond to targeted treatment were investigated. For validation a biopsy set was added.

Results

ASCL1, NeuroD1, and POU2F3 were expressed in different percentages in SCLC and LCNEC. Similar percentages of expression were found in biopsies. ATOH was expressed in combination with one of the subtypes. YAP1 and TAZ were expressed in some SCLC and LCNEC cases. HES1 expression was seen in few cases. Predominantly stroma cells expressed programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1). The dominant MYC protein was N-MYC. Aurora kinase A (AURKA) was expressed in the majority of both carcinomas, whereas fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) in few.

Conclusions

SCLC and LCNEC can be subtyped into ASCL1-, NeuroD1-, and POU2F3-positive types. AURKA expression and positivity for N-MYC protein was not associated with subtypes. AURKA and FGFR2 are both possible targets for inhibition in SCLC and LCNEC, but patients' selection should be based on expression of the enzyme. Combined chemo- and immunotherapy might be decided by PD-L1 staining of stroma cells.

Endothelial cell malignancies: new insights from the laboratory and clinic

Endothelial cell malignancies are rare in the Western world and range from intermediate grade hemangioendothelioma to Kaposi sarcoma to aggressive high-grade angiosarcoma that metastasize early and have a high rate of mortality. These malignancies are associated with dysregulation of normal endothelial cell signaling pathways, including the vascular endothelial growth factor, angiopoietin, and Notch pathways. Discoveries over the past two decades related to mechanisms of angiogenesis have led to the development of many drugs that intuitively would be promising therapeutic candidates for these endothelial-derived tumors. However, clinical efficacy of such drugs has been limited. New insights into the mechanisms that lead to dysregulated angiogenesis such as mutation or amplification in known angiogenesis related genes, viral infection, and chromosomal translocations have improved our understanding of the pathogenesis of endothelial malignancies and how they evade anti-angiogenesis drugs. In this review, we describe the major molecular alterations in endothelial cell malignancies and consider emerging opportunities for improving therapeutic efficacy against these rare but deadly tumors.

The BET bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 suppresses growth of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in patient-derived xenograft models

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the antitumor efficacy of the bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patient-derived xenograft (tumorgraft) models. A secondary aim of the study was to evaluate whether JQ1 decreases expression of the oncogene c-Myc in PDAC tumors, as has been reported for other tumor types. We used five PDAC tumorgraft models that retain specific characteristics of tumors of origin to evaluate the antitumor efficacy of JQ1. Tumor-bearing mice were treated with JQ1 (50 mg/kg daily for 21 or 28 days). Expression analyses were performed with tumors harvested from host mice after treatment with JQ1 or vehicle control. An nCounter PanCancer Pathways Panel (NanoString Technologies) of 230 cancer-related genes was used to identify gene products affected by JQ1. Quantitative RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and immunoblots were carried out to confirm that changes in RNA expression reflected changes in protein expression. JQ1 inhibited the growth of all five tumorgraft models (P<0.05), each of which harbors a KRAS mutation; but induced no consistent change in expression of c-Myc protein. Expression profiling identified CDC25B, a regulator of cell cycle progression, as one of the three RNA species (TIMP3, LMO2 and CDC25B) downregulated by JQ1 (P<0.05). Inhibition of tumor progression was more closely related to decreased expression of nuclear CDC25B than to changes in c-Myc expression. JQ1 and other agents that inhibit the function of proteins with bromodomains merit further investigation for treating PDAC tumors. Work is ongoing in our laboratory to identify effective drug combinations that include JQ1.

Key roles for MYC, KIT and RET signaling in secondary angiosarcomas

Background:

Angiosarcomas may develop as primary tumours of unknown cause or as secondary tumours, most commonly following radiotherapy to the involved field. The different causative agents may be linked to alternate tumorigenesis, which led us to investigate the genetic profiles of morphologically indistinguishable primary and secondary angiosarcomas.

Methods:

Whole-genome (18k) c-DNA-mediated annealing, selection, extension and ligation analysis was used to genetically profile 26 primary and 29 secondary angiosarcomas. Key findings were thereafter validated using RT–qPCR, immunohistochemistry and validation of the gene signature to an external data set.

Results:

In total, 103 genes were significantly deregulated between primary and secondary angiosarcomas. Secondary angiosarcomas showed upregulation of MYC, KIT and RET and downregulation of CDKN2C. Functional annotation analysis identified multiple target genes in the receptor protein tyrosine kinase pathway. The results were validated using RT–qPCR and immunohistochemistry. Further, the gene signature was applied to an external data set and, herein, distinguished primary from secondary angiosarcomas.

Conclusions:

Upregulation of MYC, KIT and RET and downregulation of CDKN2C characterise secondary angiosarcoma, which implies possibilities for diagnostic application and a mechanistic basis for therapeutic evaluation of RET-kinase-inhibitors in these highly aggressive tumours.

The HIV protease inhibitor nelfinavir down-regulates RET signaling and induces apoptosis in medullary thyroid cancer cells

CONTEXT

Mutations of RET tyrosine kinase are associated with the development of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). The heat shock protein (HSP) 90 chaperone is required for folding and stability of RET mutants. HSP90 is a molecular target for the HIV protease inhibitor nelfinavir (NFV).

OBJECTIVE

We hypothesized that treatment with NFV may lead to the inhibition of RET signaling and induction of apoptosis in MTC cells.

DESIGN

Two human MTC cell lines, TT and MZ-CRC-1, which harbor endogenous C634W or M918T RET mutations, respectively, were exposed to clinically achievable concentrations of NFV. JC-1 staining and caspase-3 cleavage assays were performed to measure mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptosis. Activation of RET signaling was examined by Western blot. Autophagy was monitored by the detection of the light-chain 3BII. Expression of HSP90 and LC3B were examined in 36 human MTCs.

RESULTS

At a therapeutic serum concentration (10 μM), NFV inhibited the viability of TT and MZ-CRC-1 cells by 55% and 10%, respectively. In a dose-dependent manner, NFV inhibited cyclin D1 and caused caspase-3 cleavage. NFV decreased the level of RET protein and blocked the activation of RET downstream targets (phosphorylated ERK, phosphorylated AKT, and p70S6K/pS6). NFV induced metabolic stress, activated AMP-activated protein kinase and increased autophagic flux. Pharmacological inhibition of autophagy (chloroquine) augmented NFV-inducible cytotoxicity, suggesting that autophagy was protective in NFV-treated cells. NFV led to mitochondrial membrane depolarization and induced both oxidative stress and DNA damage. An antioxidant (n-acetylcysteine) attenuated DNA damage and prevented NFV-inducible apoptosis. HSP90 overexpression was found in 17 of 36 human MTCs and correlated with metastases and RET mutations. LC3B was detected in 20 of 36 human MTCs.

CONCLUSIONS

NFV has a wide spectrum of activity against MTC cells, and its cytotoxicity can be augmented by inhibiting autophagy. Expression of NFV molecular targets in metastatic MTC suggests that NFV has a potential to become a thyroid cancer therapeutic agent.

Murine models and cell lines for the investigation of pheochromocytoma: applications for future therapies?

Pheochromocytomas (PCCs) are slow-growing neuroendocrine tumors arising from adrenal chromaffin cells. Tumors arising from extra-adrenal chromaffin cells are called paragangliomas. Metastases can occur up to approximately 60% or even more in specific subgroups of patients. There are still no well-established and clinically accepted "metastatic" markers available to determine whether a primary tumor is or will become malignant. Surgical resection is the most common treatment for non-metastatic PCCs, but no standard treatment/regimen is available for metastatic PCC. To investigate what kind of therapies are suitable for the treatment of metastatic PCC, animal models or cell lines are very useful. Over the last two decades, various mouse and rat models have been created presenting with PCC, which include models presenting tumors that are to a certain degree biochemically and/or molecularly similar to human PCC, and develop metastases. To be able to investigate which chemotherapeutic options could be useful for the treatment of metastatic PCC, cell lines such as mouse pheochromocytoma (MPC) and mouse tumor tissue (MTT) cells have been recently introduced and they both showed metastatic behavior. It appears these MPC and MTT cells are biochemically and molecularly similar to some human PCCs, are easily visualized by different imaging techniques, and respond to different therapies. These studies also indicate that some mouse models and both mouse PCC cell lines are suitable for testing new therapies for metastatic PCC.

N-Myc is a downstream target of RET signaling and is required for transcriptional regulation of p18(Ink4c) by the transforming mutant RET(C634R)

Inherited activating mutations in RET predispose humans to Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type-2 (MEN2). The MEN2A-specific mutation RET(C634R), RET2A, has been shown to simultaneously downregulate the CDKIs p18 and p27, and upregulate cyclin D1. Importantly, the loss of p18 is necessary and sufficient for RET2A-mediated hyperproliferation. The loss of N-Myc in mice results in embryonic lethality due to a lack of neuronal progenitor cells that fail to proliferate, correlate with accumulation of p18 and p27. Therefore, N-Myc may regulate expression of both CDKIs. Also, N-Myc is expressed predominantly in neuroendocrine cells that give rise to the primary cell types affected in MEN2A. Together these studies suggest that N-Myc is a downstream target of RET2A signaling that prevents accumulation of p18 and/or p27. We report that MAPK activation by RET2A leads to a transient induction of N-Myc mRNA and protein levels, and that N-Myc induction is required to maintain low p18 and p27 levels. Induced N-Myc levels correlate with increased binding of N-Myc to an initiator consensus binding site in the p18 promoter, and this binding is essential for RET2A-mediated transcriptional regulation of p18. Finally, loss of N-Myc induction prevents RET2A-mediated hyperproliferation. Our results demonstrate for the first time that N-Myc is a downstream target of RET2A signaling, and propose that induction of N-Myc by RET2A is a key step leading to lower p18 levels during MEN2A tumorigenesis.