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Xie Z, Janczyk PL, Shi X, Wang Q, Singh S, Cornelison R, Xu J, Mandell JW, Barr FG, Li H. Rhabdomyosarcomas are oncogene addicted to the activation of AVIL. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2118048119. [PMID: 37146302 PMCID: PMC9214494 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2118048119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is one of the most common pediatric soft-tissue cancer. Previously, we discovered a gene fusion, MARS-AVIL formed by chromosomal inversion in RMS. Suspecting that forming a fusion with a housekeeping gene may be one of the mechanisms to dysregulate an oncogene, we investigated AVIL expression and its role in RMS. We first showed that MARS-AVIL translates into an in-frame fusion protein, which is critical for RMS cell tumorigenesis. Besides forming a gene fusion with the housekeeping gene, MARS, the AVIL locus is often amplified, and its RNA and protein expression are overexpressed in the majority of RMSs. Tumors with AVIL dysregulation exhibit evidence of oncogene addiction: Silencing MARS-AVIL in cells harboring the fusion, or silencing AVIL in cells with AVIL overexpression, nearly eradicated the cells in culture, as well as inhibited in vivo xenograft growth in mice. Conversely, gain-of-function manipulations of AVIL led to increased cell growth and migration, enhanced foci formation in mouse fibroblasts, and most importantly transformed mesenchymal stem cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, AVIL seems to serve as a converging node functioning upstream of two oncogenic pathways, PAX3-FOXO1 and RAS, thus connecting two types of RMS associated with these pathways. Interestingly, AVIL is overexpressed in other sarcoma cells as well, and its expression correlates with clinical outcomes, with higher levels of AVIL expression being associated with worse prognosis. AVIL is a bona fide oncogene in RMS, and RMS cells are addicted to its activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongqiu Xie
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Pawel L. Janczyk
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Xinrui Shi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Qiong Wang
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
- Department of Urology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510120, China
| | - Sandeep Singh
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Robert Cornelison
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Jingjing Xu
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - James W. Mandell
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Frederic G. Barr
- Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Hui Li
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
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Patent highlights October-November 2020. Pharm Pat Anal 2021; 10:51-58. [PMID: 33594903 DOI: 10.4155/ppa-2021-0003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
A snapshot of noteworthy recent developments in the patent literature of relevance to pharmaceutical and medical research and development.
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