Lef1 restricts ectopic crypt formation and tumor cell growth in intestinal adenomas.
SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021;
7:eabj0512. [PMID:
34788095 PMCID:
PMC8598008 DOI:
10.1126/sciadv.abj0512]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Somatic mutations in APC or CTNNB1 genes lead to aberrant Wnt signaling and colorectal cancer (CRC) initiation and progression via-catenin–T cell factor/lymphoid enhancer binding factor TCF/LEF transcription factors. We found that Lef1 was expressed exclusively in Apc-mutant, Wnt ligand–independent tumors, but not in ligand-dependent, serrated tumors. To analyze Lef1 function in tumor development, we conditionally deleted Lef1 in intestinal stem cells of Apcfl/fl mice or broadly from the entire intestinal epithelium of Apcfl/fl or ApcMin/+ mice. Loss of Lef1 markedly increased tumor initiation and tumor cell proliferation, reduced the expression of several Wnt antagonists, and increased Myc proto-oncogene expression and formation of ectopic crypts in Apc-mutant adenomas. Our results uncover a previously unknown negative feedback mechanism in CRC, in which ectopic Lef1 expression suppresses intestinal tumorigenesis by restricting adenoma cell dedifferentiation to a crypt-progenitor phenotype and by reducing the formation of cancer stem cell niches.
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