A Large-Scale RNAi-Based Mouse Tumorigenesis Screen Identifies New Lung Cancer Tumor Suppressors that Repress FGFR Signaling
Menée à l'aide de modèles murins, cette étude identifie un groupe de gènes qui, en réprimant la signalisation FGFR, exercent une fonction de suppresseur de tumeurs dans les carcinomes épidermoïdes du poumon
To discover new tumor suppressor genes (TSGs), we developed a functional genomics approach in which immortalized but non-tumorigenic cells were stably transduced with large-scale short hairpin RNA (shRNA) pools and tested for tumor formation in mice. Identification of shRNAs in resulting tumors revealed candidate TSGs, which were validated experimentally and by analyzing expression in human tumor samples. Using this approach, we identified 24 TSGs that were significantly down-regulated in human lung squamous cell carcinomas (hLSCCs). Amplification of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1), which aberrantly increases FGFR signaling, is a common genetic alteration in hLSCCs. Remarkably, we found that 17 of the TSGs encode repressors of FGFR signaling. Knockdown of 14 of these TSGs transformed immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells and, in most cases, rendered them sensitive to FGFR inhibitors. Our results indicate that increased FGFR signaling promotes tumorigenesis in many hLSCCs that lack FGFR1 amplification or activating mutations.