BACKGROUND & AIMS: Resistance of metastatic human colorectal cancer cells to drugs that block epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor signaling could be caused by aberrant activity of other receptor tyrosine kinases, activating overlapping signaling pathways. One of these receptor tyrosine kinases could be MET, the receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). We investigated how MET signaling, and its interaction with CD44 (a putative MET coreceptor regulated by Wnt signaling and highly expressed by intestinal stem cells [ISCs] and adenomas) affects intestinal homeostasis, regeneration, and adenoma formation in mini-gut organoids and mice.

METHODS

We established organoid cultures from ISCs stimulated with HGF or EGF and assessed intestinal differentiation by immunohistochemistry. Mice with total epithelial disruption of MET (Ah/Met/LacZ) or ISC-specific disruption of MET (Lgr5/Met/LacZ) and control mice (Ah/Met/LacZ, Lgr5/Met/LacZ) were exposed to 10 Gy total body irradiation; intestinal tissues were collected, and homeostasis and regeneration were assessed by immunohistochemistry. We investigated adenoma organoid expansion stimulated by HGF or EGF using adenomas derived from Lgr5/Met/Apc and Lgr5/Met/Apc mice. The same mice were evaluated for adenoma prevalence and size. We also quantified adenomas in Ah/Met/Apc mice compared with Ah/Met/Apc control mice. We studied expansion of organoids generated from crypts and adenomas, stimulated by HGF or EGF, that were derived from mice expressing different CD44 splice variants (Cd44, Cd44, Cd44, or Cd44 mice).

RESULTS

Crypts incubated with EGF or HGF expanded into self-organizing mini-guts with similar levels of efficacy and contained all differentiated cell lineages. MET-deficient mice did not have defects in intestinal homeostasis. Total body irradiation reduced numbers of proliferating crypts in Ah/Met/LacZ mice. Lgr5/Met/LacZ mice had impaired regeneration of MET-deficient ISCs. Adenoma organoids stimulated with EGF or HGF expanded to almost twice the size of nonstimulated organoids. MET-deficient adenoma organoids did not respond to HGF stimulation, but did respond to EGF. ISC-specific disruption of Met (Lgr5/Met/Apc mice) caused a twofold increase in apoptosis in microadenomas, resulting in an approximately 50% reduction of microadenoma numbers and significantly reduced average adenoma size. Total epithelial disruption of Met (Ah/Met/Apc mice) resulted in an approximate 50% reduction in (micro)adenoma numbers. Intestinal crypts from Cd44 mice did not expand to the same extent as crypts from Cd44 mice on stimulation with HGF, but had the same response to EGF. The negative effect on HGF-mediated growth was overcome by expression of CD44v4-10, but not by CD44s. Similarly, HGF-mediated expansion of adenoma organoids required CD44v4-10.

CONCLUSIONS

In studies of intestinal organoid cultures and mice with inducible deletion of MET, we found HGF receptor signaling to regulate intestinal homeostasis and regeneration, as well as adenoma formation. These activities of MET are promoted by the stem cell CD44 isoform CD44v4-10. Our findings provide rationale for targeting signaling via MET and CD44 during anti-EGF receptor therapy of patients with colorectal cancer or in patients resistant to EGF receptor inhibitors.