Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Oncogene. 2022 Jun;41(25):3423-3432. doi: 10.1038/s41388-022-02348-0. Epub 2022 May 16.
Studies have shown that Nrf2 is one of the most common mutations found in human tumors. To elucidate how this genetic change contributes to lung cancer, we compared lung tumor development in a genetically-engineered mouse model (GEMM) with dual Trp53/p16 loss, the most common mutations found in human lung tumors, in the presence or absence of Nrf2. Trp53/p16-deficient mice developed combined-small cell lung cancer (C-SCLC), a mixture of pure-SCLC (P-SCLC) and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. Mice possessing the LSL-Nrf2 mutation showed no difference in the incidence or latency of C-SCLC compared with Nrf2 mice. However, these tumors did not express NRF2 despite Cre-induced recombination of the LSL-Nrf2 allele. Trp53/p16-deficient mice also developed P-SCLC, where activation of the NRF2 mutation associated with a higher incidence of this tumor type. All C-SCLCs and P-SCLCs were positive for NE-markers, NKX1-2 (a lung cancer marker) and negative for P63 (a squamous cell marker), while only P-SCLC expressed NRF2 by immunohistochemistry. Analysis of a consensus NRF2 pathway signature in human NE-lung tumors showed variable activation of NRF2 signaling. Our study characterizes the first GEMM that develops C-SCLC, a poorly-studied human cancer and implicates a role for NRF2 activation in SCLC development.
研究表明,Nrf2 是人类肿瘤中最常见的突变之一。为了阐明这种遗传变化如何导致肺癌,我们比较了具有双重 Trp53/p16 缺失(人类肺癌中最常见的突变)的基因工程小鼠模型(GEMM)与 Nrf2 存在或不存在时的肺癌发展情况。Trp53/p16 缺陷型小鼠发展为小细胞肺癌(SCLC),是纯 SCLC(P-SCLC)和大细胞神经内分泌癌的混合物。具有 LSL-Nrf2 突变的小鼠与 Nrf2 小鼠相比,在 C-SCLC 的发生率或潜伏期方面没有差异。然而,尽管 Cre 诱导 LSL-Nrf2 等位基因重组,但这些肿瘤并未表达 NRF2。Trp53/p16 缺陷型小鼠还发展为 P-SCLC,其中 NRF2 突变的激活与这种肿瘤类型的更高发生率相关。所有 C-SCLCs 和 P-SCLCs 均为 NE 标志物(NKX1-2)阳性和 P63(鳞状细胞标志物)阴性,而仅 P-SCLC 通过免疫组化表达 NRF2。对人类 NE-肺癌肿瘤的共识 NRF2 通路特征分析显示 NRF2 信号的激活存在差异。我们的研究描述了第一个发展为 C-SCLC 的 GEMM,这是一种研究较少的人类癌症,并表明 NRF2 激活在 SCLC 发展中起作用。