PUBLICATION

KIT Suppresses BRAFV600E-Mutant Melanoma by Attenuating Oncogenic RAS/MAPK Signaling.

Authors
Neiswender, J.V., Kortum, R.L., Bourque, C., Kasheta, M., Zon, L., Morrison, D.K., Ceol, C.J.
ID
ZDB-PUB-170928-17
Date
2017
Source
Cancer research   77(21): 5820-5830 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Bourque, Caitlin, Ceol, Craig, Zon, Leonard I.
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Blotting, Western
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • MAP Kinase Signaling System/genetics*
  • Melanoma/genetics*
  • Melanoma/metabolism
  • Melanoma/pathology
  • Mutation*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf/genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf/metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit/genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit/metabolism
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/genetics
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/metabolism
  • Zebrafish/embryology
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish/metabolism
  • ras Proteins/genetics*
  • ras Proteins/metabolism
PubMed
28947418 Full text @ Cancer Res.
Abstract
The receptor tyrosine kinase KIT promotes survival and migration of melanocytes during development, and excessive KIT activity hyperactivates the RAS/MAPK pathway and can drive formation of melanomas, most notably of rare melanomas that occur on volar and mucosal surfaces of the skin. The much larger fraction of melanomas that occur on sun-exposed skin is driven primarily by BRAF- or NRAS-activating mutations, but these melanomas exhibit a surprising loss of KIT expression, which raises the question of whether loss of KIT in these tumors facilitates tumorigenesis. To address this question, we introduced a kit(lf) mutation into a strain of Tg(mitfa:BRAFV600E); p53(lf) melanoma-prone zebrafish. Melanoma onset was accelerated in kit(lf); Tg(mitfa:BRAFV600E); p53(lf) fish. Tumors from kit(lf) animals were more invasive and had higher RAS/MAPK pathway activation. KIT knockdown also increased RAS/MAPK pathway activation in a BRAFV600E-mutant human melanoma cell line. We found that pathway stimulation upstream of BRAFV600E could paradoxically reduce signaling downstream of BRAFV600E, and wild-type BRAF was necessary for this effect, suggesting that its activation can dampen oncogenic BRAFV600E signaling. In vivo, expression of wild-type BRAF delayed melanoma onset, but only in a kit-dependent manner. Together, these results suggest that KIT can activate signaling through wild-type RAF proteins, thus interfering with oncogenic BRAFV600E-driven melanoma formation. Cancer Res; 77(21); 5820-30. ©2017 AACR.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping