Matko Čančer

Deregulated proliferation and differentiation in brain tumors

Neurogenesis, the generation of new neurons, is deregulated in neural stem cell (NSC)- and progenitor-derived murine models of malignant medulloblastoma and glioma, the most common brain tumors of children and adults, respectively. Molecular characterization of human malignant brain tumors, and in particular brain tumor stem cells (BTSCs), has identified neurodevelopmental transcription factors, microRNAs, and epigenetic factors known to inhibit neuronal and glial differentiation. We are starting to understand how these factors are regulated by the major oncogenic drivers in malignant brain tumors. In this review, we will focus on the molecular switches that block normal neuronal differentiation and induce brain tumor formation. Genetic or pharmacological manipulation of these switches in BTSCs has been shown to restore the ability of tumor cells to differentiate. We will discuss potential brain tumor therapies that will promote differentiation in order to reduce treatment resistance, suppress tumor growth, and prevent recurrence in patients.

FBW7 suppression leads to SOX9 stabilization and increased malignancy in medulloblastoma

SOX9 is a master transcription factor that regulates development and stem cell programs. However, its potential oncogenic activity and regulatory mechanisms that control SOX9 protein stability are poorly understood. Here, we show that SOX9 is a substrate of FBW7, a tumor suppressor, and a SCF (SKP1/CUL1/F‐box)‐type ubiquitin ligase. FBW7 recognizes a conserved degron surrounding threonine 236 (T236) in SOX9 that is phosphorylated by GSK3 kinase and consequently degraded by SCFFBW7α. Failure to degrade SOX9 promotes migration, metastasis, and treatment resistance in medulloblastoma, one of the most common childhood brain tumors. FBW7 is either mutated or downregulated in medulloblastoma, and in cases where FBW7 mRNA levels are low, SOX9 protein is significantly elevated and this phenotype is associated with metastasis at diagnosis and poor patient outcome. Transcriptional profiling of medulloblastoma cells expressing a degradation‐resistant SOX9 mutant reveals activation of pro‐metastatic genes and genes linked to cisplatin resistance. Finally, we show that pharmacological inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway activity destabilizes SOX9 in a GSK3/FBW7‐dependent manner, rendering medulloblastoma cells sensitive to cytostatic treatment.

Comparing the landcapes of common retroviral insertion sites across tumor models

Retroviral tagging represents an important technique, which allows researchers to screen for candidate cancer genes. The technique is based on the integration of retroviral sequences into the genom ...

Abstract 2688: A forward genetics screen of murine brain tumors identifies novel candidate genes involved in gliomagenesis

Glioma is the most frequent malignant brain tumor in adults. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) signaling is commonly activated in glioma. We have used a retrovirus-driven PDGFB-induced murine glioma model that causes tumors that closely resemble human gliomas of various grades. Knowing that retroviruses have a capacity to induce insertional mutagenesis, we have employed whole genome sequencing to identify potential genes that, together with PDGFB, drive glioma development. Gliomas were induced by RCAS virus injection into the brains of mice expressing the RCAS retroviral receptor from specific promoters. Genomic DNA from tumor cell lines was probed for retroviral tags and sequenced to identify genomic targets of the retrovirus. A streamlined analysis pipeline was developed for retrovirus integration detection and mapping to the reference mouse genome. Integration sites were analyzed and a common integration site (CIS) label was assigned to a gene, given that it was either tagged by a retrovirus more than once within a discovery set or found within the Retroviral Tagged Cancer Gene Database (RTCGD). In a small discovery subset of 15 murine gliomas, we have identified 40 CIS, of which 37 were validated by Sanger sequencing. When compared with previously identified CIS in RTCGD, 5.5% of them were shared with our older screen, where we overexpressed PDGFB from another retrovirus in order to induce glioma. Less CIS genes were shared with other published tumor models induced by viruses driven by other cancer genes/viruses. The majority of genes identified in our screen were tagged twice. However, Nfic, Cuecd1, Thra, Foxj1 and Nrxn1 were tagged three times, Ppfibp1 and Rhbg four times, and Mir29a/29b-1 seven times. As compared to control tumor lines, two top candidate genes, Mir29a and Ppfibp1, demonstrated significantly increased expression in tumor lines in were they were respectively tagged. Mir29a is often found downregulated in human tumors including gliomas, still high levels of Mir29a are sometimes found in certain aggressive cancers and in metastases. Interestingly, we found that specific PDGFR inhibition negatively regulates Mir29a, indicating a possible role for PDGF signaling in Mir29a regulation. Ppfibp1 has not been extensively studied in cancer. However, Ppfibp1 seems to have a subgroup-specific expression in human glioblastoma, making it an interesting candidate for further analysis. Here we present a new screening method that can be employed to identify genes involved in PDGFB-driven gliomagenesis. So far, we have identified 37 candidate genes by whole genome sequencing. Two of the most frequently tagged candidates, Mir29a and Ppfibp1 were upregulated as a consequence of retroviral mutagenesis. Their precise role in driving glioma formation in collaboration with PDGF is currently explored. Citation Format: Matko Cancer, Holger Weishaupt, Gabriela Rosen, Ignas Bunikis, Yiwen Jiang, Smitha Sreedharan, Sara Bolin, Ulf Gyllensten, Oren J. Becher, Lene Uhrbom, Adam Ameur, Fredrik J. Swartling. A forward genetics screen of murine brain tumors identifies novel candidate genes involved in gliomagenesis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2688.

Abstract 996: Metastasis and tumor recurrence from rare SOX9-positive cells in Group 4 medulloblastoma

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Tumor recurrence is the main cause of death in children with medulloblastoma (MB). MYCN is a marker for poor prognosis which is amplified in SHH and Group 4 but rarely in WNT and Group 3 subgroups of MB. The exact mechanisms for MB relapse are not known but recent findings (Ramaswamy et al. Lancet Oncol., 2013) suggest temporal differences within the four MB subgroups. For instance, SHH tumors recur locally while SHH-independent Group 4 tumors develop distant metastases. In order to study these processes further, we used a previously described transgenic mouse model of MYCN-driven SHH-independent MB (GTML mouse) to recreate the metastatic recurrence of such brain tumors in vivo. We previously showed that the expression of SOX9 transcription factor correlates well with SHH tumors and that only a few scattered SOX9-positive cells are found in SHH-independent GTML tumors similarly to Group 4 human MB. By using a combination of Tet-ON and Tet-OFF inducible systems we managed to target this rare population of SOX9-positive GTML tumor cells in vivo. These cells were able to form a distant recurrence after the tumor bulk in the mice was removed by using dox-inducible oncogene depletion. These relapses showed similar morphology and immunoreactivity of defined MB markers but presented generally higher levels of SOX9 compared to the primary GTML tumors. Additionally, we overexpressed SOX9 in cerebellar stem cells transfected with a mutationally stabilized MYCNT58A and injected them back into the cerebellum of adult mice. Surprisingly, the MB-like tumors that formed migrated and developed in the forebrain in contrast to the cerebellar tumors induced by the same cells transfected with MYCNT58A only. These findings suggest that increased levels of SOX9 drives migration of MYCN-driven MB cells. A similar correlation was found in Group 4 MB patients where isolated metastases had consistently higher SOX9 levels as compared to the corresponding primary tumor. Significance: We have developed a new mouse model for MB recurrence. We show how a rare population of SOX9-positive cells in SHH-independent MB is capable of initiating recurrence after primary tumor removal. The relapsed MB has similar characteristics to the initial tumor but develops at a distant site in the brain, in line with recent data from human tumors. Further characterization of cells with such properties will help to improve our understanding of the mechanisms behind metastatic MB recurrence and to develop treatments against those migrating cell populations. Citation Format: Vasil Savov, Grammatiki Fotaki, Marc Remke, Adrian M. Dubuc, Vijay Ramaswamy, Matko Cancer, Holger Weishaupt, Michael D. Taylor, Fredrik J. Swartling. Metastasis and tumor recurrence from rare SOX9-positive cells in Group 4 medulloblastoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 996. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-996