Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2009.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2005. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

In cancer, aberrant activation of developmental signaling pathways such as the Hippo Pathway has been shown to drive proliferation and invasion of cancer cells. Therefore, understanding the normal function of the Hippo Pathway during embryonic development can provide critical insight into how aberrant activity contributes to tumorigenesis. This dissertation explores the role of the Hippo Pathway members YAP and TAZ in gastrointestinal (GI) development and tumorigenesis. I use mouse genetics to systematically dissect the roles of YAP/TAZ in the endoderm-derived gastrointestinal epithelia and mesoderm-derived gastrointestinal mesenchyme during mammalian development. In the GI epithelium, I demonstrate that YAP/TAZ are dispensable for development and homeostasis. However, YAP/TAZ are required for Wnt pathway-driven tumorigenesis. I find that YAP/TAZ are direct transcriptional targets of Wnt/TCF4 signaling. In the GI mesenchyme, I describe a previously unknown requirement for YAP/TAZ activity during mammalian GI development. YAP/TAZ are involved in normal GI mesenchymal differentiation and function as transcriptional co-repressors in a progenitor cell population. In this way, YAP/TAZ act as molecular gatekeepers prior to Hedgehog-mediated differentiation into smooth muscle cells. This work unveils a previously unknown requirement for Hippo pathway signaling in the mammalian GI tract and a novel mechanism wherein YAP/TAZ function as transcriptional co-repressors to maintain a mesenchymal progenitor cell population.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the most lethal malignancies in the United States, with an average five-year survival rate of just 6.7%. One unifying aspect of PDAC is mutational activation of the KRAS oncogene, which occurs in over 90% of PDAC. Therefore, inhibiting KRAS function is likely an effective therapeutic strategy for this disease, and current research in our lab and others is focused on identifying downstream effectors of KRAS signaling that may be therapeutic targets. miRNAs are powerful regulators of gene expression that can behave as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Dysregulation of miRNA expression is commonly observed in human tumors, including PDAC. The mir-17~92 cluster of miRNAs is an established oncogene in a variety of tumor contexts, and members of the mir-17~92 cluster are upregulated in PDAC, but their role has not been explored in vivo. This dissertation encompasses two studies exploring the role of miRNAs in pancreatic tumorigenesis. In Chapter II, I demonstrate that deletion of the mir-17~92 cluster impairs PDAC precursor lesion formation and maintenance, and correlates with reduced ERK signaling in these lesions. mir-17~92 deficient tumors and cell lines are also less invasive, which I attribute to the loss of the miR-19 family of miRNAs. In Chapter III, I find that Dicer heterozygosity inhibits PDAC metastasis, and that this phenotype is attributable to an increased sensitivity to anoikis. Ongoing experiments will determine whether shifts in particular miRNA signatures between cell lines can be attributed to this phenotype. Together these findings illustrate the importance of miRNA biogenesis, and the mir-17~92 cluster in particular, in supporting PDAC development and progression.

Beclin 1 is a haplo-insufficient tumor suppressor that is decreased in many human tumors. The function of Beclin 1 in cancer has been attributed primarily to its role in the degradative process of autophagy. However, the role of autophagy itself in tumorigenesis is context-dependent and can be both preventive and promoting. Due to its dual function in cancer a better understanding of this process is necessary to develop potential novel cancer therapies. To gain insight into the role of autophagy in breast carcinoma, I analyzed the autophagydependency of different subtypes of breast cancer. My results implicate that triple-negative breast carcinoma cells are more dependent on autophagy than luminal breast carcinoma cells. Chemical inhibition of autophagy decreased the tumorigenicity of triple-negative breast carcinoma cells with regard to proliferation and anchorage-independent growth. However, RNAi-mediated suppression of two autophagy genes, ATG5 and Beclin 1, revealed different outcomes. While suppression of ATG5 decreased glycolysis, Beclin 1 depletion did not affect the glycolytic rates. These results suggest autophagy-independent pro-tumorigenic effects of loss of Beclin 1 in cancer. Beclin 1 is a core component of the Vps34/Class III PI3K (PI3KC3) and Vps15/p150 complex that regulates multiple membrane trafficking events. I describe a novel mechanism of action for Beclin 1 in breast cancer involving its control of growth factor receptor signaling. I identify a specific stage of early endosome maturation that is regulated by Beclin 1, the transition of APPL1- containing phosphatidyIinositol 3-phosphate-negative (PI3P-) endosomes to PI3P+ endosomes. Beclin 1 regulates PI3P production in response to growth factor stimulation to control the residency time of growth factor receptors in the PI3P-/APPL+ signaling competent compartment. As a result, suppression of BECN1 sustains growth factor stimulated AKT and ERK activation resulting in increased breast carcinoma cell invasion. In human breast tumors, Beclin 1 expression is inversely correlated with AKT and ERK phosphorylation. Taken together my data identify a novel role for Beclin 1 in regulating growth factor signaling and reveal a mechanism by which loss of Beclin 1 expression would enhance breast cancer progression independent of its impact on autophagy.