SAHA-induced loss of tumor suppressor Pten gene promotes thyroid carcinogenesis in a mouse model.
Thyroid cancer is on the rise. Novel approaches are needed to improve the outcome of patients with recurrent and advanced metastatic thyroid cancers. FDA approval of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA; vorinostat), an inhibitor of histone deacetylase, for the treatment of hematological malignancies led to the clinical trials of vorinostat for advanced thyroid cancer. However, patients were resistant to vorinostat treatment. To understand the molecular basis of resistance, we tested the efficacy of SAHA in two mouse models of metastatic follicular thyroid cancer: Thrb(PV/PV) and Thrb(PV/PV)Pten(+/-) mice. In both, thyroid cancer is driven by overactivation of PI3K-AKT signaling. However, the latter exhibit more aggressive cancer progression due to haplodeficiency of the tumor suppressor, the Pten gene. SAHA had no effects on thyroid cancer progression in Thrb(PV/PV) mice, indicative of resistance to SAHA. Unexpectedly, thyroid cancer progressed in SAHA-treated Thrb(PV/PV)Pten(+/-) mice with accelerated occurrence of vascular invasion, anaplastic foci, and lung metastasis. Molecular analyses showed further activated PI3K-AKT in thyroid tumors of SAHA-treated Thrb(PV/PV)Pten(+/-) mice, resulting in the activated effectors, p-Rb, CDK6, p21(Cip1), p-cSrc, ezrin, and matrix metalloproteinases, to increase proliferation and invasion of tumor cells. Single-molecule DNA analysis indicated that the wild-type allele of the Pten gene was progressively lost, whereas carcinogenesis progressed in SAHA-treated Thrb(PV/PV)Pten(+/-) mice. Thus, this study has uncovered a novel mechanism by which SAHA-induced loss of the tumor suppressor Pten gene to promote thyroid cancer progression. Effectors downstream of the Pten loss-induced signaling may be potential targets to overcome resistance of thyroid cancer to SAHA.
Laboratory of Molecular BiologyCenter for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Xuguang
X
Zhu
Laboratory of Molecular BiologyCenter for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Dong Wook
DW
Kim
Laboratory of Molecular BiologyCenter for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Li
L
Zhao
Laboratory of Molecular BiologyCenter for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Mark C
MC
Willingham
Laboratory of Molecular BiologyCenter for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA chengs@mail.nih.gov.
Sheue-Yann
SY
Cheng
D018263:Adenocarcinoma, Follicular / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006877:Hydroxamic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000097:blood; D000077337:Vorinostat
D006877:Hydroxamic Acids; D014284:Triiodothyronine; D000077337:Vorinostat; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; C487757:Pten protein, mouse; D013974:Thyroxine
SAHA; genetically engineered mouse model; thyroid cancer; thyroid hormone receptors; tumor suppressor PTEN; tumorigenesis; vorinostat