Cancer cell-autonomous TRAIL-R signaling promotes KRAS-driven cancer progression, invasion, and metastasis

Cancer Cell. 2015 Apr 13;27(4):561-73. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2015.02.014. Epub 2015 Apr 2.

Abstract

Many cancers harbor oncogenic mutations of KRAS. Effectors mediating cancer progression, invasion, and metastasis in KRAS-mutated cancers are only incompletely understood. Here we identify cancer cell-expressed murine TRAIL-R, whose main function ascribed so far has been the induction of apoptosis as a crucial mediator of KRAS-driven cancer progression, invasion, and metastasis and in vivo Rac-1 activation. Cancer cell-restricted genetic ablation of murine TRAIL-R in autochthonous KRAS-driven models of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) reduces tumor growth, blunts metastasis, and prolongs survival by inhibiting cancer cell-autonomous migration, proliferation, and invasion. Consistent with this, high TRAIL-R2 expression correlates with invasion of human PDAC into lymph vessels and with shortened metastasis-free survival of KRAS-mutated colorectal cancer patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / metabolism*
  • Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / genetics
  • Disease Progression
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, SCID
  • Models, Biological
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness / genetics
  • Prognosis
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) / genetics*
  • Receptors, TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand / metabolism
  • Receptors, TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand / physiology*

Substances

  • Receptors, TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand
  • Hras protein, mouse
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)