p53 governs an AT1 differentiation programme in lung cancer suppression.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide1. Mutations in the tumour suppressor gene TP53 occur in 50% of lung adenocarcinomas (LUADs) and are linked to poor prognosis1-4, but how p53 suppresses LUAD development remains enigmatic. We show here that p53 suppresses LUAD by governing cell state, specifically by promoting alveolar type 1 (AT1) differentiation. Using mice that express oncogenic Kras and null, wild-type or hypermorphic Trp53 alleles in alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells, we observed graded effects of p53 on LUAD initiation and progression. RNA sequencing and ATAC sequencing of LUAD cells uncovered a p53-induced AT1 differentiation programme during tumour suppression in vivo through direct DNA binding, chromatin remodelling and induction of genes characteristic of AT1 cells. Single-cell transcriptomics analyses revealed that during LUAD evolution, p53 promotes AT1 differentiation through action in a transitional cell state analogous to a transient intermediary seen during AT2-to-AT1 cell differentiation in alveolar injury repair. Notably, p53 inactivation results in the inappropriate persistence of these transitional cancer cells accompanied by upregulated growth signalling and divergence from lung lineage identity, characteristics associated with LUAD progression. Analysis of Trp53 wild-type and Trp53-null mice showed that p53 also directs alveolar regeneration after injury by regulating AT2 cell self-renewal and promoting transitional cell differentiation into AT1 cells. Collectively, these findings illuminate mechanisms of p53-mediated LUAD suppression, in which p53 governs alveolar differentiation, and suggest that tumour suppression reflects a fundamental role of p53 in orchestrating tissue repair after injury.

Zmat3 splices together p53-dependent tumor suppression.

The tumor protein p53 (TP53, best known as p53) transcription factor is a critical tumor suppressor, but those p53-inducible genes most important for tumor suppression have remained unclear. Using unbiased RNA interference and CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspersed Palindromic Repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) screens, genetically engineered mouse models, human cancer genome analysis, and integrative eCLIP-sequencing and RNA-sequencing analyses, we reveal a new branch of p53-mediated tumor suppression involving the RNA splicing regulator Zinc finger Matrin-type 3, Zmat3.

Zmat3 Is a Key Splicing Regulator in the p53 Tumor Suppression Program.

Although TP53 is the most commonly mutated gene in human cancers, the p53-dependent transcriptional programs mediating tumor suppression remain incompletely understood. Here, to uncover critical components downstream of p53 in tumor suppression, we perform unbiased RNAi and CRISPR-Cas9-based genetic screens in vivo. These screens converge upon the p53-inducible gene Zmat3, encoding an RNA-binding protein, and we demonstrate that ZMAT3 is an important tumor suppressor downstream of p53 in mouse KrasG12D-driven lung and liver cancers and human carcinomas. Integrative analysis of the ZMAT3 RNA-binding landscape and transcriptomic profiling reveals that ZMAT3 directly modulates exon inclusion in transcripts encoding proteins of diverse functions, including the p53 inhibitors MDM4 and MDM2, splicing regulators, and components of varied cellular processes. Interestingly, these exons are enriched in NMD signals, and, accordingly, ZMAT3 broadly affects target transcript stability. Collectively, these studies reveal ZMAT3 as a novel RNA-splicing and homeostasis regulator and a key component of p53-mediated tumor suppression.

SIDT2 RNA Transporter Promotes Lung and Gastrointestinal Tumor Development.

RNautophagy is a newly described type of selective autophagy whereby cellular RNAs are transported into lysosomes for degradation. This process involves the transmembrane protein SIDT2, which transports double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) across the endolysosomal membrane. We previously demonstrated that SIDT2 is a transcriptional target of p53, but its role in tumorigenesis, if any, is unclear. Unexpectedly, we show here that Sidt2-/- mice with concurrent oncogenic KrasG12D activation develop significantly fewer tumors than littermate controls in a mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma. Consistent with this observation, loss of SIDT2 also leads to enhanced survival and delayed tumor development in an Apcmin/+ mouse model of intestinal cancer. Within the intestine, Apcmin/+;Sidt2-/- mice display accumulation of dsRNA in association with increased phosphorylation of eIF2α and JNK as well as elevated rates of apoptosis. Taken together, our data demonstrate a role for SIDT2, and by extension RNautophagy, in promoting tumor development.

p53 Suppresses Metabolic Stress-Induced Ferroptosis in Cancer Cells.

How cancer cells respond to nutrient deprivation remains poorly understood. In certain cancer cells, deprivation of cystine induces a non-apoptotic, iron-dependent form of cell death termed ferroptosis. Recent evidence suggests that ferroptosis sensitivity may be modulated by the stress-responsive transcription factor and canonical tumor suppressor protein p53. Using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, small-molecule probes, and high-resolution, time-lapse imaging, we find that stabilization of wild-type p53 delays the onset of ferroptosis in response to cystine deprivation. This delay requires the p53 transcriptional target CDKN1A (encoding p21) and is associated with both slower depletion of intracellular glutathione and a reduced accumulation of toxic lipid-reactive oxygen species (ROS). Thus, the p53-p21 axis may help cancer cells cope with metabolic stress induced by cystine deprivation by delaying the onset of non-apoptotic cell death.

A p53 Super-tumor Suppressor Reveals a Tumor Suppressive p53-Ptpn14-Yap Axis in Pancreatic Cancer.

The p53 transcription factor is a critical barrier to pancreatic cancer progression. To unravel mechanisms of p53-mediated tumor suppression, which have remained elusive, we analyzed pancreatic cancer development in mice expressing p53 transcriptional activation domain (TAD) mutants. Surprisingly, the p5353,54 TAD2 mutant behaves as a "super-tumor suppressor," with an enhanced capacity to both suppress pancreatic cancer and transactivate select p53 target genes, including Ptpn14. Ptpn14 encodes a negative regulator of the Yap oncoprotein and is necessary and sufficient for pancreatic cancer suppression, like p53. We show that p53 deficiency promotes Yap signaling and that PTPN14 and TP53 mutations are mutually exclusive in human cancers. These studies uncover a p53-Ptpn14-Yap pathway that is integral to p53-mediated tumor suppression.