Suppression of FGFR3- and MYC-dependent oncogenesis by tubacin: association with HDAC6-dependent and independent activities.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) is amplified, translocated or mutated in a number of different human cancer types, but most commonly in bladder cancers. We previously found that the accumulation of FGFR3 is dependent on histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6). Here we show that HDAC6 loss or inhibition reduces FGFR3 accumulation in cells made tumorigenic by ectopic expression of a mutant activated version of FGFR3 together with the MYC oncoprotein and in a bladder cancer cell line whose tumorigenicity is dependent on expression of a translocated version of FGFR3. In tumor xenoplant assays, HDAC6 deficiency or small molecule inhibition by the selective HDAC6 inhibitors tubacin or tubastatin A was found to significantly impede tumor growth. However, tubacin was more effective at inhibiting tumor growth than tubastatin A or HDAC6 deficiency. The superior anti-tumor activity of tubacin was linked to its ability to not only inhibit accumulation of mutant FGFR3, but also to cause robust downregulation of MYC and cyclin D1, and to induce a DNA damage response and apoptosis. Neither HDAC6 deficiency nor treatment with tubastatin A altered MYC or cyclin D1 levels, and neither induced a DNA damage response or apoptosis. Thus while tubacin and tubastatin A inhibit HDAC6 with similar selectivity and potency, our results reveal unique HDAC6-independent activities of tubacin that likely contribute to its potent anti-tumor activity.

HDAC6 deficiency or inhibition blocks FGFR3 accumulation and improves bone growth in a model of achondroplasia.

Mutations that cause increased and/or inappropriate activation of FGFR3 are responsible for a collection of short-limbed chondrodysplasias. These mutations can alter receptor trafficking and enhance receptor stability, leading to increased receptor accumulation and activity. Here, we show that wildtype and mutant activated forms of FGFR3 increase expression of the cytoplasmic deacetylase HDAC6 (Histone Deacetylase 6) and that FGFR3 accumulation is compromised in cells lacking HDAC6 or following treatment of fibroblasts or chondrocytes with small molecule inhibitors of HDAC6. The reduced accumulation of FGFR3 was linked to increased FGFR3 degradation that occurred through a lysosome-dependent mechanism. Using a mouse model of Thanatophoric Dysplasia Type II (TDII) we show that both HDAC6 deletion and treatment with the small molecule HDAC6 inhibitor tubacin reduced FGFR3 accumulation in the growth plate and improved endochondral bone growth. Defective endochondral growth in TDII is associated with reduced proliferation and poor hypertrophic differentiation and the improved bone growth was associated with increased chondrocyte proliferation and expansion of the differentiation compartment within the growth plate. These findings further define the mechanisms that control FGFR3 accumulation and contribute to skeletal pathology caused by mutations in FGFR3.

Mutant activated FGFR3 impairs endochondral bone growth by preventing SOX9 downregulation in differentiating chondrocytes.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) plays a critical role in the control of endochondral ossification, and bone growth and mutations that cause hyperactivation of FGFR3 are responsible for a collection of developmental disorders that feature poor endochondral bone growth. FGFR3 is expressed in proliferating chondrocytes of the cartilaginous growth plate but also in chondrocytes that have exited the cell cycle and entered the prehypertrophic phase of chondrocyte differentiation. Achondroplasia disorders feature defects in chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation, and the defects in differentiation have generally been considered to be a secondary manifestation of altered proliferation. By initiating a mutant activated knockin allele of FGFR3 (FGFR3K650E) that causes Thanatophoric Dysplasia Type II (TDII) specifically in prehypertrophic chondrocytes, we show that mutant FGFR3 induces a differentiation block at this stage independent of any changes in proliferation. The differentiation block coincided with persistent expression of SOX9, the master regulator of chondrogenesis, and reducing SOX9 dosage allowed chondrocyte differentiation to proceed and significantly improved endochondral bone growth in TDII. These findings suggest that a proliferation-independent and SOX9-dependent differentiation block is a key driving mechanism responsible for poor endochondral bone growth in achondroplasia disorders caused by mutations in FGFR3.

A critical role for Mnt in Myc-driven T-cell proliferation and oncogenesis.

Mnt (Max's next tango) is a Max-interacting transcriptional repressor that can antagonize both the proproliferative and proapoptotic functions of Myc in vitro. To ascertain the physiologically relevant functions of Mnt and to help define the relationship between Mnt and Myc in vivo, we generated a series of mouse strains in which Mnt was deleted in T cells in the absence of endogenous c-Myc or in the presence of ectopic c-Myc. We found that apoptosis caused by loss of Mnt did not require Myc but that ectopic Myc expression dramatically decreased the survival of both Mnt-deficient T cells in vivo and Mnt-deficient MEFs in vitro. Consequently, Myc-driven proliferative expansion of T cells in vitro and thymoma formation in vivo were prevented by the absence of Mnt. Consistent with T-cell models, mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) lacking Mnt were refractory to oncogenic transformation by Myc. Tumor suppression caused by loss of Mnt was linked to increased apoptosis mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Thus, although theoretically and experimentally a Myc antagonist, the dominant physiological role of Mnt appears to be suppression of apoptosis. Our results redefine the physiological relationship between Mnt and Myc and requirements for Myc-driven oncogenesis.

Disruption of a Sox9-ß-catenin circuit by mutant Fgfr3 in thanatophoric dysplasia type II.

Mutations in fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors are responsible for a variety of skeletal birth defects, but the underlying mechanisms responsible remain unclear. Using a mouse model of thanatophoric dysplasia type II in which FGFR3(K650E) expression was directed to the appendicular skeleton, we show that the mutant receptor caused a block in chondrocyte differentiation specifically at the prehypertrophic stage. The differentiation block led to a severe reduction in hypertrophic chondrocytes that normally produce vascular endothelial growth factor, which in turn was associated with poor vascularization of primary ossification centers and disrupted endochondral ossification. We show that the differentiation block and defects in joint formation are associated with persistent expression of the chondrogenic factor Sox9 and down-regulation of ß-catenin levels and activity in growth plate chondrocytes. Consistent with these in vivo results, FGFR3(K650E) expression was found to increase Sox9 and decrease ß-catenin levels and transcriptional activity in cultured mesenchymal cells. Coexpression of Fgfr3(K650E) and Sox9 in cells resulted in very high levels of Sox9 and cooperative suppression of ß-catenin-dependent transcription. Fgfr3(K650E) had opposing effects on Sox9 and ß-catenin protein stability with it promoting Sox9 stabilization and ß-catenin degradation. Since both Sox9 overexpression and ß-catenin deletion independently blocks hypertrophic differentiation of chondrocytes and cause chondrodysplasias similar to those caused by mutations in FGFR3, our results suggest that dysregulation of Sox9 and ß-catenin levels and activity in growth plate chondrocytes is an important underlying mechanism in skeletal diseases caused by mutations in FGFR3.

Sequential and coordinated actions of c-Myc and N-Myc control appendicular skeletal development.

BACKGROUND: During limb development, chondrocytes and osteoblasts emerge from condensations of limb bud mesenchyme. These cells then proliferate and differentiate in separate but adjacent compartments and function cooperatively to promote bone growth through the process of endochondral ossification. While many aspects of limb skeletal formation are understood, little is known about the mechanisms that link the development of undifferentiated limb bud mesenchyme with formation of the precartilaginous condensation and subsequent proliferative expansion of chondrocyte and osteoblast lineages. The aim of this study was to gain insight into these processes by examining the roles of c-Myc and N-Myc in morphogenesis of the limb skeleton. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To investigate c-Myc function in skeletal development, we characterized mice in which floxed c-Myc alleles were deleted in undifferentiated limb bud mesenchyme with Prx1-Cre, in chondro-osteoprogenitors with Sox9-Cre and in osteoblasts with Osx1-Cre. We show that c-Myc promotes the proliferative expansion of both chondrocytes and osteoblasts and as a consequence controls the process of endochondral growth and ossification and determines bone size. The control of proliferation by c-Myc was related to its effects on global gene transcription, as phosphorylation of the C-Terminal Domain (pCTD) of RNA Polymerase II, a marker of general transcription initiation, was tightly coupled to cell proliferation of growth plate chondrocytes where c-Myc is expressed and severely downregulated in the absence of c-Myc. Finally, we show that combined deletion of N-Myc and c-Myc in early limb bud mesenchyme gives rise to a severely hypoplastic limb skeleton that exhibits features characteristic of individual c-Myc and N-Myc mutants. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results show that N-Myc and c-Myc act sequentially during limb development to coordinate the expansion of key progenitor populations responsible for forming the limb skeleton.

The role of senescence and prosurvival signaling in controlling the oncogenic activity of FGFR2 mutants associated with cancer and birth defects.

Mutations in fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) cause human birth defect syndromes and are associated with a variety of cancers. Although forced expression of mutant activated FGFRs has been shown to oncogenically transform some immortal cell types, their activity in primary cells remains unclear. Here, we show that birth defect and cancer-associated FGFR2 mutants promote DNA-damage signaling and p53-dependent senescence in primary mouse and human cells. Senescence promoted by FGFR mutants was associated with downregulation of c-Myc and forced expression of c-Myc facilitated senescence escape. Whereas c-Myc expression facilitated senescence bypass, mutant FGFR2 signaling suppressed c-Myc-dependent apoptosis and led to oncogenic transformation. Cells transformed by coexpression of a constitutively activated FGFR2 mutant plus c-Myc appeared to be become highly addicted to FGFR-dependent prosurvival activities, as small molecule inhibition of FGFR signaling resulted in robust p53-dependent apoptosis. Our data suggest that senescence-promoting activities of mutant FGFRs may normally limit their oncogenic potential and may be relevant to their ability to disrupt morphogenesis and cause birth defects. Our results also raise the possibility that cancers originating through a combination of constitutive FGFR activation and deregulated Myc expression may be particularly sensitive to small molecule inhibitors of FGF receptors.

Activities of N-Myc in the developing limb link control of skeletal size with digit separation.

The developing limb serves as a paradigm for studying pattern formation and morphogenetic cell death. Here, we show that conditional deletion of N-Myc (Mycn) in the developing mouse limb leads to uniformly small skeletal elements and profound soft-tissue syndactyly. The small skeletal elements are associated with decreased proliferation of limb bud mesenchyme and small cartilaginous condensations, and syndactyly is associated with a complete absence of interdigital cell death. Although Myc family proteins have pro-apoptotic activity, N-Myc is not expressed in interdigital cells undergoing programmed cell death. We provide evidence indicating that the lack of interdigital cell death and associated syndactyly is related to an absence of interdigital cells marked by expression of Fgfr2 and Msx2. Thus, instead of directly regulating interdigital cell death, we propose that N-Myc is required for the proper generation of undifferentiated mesenchymal cells that become localized to interdigital regions and trigger digit separation when eliminated by programmed cell death. Our results provide new insight into mechanisms that control limb development and suggest that defects in the formation of N-Myc-dependent interdigital tissue may be a root cause of common syndromic forms of syndactyly.

Mnt-deficient mammary glands exhibit impaired involution and tumors with characteristics of myc overexpression.

The proto-oncogene c-Myc plays a central role in cell growth and the development of human tumors. c-Myc interacts with Max and Myc-Max complexes bind to E-box and related sequences to activate transcription. Max also interacts with Mnt but Mnt-Max complexes repress transcription when bound to these sequences. MNT maps to human chromosome 17p13.3, a region frequently deleted in various human tumors, including mammary gland tumors. Consistent with the possibility that Mnt functions as a Myc antagonist, Mnt-deficient fibroblasts exhibit many of the hallmark characteristics of cells that overexpress Myc, and conditional (Cre/Lox) inactivation of Mnt in mammary gland epithelium leads to adenocarcinomas. Here, we further characterize mammary gland tissue following conditional deletion of Mnt in the mammary gland. We show that loss of Mnt severely disrupts mammary gland involution and leads to hyperplastic ducts associated with reduced numbers of apoptotic cells. These findings suggest that loss of Mnt in mammary tissue has similarities to Myc overexpression. We tested this directly by using promoter array analysis and mRNA expression analysis by oligonucleotide arrays. We found that Mnt and c-Myc bound to similar promoters in tumors from MMTV-c-Myc transgenic mice, and mRNA expression patterns were similar between mammary tumors from MMTV-Cre/Mnt(KO/CKO) and MMTV-c-Myc transgenic mice. These results reveal an important role for Mnt in pregnancy-associated mammary gland development and suggest that mammary gland tumorigenesis in the absence of Mnt is analogous to that caused by Myc deregulation.

Mnt-Max to Myc-Max complex switching regulates cell cycle entry.

The c-Myc oncoprotein is strongly induced during the G0 to S-phase transition and is an important regulator of cell cycle entry. In contrast to c-Myc, the putative Myc antagonist Mnt is maintained at a constant level during cell cycle entry. Mnt and Myc require interaction with Max for specific DNA binding at E-box sites, but have opposing transcriptional activities. Here, we show that c-Myc induction during cell cycle entry leads to a transient decrease in Mnt-Max complexes and a transient switch in the ratio of Mnt-Max to c-Myc-Max on shared target genes. Mnt overexpression suppressed cell cycle entry and cell proliferation, suggesting that the ratio of Mnt-Max to c-Myc-Max is critical for cell cycle entry. Furthermore, simultaneous Cre-Lox mediated deletion of Mnt and c-Myc in mouse embryo fibroblasts rescued the cell cycle entry and proliferative block caused by c-Myc ablation alone. These results demonstrate that Mnt-Myc antagonism plays a fundamental role in regulating cell cycle entry and proliferation.

Evidence of mnt-myc antagonism revealed by mnt gene deletion.

Myc proteins play a central role in promoting cell proliferation and contribute to a diverse array of cancers. My function appears completely dependent on heterodimerization with Max through related bHLHZip regions. Max interaction with Myc is required for DNA binding at so-called E-box sequences and Myc-dependent transcriptional activation. The repressor with similar DNA binding specificity raised the possibility that Mnt may serve a general role as a Myc antagonist.

Deletion of Mnt leads to disrupted cell cycle control and tumorigenesis.

Mnt is a Max-interacting transcriptional repressor that has been hypothesized to function as a Myc antagonist. To investigate Mnt function we deleted the Mnt gene in mice. Since mice lacking Mnt were born severely runted and typically died within several days of birth, mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) derived from these mice and conditional Mnt knockout mice were used in this study. In the absence of Mnt, MEFs prematurely entered the S phase of the cell cycle and proliferated more rapidly than Mnt(+/+) MEFs. Defective cell cycle control in the absence of Mnt is linked to upregulation of Cdk4 and cyclin E and the Cdk4 gene appears to be a direct target of Mnt-Myc antagonism. Like MEFs that overexpress Myc, Mnt(-/-) MEFs were prone to apoptosis, efficiently escaped senescence and could be transformed with oncogenic Ras alone. Consistent with Mnt functioning as a tumor suppressor, conditional inactivation of Mnt in breast epithelium led to adenocarinomas. These results demonstrate a unique negative regulatory role for Mnt in governing key Myc functions associated with cell proliferation and tumorigenesis.

Tbx3 impinges on the p53 pathway to suppress apoptosis, facilitate cell transformation and block myogenic differentiation.

Tbx3 is a member of the T-box family of transcription factors. Mutations in Tbx3 cause ulnar-mammary syndrome, an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by upper limb defects, apocrine-gland defects including mammary hypoplasia, and tooth, hair and genital defects. In cell culture, Tbx3 and its close relative Tbx2 are capable of immortalizing mouse embryo fibroblasts. We show that expression of Tbx3 together with Myc or oncogenic Ras (H-Ras(Val17)) leads to efficient transformation of mouse embryo fibroblasts. Oncogene cooperation by Tbx3 correlates with an ability of Tbx3 to suppress the induction of p19ARF and p53 that is typically caused by overexpression Myc and Ras, and to protect against Myc-induced apoptosis. Whereas Tbx3 is capable of interfering with apoptosis caused by excessive Myc levels, a Tbx3 mutant lacking its C-terminal repression domain shows no anti-apoptotic activity and fails to repress levels of p19ARF or p53. Consistent with an ability to suppress p53 pathway function, we find that Tbx3, but not a Tbx3 C-terminal mutant, efficiently blocks myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts. Our results support the idea that deregulation and/or excessive levels of Tbx3 may have oncogenic potential in vivo.