Fbw7 and p53 cooperatively suppress advanced and chromosomally unstable intestinal cancer

Mol Cell Biol. 2012 Jun;32(11):2160-7. doi: 10.1128/MCB.00305-12. Epub 2012 Apr 2.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a major cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Murine models have yielded critical insights into CRC pathogenesis, but they often fail to recapitulate advanced-disease phenotypes, notably metastasis and chromosomal instability (CIN). New models are thus needed to understand disease progression and to develop therapies. We sought to model advanced CRC by inactivating two tumor suppressors that are mutated in human CRCs, the Fbw7 ubiquitin ligase and p53. Here we report that Fbw7 deletion alters differentiation and proliferation in the gut epithelium and stabilizes oncogenic Fbw7 substrates, such as cyclin E and Myc. However, Fbw7 deletion does not cause tumorigenesis in the gut. In contrast, codeletion of both Fbw7 and p53 causes highly penetrant, aggressive, and metastatic adenocarcinomas, and allografts derived from these tumors form highly malignant adenocarcinomas. In vitro evidence indicates that Fbw7 ablation promotes genetic instability that is suppressed by p53, and we show that most Fbw7⁻/⁻; p53⁻/⁻ carcinomas exhibit a CIN⁺ phenotype. We conclude that Fbw7 and p53 synergistically suppress adenocarcinomas that mimic advanced human CRC with respect to histopathology, metastasis, and CIN. This model thus represents a novel tool for studies of advanced CRC as well as carcinogenesis associated with ubiquitin pathway mutations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma* / genetics
  • Adenocarcinoma* / metabolism
  • Adenocarcinoma* / pathology
  • Animals
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cell Differentiation / genetics
  • Cell Movement / genetics
  • Cell Transformation, Neoplastic
  • Chromosomal Instability
  • Colorectal Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Colorectal Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Colorectal Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Disease Models, Animal*
  • F-Box Proteins / genetics
  • F-Box Proteins / metabolism*
  • F-Box-WD Repeat-Containing Protein 7
  • Gene Deletion
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / genetics
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / metabolism*
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / genetics
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / metabolism*

Substances

  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • F-Box Proteins
  • F-Box-WD Repeat-Containing Protein 7
  • FBXW7 protein, human
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases