Autocrine signaling by receptor tyrosine kinases in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder

PLoS One. 2021 Jul 22;16(7):e0241766. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241766. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Comprehensive characterizations of bladder cancer (BCa) have established molecular phenotype classes with distinct alterations and survival trends. Extending these studies within the tyrosine kinase (TK) family to identify disease drivers could improve our use of TK inhibitors to treat specific patient groups or individuals. We examined the expression distribution of TKs as a class (n = 89) in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) muscle invasive BCa data set (n >400). Patient profiles of potentially oncogenic alterations (overexpression and/or amplification) clustered TKs into 3 groups; alterations of group 1 and 3 TKs were associated with significantly worse patient survival relative to those without alterations. Many TK pathways induce epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which promotes tumor invasiveness and metastasis. Overexpression and/or amplification among 9 EMT transcriptional activators occurred in 43% of TCGA cases. Co-occurring alterations of TKs and EMT transcriptional activators involved most group 1 TKs; 24% of these events were associated with significantly worse patient survival. Co-occurring alterations of receptor TKs and their cognate ligands occurred in 16% of TCGA cases and several BCa-derived cell lines. Suppression of GAS6, MST1 or CSF1, or their respective receptors (AXL, MST1R and CSF1R), in BCa cell lines was associated with decreased receptor activation, cell migration, cell proliferation and anchorage independent cell growth. These studies reveal the patterns and prevalence of potentially oncogenic TK pathway-related alterations in BCa and identify specific alterations associated with reduced BCa patient survival. Detection of these features in BCa patients could better inform TK inhibitor use and improve clinical outcomes.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Autocrine Communication*
  • Axl Receptor Tyrosine Kinase
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Databases, Factual
  • Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / genetics
  • Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / metabolism
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Mice
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / genetics
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism
  • RNA Interference
  • RNA, Small Interfering / metabolism
  • Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / genetics
  • Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Receptors, Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / genetics
  • Receptors, Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / metabolism
  • Transplantation, Heterologous
  • Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / mortality
  • Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / pathology*

Substances

  • CSF1R protein, human
  • Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • Receptors, Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor
  • growth arrest-specific protein 6
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
  • RON protein
  • Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
  • Axl Receptor Tyrosine Kinase