Background: Co-amplification of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and EGFRvIII, a tumor-specific truncation mutant of EGFR, represent hallmark genetic lesions in glioblastoma.
Methods: We used phospho-proteomics, RNA-sequencing, TCGA data, glioblastoma cell culture, and mouse models to study the signal transduction mediated by EGFR and EGFRvIII.
Results: We report that EGFR and EGFRvIII stimulate the innate immune defense receptor Toll-like Receptor 2 (TLR2); and that knockout of TLR2 dramatically improved survival in orthotopic glioblastoma xenografts. EGFR and EGFRvIII activated TLR2 in a ligand-independent manner, promoting tumor growth and immune evasion. We show that EGFR and EGFRvIII cooperate to activate the Rho-associated protein kinase ROCK2, which modulated malignant progression both by activating TLR2 and WNT signaling, and through remodeling the tumor microenvironment.
Conclusions: Together, our findings show that EGFR and EGFRvIII cooperate to drive tumor progression through ROCK2 and downstream WNT-β-catenin/TLR2 signaling pathways.
Keywords: EGFR; EGFRvIII; ROCK2; TLR2; glioblastoma.
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