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EWS-FLI1 induces developmental abnormalities and accelerates sarcoma formation in a transgenic mouse model.

ABSTRACT: Ewing's sarcoma is characterized by the t(11;22)(q24:q12) reciprocal translocation. To study the effects of the fusion gene EWS-FLI1 on development and tumor formation, a transgenic mouse model was created. A strategy of conditional expression was used to limit the potentially deleterious effects of EWS-FLI1 to certain tissues. In the absence of Cre recombinase, EWS-FLI1 was not expressed in the EWS-FLI1 transgenic mice, and they had a normal phenotype. When crossed to the Prx1-Cre transgenic mouse, which expresses Cre recombinase in the primitive mesenchymal cells of the embryonic limb bud, the EF mice were noted to have a number of developmental defects of the limbs. These included shortening of the limbs, muscle atrophy, cartilage dysplasia, and immature bone. By itself, EWS-FLI1 did not induce the formation of tumors in the EF transgenic mice. However, in the setting of p53 deletion, EWS-FLI1 accelerated the formation of sarcomas from a median time of 50 to 21 weeks. Furthermore, EWS-FLI1 altered the type of tumor that formed. Conditional deletion of p53 in mesenchymal cells (Prx1-Cre p53(lox/lox)) produced osteosarcomas as the predominant tumor. The presence of EWS-FLI1 shifted the tumor phenotype to a poorly differentiated sarcoma. The results taken together suggest that EWS-FLI1 inhibits normal limb development and accelerates the formation of poorly differentiated sarcomas.

SUBMITTER: Lin PP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4167779 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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EWS-FLI1 induces developmental abnormalities and accelerates sarcoma formation in a transgenic mouse model.

Lin Patrick P PP Pandey Manoj K MK Jin Fenghua F Xiong Shunbin S Deavers Michael M Parant John M JM Lozano Guillermina G

Cancer research 20081101 21

Ewing's sarcoma is characterized by the t(11;22)(q24:q12) reciprocal translocation. To study the effects of the fusion gene EWS-FLI1 on development and tumor formation, a transgenic mouse model was created. A strategy of conditional expression was used to limit the potentially deleterious effects of EWS-FLI1 to certain tissues. In the absence of Cre recombinase, EWS-FLI1 was not expressed in the EWS-FLI1 transgenic mice, and they had a normal phenotype. When crossed to the Prx1-Cre transgenic mo ...[more]

PMID: 18974141

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Project description:PurposePropagation of Ewing sarcoma requires precise regulation of EWS::FLI1 transcriptional activity. Determining the mechanisms of fusion regulation will advance our understanding of tumor progression. Here we investigated whether HOXD13, a developmental transcription factor that promotes Ewing sarcoma metastatic phenotypes, influences EWS::FLI1 transcriptional activity.Experimental designExisting tumor and cell line datasets were used to define EWS::FLI1 binding sites and transcriptional targets. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and CRISPR interference were employed to identify enhancers. CUT&RUN and RNA sequencing defined binding sites and transcriptional targets of HOXD13. Transcriptional states were investigated using bulk and single-cell transcriptomic data from cell lines, patient-derived xenografts, and patient tumors. Mesenchymal phenotypes were assessed by gene set enrichment, flow cytometry, and migration assays.ResultsWe found that EWS::FLI1 creates a de novo GGAA microsatellite enhancer in a developmentally conserved regulatory region of the HOXD locus. Knockdown of HOXD13 led to widespread changes in expression of developmental gene programs and EWS::FLI1 targets. HOXD13 binding was enriched at established EWS::FLI1 binding sites where it influenced expression of EWS::FLI1-activated genes. More strikingly, HOXD13 bound and activated EWS::FLI1-repressed genes, leading to adoption of mesenchymal and migratory cell states that are normally suppressed by the fusion. Single-cell analysis confirmed that direct transcriptional antagonism between HOXD13-mediated gene activation and EWS::FLI1-dependent gene repression defines the state of Ewing sarcoma cells along a mesenchymal axis.ConclusionsEwing sarcoma tumors are comprised of tumor cells that exist along a mesenchymal transcriptional continuum. The identity of cells along this continuum is, in large part, determined by the competing activities of EWS::FLI1 and HOXD13. See related commentary by Weiss and Bailey, p. 4360.

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EWS-FLI1 induces developmental abnormalities and accelerates sarcoma formation in a transgenic mouse model.

Publications

EWS-FLI1 induces developmental abnormalities and accelerates sarcoma formation in a transgenic mouse model.

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