VHL Status Influences Phenotype of Liver Cancers Arising from PTEN Loss
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ABSTRACT: Background: PTEN loss contributes to the development of many cancers and is associated with both hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. The pathogenesis of these malignancies is unclear, but they are speculated to arise from common cellular origins. We explored the influence of secondary effects, like hypoxia signaling, through co-deletion of Pten and Vhl in a murine model.Methods: We used a CreER-linked keratin 18 mouse model to conditionally delete Pten, Vhl or both, evaluating the resultant tumors by histology and gene expression microarray. A cohort of human cholangiocarcinoma samples was evaluated for relationships between HIF-1a expression and clinical outcomes.Results: Both Pten deletion genotypes developed liver tumors, but with differing phenotypes. Pten deletion alone led to large, invasive tumors with widespread hepatosteatosis. Co-deletion of Pten and Vhl resulted in low tumor burden and reduced steatosis. Microarray analysis divided mouse tumors’ respective genotypes by gene expression. This gene expression profile grouped a human tumor cohort according to histologic type with the Pten deletion signature aligning with hepatocellular carcinoma, whereas the Pten; Vhl deletion signature associated with cholangiocarcinomas. In a human cholangiocarcinoma cohort, we observed correlation between HIF-1a expression and overall survival.Conclusions: Pten deletion leads to tumor formation and steatosis in mouse livers. Co-deletion of Vhl and Pten resulted in lower tumor burden with gene expression profiling suggesting a switch from hepatocellular expression features to an expression profile more consistent with cholangiocarinoma. A possible relation between HIF-1a expression and increased overall survival in human cholangiocarcinoma suggests that hypoxia signaling influences tumor phenotype.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE55874 | GEO | 2014/10/31
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA241326
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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