DNAJB1–PRKACA Fusion Kinase Interacts with Β-Catenin and the Liver
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DNAJB1–PRKACA fusion kinase interacts with INAUGURAL ARTICLE β-catenin and the liver regenerative response to drive fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma Edward R. Kastenhubera,b, Gadi Lalazarc, Shauna L. Houlihana, Darjus F. Tschaharganehd,e, Timour Baslana, Chi-Chao Chena, David Requenac, Sha Tiana, Benedikt Bosbachf, John E. Wilkinsong, Sanford M. Simonc, and Scott W. Lowea,h,1 aDepartment of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065; bLouis V. Gerstner Jr. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065; cLaboratory of Cellular Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065; dHelmholtz University Group “Cell Plasticity and Epigenetic Remodeling,” German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; eInstitute of Pathology, University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; fOncology Target Discovery Program, Pfizer Inc., Pearl River, NY 10965; gDepartment of Pathology, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; and hHoward Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY 10065 This contribution is part of the special series of Inaugural Articles by members of the National Academy of Sciences elected in 2017. Contributed by Scott W. Lowe, October 26, 2017 (sent for review September 22, 2017; reviewed by Nabeel M. Bardeesy and David A. Largaespada) A segmental deletion resulting in DNAJB1–PRKACA gene fusion is any known etiological risk factors such as alcoholism, chronic hep- now recognized as the signature genetic event of fibrolamellar hepa- atitis infection, or liver flukes (8). tocellular carcinoma (FL-HCC), a rare but lethal liver cancer that pri- Currently, FL-HCC is diagnosed on the basis of histological marily affects adolescents and young adults. Here we implement features such as large cells with granular eosinophilic cytoplasm, CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing and transposon-mediated somatic gene vesiculated nuclei, and large nucleoli. Ultrastructural studies transfer to demonstrate that expression of either the endogenous observe a hyperaccumulation of mitochondria and abundant fusion protein or a chimeric cDNA leads to the formation of indolent endoplasmic reticulum (9). While early onset and lack of chronic liver tumors in mice that closely resemble human FL-HCC. Notably, liver disease are suggestive of FL-HCC, classic HCC can also overexpression of the wild-type PRKACA was unable to fully reca- occur in young patients and misdiagnosis is common (10). Given MEDICAL SCIENCES DNAJB1–PRKACA pitulate the oncogenic activity of ,implyingthat the specificity of DNAJB1–PRKACA fusion for FL-HCC, its FL-HCC does not simply result from enhanced PRKACA expression. detection will likely be decisive for correct diagnosis (2). Tumorigenesis was significantly enhanced by genetic activation of Surgical resection is currently the primary treatment for FL- β -catenin, an observation supported by evidence of recurrent Wnt HCC patients. Although often described as a relatively indolent pathway mutations in human FL-HCC, as well as treatment with the disease, a high rate of recurrence represents a major clinical hepatotoxin 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine, which causes challenge (11), and the 5-y survival rate is 34% (12). There is no tissue injury, inflammation, and fibrosis. Our study validates the evidence of survival benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy or any DNAJB1–PRKACA fusion kinase as an oncogenic driver and candidate systemic treatment applicable to classic HCC (13). While the drug target for FL-HCC, and establishes a practical model for preclin- unique demographics and genetics of FL-HCC suggest that these ical studies to identify strategies to treat this disease. fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma | CRISPR | mouse cancer models | Significance protein kinase A | β-catenin Efforts to understand and treat fibrolamellar hepatocellular ibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FL-HCC) ubiqui- carcinoma (FL-HCC) have been confounded by a lack of models tously harbors an ∼400-kb deletion on chromosome 19 that that accurately reflect the genetics and biology of the disease. F Dnajb1–Prkaca produces an in-frame fusion of DnaJ heat shock protein family Here we demonstrate that the gene fusion member B1 (DNAJB1) and protein kinase cAMP-activated cat- drives tumorigenesis in mice, and that fusion to DNAJB1 drives FL-HCC initiation more effectively than wild-type PRKACA alytic subunit alpha (PRKACA) (1, 2) (Fig. S1A). DNAJB1 en- overexpression. The requirement of the PRKACA kinase do- codes a subunit of the heat shock factor 40 (HSP40) complex, main in tumor initiation establishes the potential utility of ki- which activates the ATPase of HSP70 and serves as a molecular nase inhibitors targeting the fusion. By identifying genetic and chaperone that can be induced by an array of environmental environmental factors that can enhance the consistency and stresses (3). PRKACA encodes a catalytic subunit of protein ki- aggressiveness of disease progression, we reveal biological nase A (PKA), which resides in the cytoplasm in an inactive characteristics of the disease and advance a robust platform for β tetrameric complex with PKA C- and two regulatory subunits of future preclinical studies. the PKA holoenzyme (4). Activation of G protein-coupled re- ceptors leads to cAMP-dependent activation of the PKA cata- Author contributions: E.R.K., S.L.H., D.F.T., B.B., S.M.S., and S.W.L. designed research; lytic subunits and subsequent phosphorylation of a panoply of E.R.K., G.L., S.L.H., S.T., and J.E.W. performed research; S.L.H. and B.B. contributed new – reagents/analytic tools; E.R.K., T.B., C.-C.C., D.R., and J.E.W. analyzed data; and E.R.K., cellular substrates (4). The crystal structure of the DNAJB1 S.M.S., and S.W.L. wrote the paper. PRKACA fusion protein shows that the catalytic site, regulatory Reviewers: N.M.B., Harvard Stem Cell Institute; and D.A.L., University of Minnesota. subunit binding, and anchoring protein binding remain similar to The authors declare no conflict of interest. those of the wild-type PRKACA (5). Beyond the presence of DNAJB1–PRKACA fusions, FL-HCC Published under the PNAS license. Data deposition: The RNA-sequence reported in this paper has been deposited in the tumorigenesis is poorly understood. Few, if any, other significantly Sequence Read Archive (SRA), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject (accession no. recurrent mutated genes have been described (6, 7), and while PRJNA415225). broad copy-number alterations have been observed, they do not 1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: [email protected]. specifically implicate known oncogenes or tumor suppressors (7). This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10. Unlike liver cancer in older adults, FL-HCC is not associated with 1073/pnas.1716483114/-/DCSupplemental. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1716483114 PNAS Early Edition | 1of9 Downloaded by guest on October 2, 2021 patients should be treated differently from those with HCC, A there have been few clinical trials that have been tailored to this Human chr19 DNAJB1GIPC1PTGER1PKN1 DDX39AADGRE5 ADGRL1ASF1BPRKACA patient population (www.clinicaltrials.gov). The development of 14,650,000 14,200,000 FL-HCC–specific therapies has been further hindered by the Mouse chr8 lack of genetically and biologically accurate model systems. Dnajb1 Gipc1Ptger1Pkn1 Ddx39Adgre5 Adgrl1 Asf1bPrkaca Mouse models have been a powerful tool for evaluating the 83,608,548 83,996,442 oncogenic potential of candidate drivers and studying the biology Tandem guide CRISPR of tumorigenesis, and as preclinical systems to test novel thera- peutics (14). In this study, we employed hydrodynamic trans- DNAJB1 PRKACA 400kb fection combined with either CRISPR-Cas9–mediated editing of Promoter & exon 1 exons 2-10 the endogenous deletion or transposon-mediated transgenesis of B CDno tumor fusion cDNA and variants, allowing us to introduce genetic le- 100 T tumor (asymptomatic) tumor (moribund) sions in a subset of hepatocytes without the time and expense of 1 50 n producing germ-line genetic strains (15, 16). Using this ap- CRISPR.1 0.5 proach, we demonstrate that the DNAJB1–PRKACA fusion is a CRISPR.2 N T Fractio 0 bona fide oncogene and identify genetic and environmental 0 Overall Survival (%) 0 5 10 15 20 25 Time (months) factors that cooperate with the fusion event to drive aggressive CRISPR.1CRISPR.2 E F CRISPR.1 G Human FL-HCC disease. Our results further show that the PRKACA kinase do- CRISPR.1 N T T F N main is required for these effects, providing a rationale for tar- RT-PCR product geting kinase activity pharmacologically. We anticipate that the Dnajb1 Prkaca models presented herein will serve as a powerful platform for exon 1 exon 2 future biological and preclinical studies. Results CRISPR.2 CRISPR.2 H Normal Liver CRISPR-Mediated Deletion Results in the Fusion Oncogene and Drives RT-PCR product N T CV s Tumorigenesis in Vivo. The oncogenic potential of the endogenous Dnajb1 Prkaca DNAJB1–PRKACA fusion in vivo was assessed. Coexpression of exon 1 exon 2 PV Cas9 with multiple single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) can be used to model chromosome translocations, inversions, and deletions by generating DNA double-strand breaks at the breakpoints of chromosome rearrangements, which are subsequently joined by Fig. 1. CRISPR-mediated deletion results in a fusion oncogene and drives nonhomologous end joining (17–21). While such events are rare, tumorigenesis in vivo. (A) Configuration of human chromosome 19, in- an oncogenic rearrangement is expected to be positively selected cluding DNAJB1 and PRKACA, configuration of mouse chromosome 8, in- in vivo. We determined whether the FL-HCC–associated rear- cluding Dnajb1 and Prkaca, and schematic of an endogenous 400-kb rangement could be generated in hepatocytes of young adult deletion targeted by hydrodynamic injection of vector containing tandem mice via hydrodynamic tail-vein injection using tandem sgRNAs sgRNAs targeting introns of Dnajb1 and Prkaca and Cas9. (B) Overall survival corresponding to the breakpoints of the disease-associated de- of mice injected with CRISPR.1 (n = 10) or CRISPR.2 (n = 9).