Journal Article

MET exon 14 skipping mutation is a hepatocyte growth factor ( HGF )‐dependent oncogenic driver in vitro and in humanised HGF knock‐in mice

Bouchekioua‐Bouzaghou, Katia, Farage, Enoir, Kherrouche, Zoulika, Morabito, Angela, Meneboo, Jean‐Pascal, Jamme, Philippe, Grumolato, Luca, Fernandes, Marie, Hoggard, Brynna, Tulasne, David, Nollet, Marie, Paget, Sonia, Perera, Timothy, Copin, Marie‐Christine, Vinchent, Audrey, Fromme, Paul, Sebda, Shéhérazade, Stanislovas, Justas, Truong, Marie‐José, Descarpentries, Clotilde, Cortot, Alexis B., Kermorgant, Stéphanie, Figeac, Martin, Grégoire, Valérie, Humez, Sarah

2023

Overview

Exon skipping mutations of the MET receptor tyrosine kinase (METex14), increasingly reported in cancers, occur in 3–4% of non–small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Only 50% of patients have a beneficial response to treatment with MET‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), underlying the need to understand the mechanism of METex14 oncogenicity and sensitivity to TKIs. Whether METex14 is a driver mutation and whether it requires hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) for its oncogenicity in a range of in vitro functions and in vivo has not been fully elucidated from previous preclinical models. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we developed a METex14/WT isogenic model in nontransformed human lung cells and report that the METex14 single alteration was sufficient to drive MET‐dependent in vitro anchorage‐independent survival and motility and in vivo tumorigenesis, sensitising tumours to MET‐TKIs. However, we also show that human HGF (hHGF) is required, as demonstrated in vivo using a humanised HGF knock‐in strain of mice and further detected in tumour cells of METex14 NSCLC patient samples. Our results also suggest that METex14 oncogenicity is not a consequence of an escape from degradation in our cell model. Thus, we developed a valuable model for preclinical studies and present results that have potential clinical implication.

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc,FEBS Press,John Wiley and Sons Inc,Wiley
• Subject: Animals / c-Met protein / Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology / Cells / CRISPR / Deoxyribonucleic acid / DNA / Epidermal growth factor / Exon skipping / Exons / Gene amplification / Gene expression / Hepatocyte growth factor / Hepatocyte Growth Factor - genetics / Hepatocyte Growth Factor - metabolism / Humans / Kinases / Labeling / Life Sciences / Ligands / Lung Cancer / Lung Neoplasms - pathology / Mice / Mutation / Mutation - genetics / Non-small cell lung carcinoma / Patients / preclinical models / Protein Kinase Inhibitors - pharmacology / Protein-tyrosine kinase receptors / Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met - metabolism / Ribonucleic acid / RNA / Small cell lung carcinoma / Targeted Therapies / transcriptomic / Tumorigenesis / Tumors / tyrosine kinase receptor