Suppression of anoikis and induction of metastasis by the neurotrophic receptor TrkB

Metastasis is a major factor in the malignancy of cancers, and is often responsible for the failure of cancer treatment. Anoikis (apoptosis resulting from loss of cell-matrix interactions) has been suggested to act as a physiological barrier to metastasis; resistance to anoikis may allow survival of cancer cells during systemic circulation, thereby facilitating secondary tumour formation in distant organs. In an attempt to identify metastasis-associated oncogenes, we designed an unbiased, genome-wide functional screen solely on the basis of anoikis suppression. Here, we report the identification of TrkB, a neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor, as a potent and specific suppressor of caspase-associated anoikis of non-malignant epithelial cells. By activating the phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase/protein kinase B pathway, TrkB induced the formation of large cellular aggregates that survive and proliferate in suspension. In mice, these cells formed rapidly growing tumours that infiltrated lymphatics and blood vessels to colonize distant organs. Consistent with the ability of TrkB to suppress anoikis, metastases--whether small vessel infiltrates or large tumour nodules--contained very few apoptotic cells. These observations demonstrate the potent oncogenic effects of TrkB and uncover a specific pro-survival function that may contribute to its metastatic capacity, providing a possible explanation for the aggressive nature of human tumours that overexpress TrkB.     

The neurotrophic receptor TrkB: a drug target in anti-cancer therapy?

Increasing evidence implies altered signaling through the neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase TrkB in promoting tumor formation and metastasis. TrkB, sometimes in conjunction with its primary ligand BDNF, is often overexpressed in a variety of human cancers, ranging from neuroblastomas to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, in which it may allow tumor expansion and contribute to resistance to anti-tumor agents. In vitro, TrkB acts as a potent suppressor of anoikis (detachment-induced apoptosis), which is associated with the acquisition of an aggressive tumorigenic and metastatic phenotype in vivo. In view of its predicted contribution to tumorigenicity and metastasis in humans, TrkB corresponds to a potential drug target, and preclinical models have already been established. The encouraging results of pharmacological Trk inhibitors in tumor xenograft models suggest that TrkB inhibition may represent a promising novel anti-tumor therapeutic strategy. This hypothesis is currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Here, we will discuss the latest developments on TrkB in these contexts as well as highlight some critical questions that remain to be addressed for evaluating TrkB as a therapeutic target in cancer. Received 12 October 2005; received after revision 19 December 2005; accepted 11 January 2006     

BRAFE600-associated senescence-like cell cycle arrest of human naevi

Most normal mammalian cells have a finite lifespan, thought to constitute a protective mechanism against unlimited proliferation. This phenomenon, called senescence, is driven by telomere attrition, which triggers the induction of tumour suppressors including p16(INK4a) (ref. 5). In cultured cells, senescence can be elicited prematurely by oncogenes; however, whether such oncogene-induced senescence represents a physiological process has long been debated. Human naevi (moles) are benign tumours of melanocytes that frequently harbour oncogenic mutations (predominantly V600E, where valine is substituted for glutamic acid) in BRAF, a protein kinase and downstream effector of Ras. Nonetheless, naevi typically remain in a growth-arrested state for decades and only rarely progress into malignancy (melanoma). This raises the question of whether naevi undergo BRAF(V600E)-induced senescence. Here we show that sustained BRAF(V600E) expression in human melanocytes induces cell cycle arrest, which is accompanied by the induction of both p16(INK4a) and senescence-associated acidic beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-Gal) activity, a commonly used senescence marker. Validating these results in vivo, congenital naevi are invariably positive for SA-beta-Gal, demonstrating the presence of this classical senescence-associated marker in a largely growth-arrested, neoplastic human lesion. In growth-arrested melanocytes, both in vitro and in situ, we observed a marked mosaic induction of p16(INK4a), suggesting that factors other than p16(INK4a) contribute to protection against BRAF(V600E)-driven proliferation. Naevi do not appear to suffer from telomere attrition, arguing in favour of an active oncogene-driven senescence process, rather than a loss of replicative potential. Thus, both in vitro and in vivo, BRAF(V600E)-expressing melanocytes display classical hallmarks of senescence, suggesting that oncogene-induced senescence represents a genuine protective physiological process.