Inactivation of Capicua drives cancer metastasis #MMPMID27869830
Okimoto RA; Breitenbuecher F; Olivas VR; Wu W; Gini B; Hofree M; Asthana S; Hrustanovic G; Flanagan J; Tulpule A; Blakely CM; Haringsma HJ; Simmons AD; Gowen K; Suh J; Miller VA; Ali S; Schuler M; Bivona TG
Nat Genet 2017[Jan]; 49 (1): 87-96 PMID27869830show ga
Metastasis is the leading cause of death in lung cancer patients, yet the molecular effectors underlying tumor dissemination remain poorly defined. Through development of an in vivo spontaneous lung cancer metastasis model, we show that the developmentally-regulated transcriptional repressor Capicua (CIC) suppresses invasion and metastasis. CIC inactivation relieves repression of its effector ETV4, driving ETV4-mediated upregulation of MMP24 that is necessary and sufficient for metastasis. Loss of CIC, or increased levels of its effectors ETV4 and MMP24, is a biomarker of tumor progression and worse outcomes in lung and gastric cancer patients. Our findings uncover CIC as a conserved metastasis suppressor, revealing new anti-metastatic strategies to improve patient outcomes.