Phosphorylation of FADD by the kinase CK1α promotes KRASG12D-induced lung cancer.

Genomic amplification of the gene encoding and phosphorylation of the protein FADD (Fas-associated death domain) is associated with poor clinical outcome in lung cancer and in head and neck cancer. Activating mutations in the guanosine triphosphatase RAS promotes cell proliferation in various cancers. Increased abundance of phosphorylated FADD in patient-derived tumor samples predicts poor clinical outcome. Using immunohistochemistry analysis and in vivo imaging of conditional mouse models of KRAS(G12D)-driven lung cancer, we found that the deletion of the gene encoding FADD suppressed tumor growth, reduced the proliferative index of cells, and decreased the activation of downstream effectors of the RAS-MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) pathway that promote the cell cycle, including retinoblastoma (RB) and cyclin D1. In mouse embryonic fibroblasts, the induction of mitosis upon activation of KRAS required FADD and the phosphorylation of FADD by CK1α (casein kinase 1α). Deleting the gene encoding CK1α in KRAS mutant mice abrogated the phosphorylation of FADD and suppressed lung cancer development. Phosphorylated FADD was most abundant during the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, and mass spectrometry revealed that phosphorylated FADD interacted with kinases that mediate the G2/M transition, including PLK1 (Polo-like kinase 1), AURKA (Aurora kinase A), and BUB1 (budding uninhibited by benzimidazoles 1). This interaction was decreased in cells treated with a CKI-7, a CK1α inhibitor. Therefore, as the kinase that phosphorylates FADD downstream of RAS, CK1α may be a therapeutic target for KRAS-driven lung cancer.

Imaging proteolytic activity in live cells and animal models.

In addition to their degradative role in protein turnover, proteases play a key role as positive or negative regulators of signal transduction pathways and therefore their dysregulation contributes to many disease states. Regulatory roles of proteases include their hormone-like role in triggering G protein-coupled signaling (Protease-Activated-Receptors); their role in shedding of ligands such as EGF, Notch and Fas; and their role in signaling events that lead to apoptotic cell death. Dysregulated activation of apoptosis by the caspase family of proteases has been linked to diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity and inflammation. In an effort to better understand the role of proteases in health and disease, a luciferase biosensor is described which can quantitatively report proteolytic activity in live cells and mouse models. The biosensor, hereafter referred to as GloSensor Caspase 3/7 has a robust signal to noise (50-100 fold) and dynamic range such that it can be used to screen for pharmacologically active compounds in high throughput campaigns as well as to study cell signaling in rare cell populations such as isolated cancer stem cells. The biosensor can also be used in the context of genetically engineered mouse models of human disease wherein conditional expression using the Cre/loxP technology can be implemented to investigate the role of a specific protease in living subjects. While the regulation of apoptosis by caspase's was used as an example in these studies, biosensors to study additional proteases involved in the regulation of normal and pathological cellular processes can be designed using the concepts presented herein.