An In Vivo Gain-of-Function Screen Identifies the Williams-Beuren Syndrome Gene GTF2IRD1 as a Mammary Tumor Promoter

The broad implementation of precision medicine in cancer is impeded by the lack of a complete inventory of the genes involved in tumorigenesis. We performed in vivo screening of ∼1,000 genes that are associated with signaling for positive roles in breast cancer, using lentiviral expression vectors i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yongliang Huo, Timothy Su, Qiuyin Cai, Ian G. Macara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2016-06-01
Series:Cell Reports
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124716305782
Description
Summary:The broad implementation of precision medicine in cancer is impeded by the lack of a complete inventory of the genes involved in tumorigenesis. We performed in vivo screening of ∼1,000 genes that are associated with signaling for positive roles in breast cancer, using lentiviral expression vectors in primary MMTV-ErbB2 mammary tissue. Gain of function of five genes, including RET, GTF2IRD1, ADORA1, LARS2, and DPP8, significantly promoted mammary tumor growth. We further studied one tumor-promoting gene, the transcription factor GTF2IRD1. The mis-regulation of genes downstream of GTF2IRD1, including TβR2 and BMPR1b, also individually promoted mammary cancer development, and silencing of TβR2 suppressed GTF2IRD1-driven tumor promotion. In addition, GTF2IRD1 is highly expressed in human breast tumors, correlating with high tumor grades and poor prognosis. Our in vivo approach is readily expandable to whole-genome annotation of tumor-promoting genes.
ISSN:2211-1247