1. Loss of AMPKα2 Impairs Hedgehog-Driven Medulloblastoma Tumorigenesis.
- Author
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Zhang H, Kuick R, Park SS, Peabody C, Yoon J, Fernández EC, Wang J, Thomas D, Viollet B, Inoki K, Camelo-Piragua S, and Rual JF
- Subjects
- AMP-Activated Protein Kinases genetics, Animals, Blotting, Western, Carcinogenesis genetics, Carcinogenesis metabolism, Gene Dosage genetics, Gene Dosage physiology, Hedgehog Proteins genetics, Hedgehog Proteins metabolism, Immunohistochemistry, Medulloblastoma genetics, Mice, RNA-Binding Proteins genetics, RNA-Binding Proteins metabolism, Signal Transduction genetics, Signal Transduction physiology, AMP-Activated Protein Kinases metabolism, Medulloblastoma metabolism
- Abstract
The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a sensor of cellular energy status that has a dual role in cancer, i.e., pro- or anti-tumorigenic, depending on the context. In medulloblastoma, the most frequent malignant pediatric brain tumor, several in vitro studies previously showed that AMPK suppresses tumor cell growth. The role of AMPK in this disease context remains to be tested in vivo. Here, we investigate loss of AMPKα2 in a genetically engineered mouse model of sonic hedgehog (SHH)-medulloblastoma. In contrast to previous reports, our study reveals that AMPKα2 KO impairs SHH medulloblastoma tumorigenesis. Moreover, we performed complementary molecular and genomic analyses that support the hypothesis of a pro-tumorigenic SHH/AMPK/CNBP axis in medulloblastoma. In conclusion, our observations further underline the context-dependent role of AMPK in cancer, and caution is warranted for the previously proposed hypothesis that AMPK agonists may have therapeutic benefits in medulloblastoma patients. Note: an abstract describing the project was previously submitted to the American Society for Investigative Pathology PISA 2018 conference and appears in The American Journal of Pathology (Volume 188, Issue 10, October 2018, Page 2433).
- Published
- 2018
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