Frequent DYRK2 gene amplification in micropapillary element of lung adenocarcinoma - an implication in progression in EGFR-mutated lung adenocarcinoma

The present study aimed to discern the molecular alterations involved in the progression of EGFR-mutated lung adenocarcinoma (LADC). We previously demonstrated that the micropapillary (mPAP) element is the most important histological factor for assessing malignant grades in LADCs. Therefore, mPAP and other elements were separately collected from three cases of EGFR-mutated LADC using laser capture microdissection and subjected to a comprehensive mRNA expression analysis. We focused on DYRK2 in this study because its level showed a substantial increase in EGFR-mutated LADCs with mPAP. We also immunohistochemically examined 130 tumors for the expression of DYRK2. The results confirmed a strong expression of DYRK2 in EGFR-mutated LADC with mPAP. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses targeting the DYRK2 locus revealed frequent gene amplification in EGFR-mutated LADC, specifically occurring in the high-grade components, like mPAP. In summary, the results of this study suggest that DYRK2 overexpression through gene amplification is one of the molecular mechanisms responsible for promoting the progression of EGFR-mutated LADC.