Castrillon, D. H. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2026

Inflammation is an essential trigger for POLE-driven ultramutated colorectal cancer

Pathogenic variants in the exonuclease (proofreading) domain of DNA polymerase {varepsilon} (POLE) are frequently detected in colorectal cancers (CRC) with high tumor mutational burden (TMB), yet their functional role in intestinal tumorigenesis remains unknown. Here, we investigated the impact of mutation in POLE on intestinal homeostasis using a conditional mouse model expressing the PoleP286R pathogenic driver in intestinal epithelial cells. PoleP286R mutant mice developed invasive adenocarcinomas in the small intestine with incomplete penetrance and extremely long latency but did not spontaneously develop colorectal tumors. However, induction of colitis with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) resulted in a striking phenotypic shift to colorectal adenocarcinomas at high frequency. Molecular and histological analyses revealed hyperactivation of Wnt/{beta}-catenin, NF-{kappa}B, ERK and STAT3 pathways, accompanied by markedly higher proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells, in DSS-treated PoleP286R mutant mouse colons. Whole genome sequencing of the tumor demonstrated exceptionally high TMB (>100 mutations/megabase) and characteristic trinucleotide signatures, consistent with human POLE tumors. Recurrent mutations in Apc and Ctnnb1 underscored the central role of Wnt signaling in POLE-driven hypermutated CRC. In addition, intestinal organoids derived from PoleP286R mutant mice exhibited accelerated growth and increased expression of pro-proliferative genes. Together, these findings highlight POLE as a gatekeeper of intestinal genomic integrity and identify inflammation as the key driver that unleashes POLE-mutant CRC. Furthermore, this work establishes a mechanistically faithful preclinical platform for studying the molecular pathogenesis of CRC and advancing therapeutic drug discovery.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2024

PAX2 is Transcriptionally Silenced by a Distinct Mechanism of Epigenetic Reprogramming to Initiate Endometrial Carcinogenesis

In most cancers, including endometrial cancer, tumor suppressor genes harboring inactivating mutations have been systematically cataloged. However, locus-specific epigenetic alterations contributing to cancer initiation and progression remain only partly described, creating knowledge gaps about functionally significant tumor suppressors and underlying mechanisms associated with their inactivation. Here, we show that PAX2 is an endometrial tumor suppressor recurrently inactivated by a distinct epigenetic reprogramming event not associated with promoter hypermethylation. PAX2 is expressed throughout normal endometrial glands; however, microscopic clones with PAX2 protein loss arise spontaneously in adulthood and progress to endometrial precancers and cancers. Here we show that PAX2 protein loss occurs via transcriptional silencing in 80% of endometrial cancers. Mechanistically, transcriptomic, epigenomic, 3D genomic, and machine learning analyses showed that silencing is associated with replacement of open/active chromatin features (H3K27ac/H3K4me3) with inaccessible/repressive features (H3K27me3). The spread of the H3K27me3 signal is restrained by cohesin loops, preventing transcriptional dysregulation of neighboring genes. Functionally, PAX2 loss promoted endometrial carcinogenesis by rewiring the transcriptional landscape via global enhancer reprogramming. Genetically engineered mouse models together with organoid and human cell line studies established Pax2 as an in vivo endometrial tumor suppressor that cooperates with Pten to produce lethal cancers. Our discovery of a specific and recurring epigenetic alteration that transcriptionally silences PAX2 to initiate most endometrial cancers opens new lines of investigation into the origins of endometrial cancer with diverse implications for its diagnosis and treatment. One Sentence SummaryWe demonstrate that PAX2 is silenced by a highly recurrent epigenetic mechanism to initiate most endometrial cancers, establishing a novel mechanism of tumor suppressor inactivation.

cancer biology↗