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Combined mutation in Vhl, Trp53 and Rb1 causes clear cell renal cell carcinoma in mice

Nature Medicine volume 23, pages 869–877 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs) frequently exhibit inactivation of the von Hippel–Lindau tumor-suppressor gene, VHL, and often harbor multiple copy-number alterations in genes that regulate cell cycle progression. We show here that modeling these genetic alterations by combined deletion of Vhl, Trp53 and Rb1 specifically in renal epithelial cells in mice caused ccRCC. These tumors arose from proximal tubule epithelial cells and shared molecular markers and mRNA expression profiles with human ccRCC. Exome sequencing revealed that mouse and human ccRCCs exhibit recurrent mutations in genes associated with the primary cilium, uncovering a mutational convergence on this organelle and implicating a subset of ccRCCs as genetic ciliopathies. Different mouse tumors responded differently to standard therapies for advanced human ccRCC, mimicking the range of clinical behaviors in the human disease. Inhibition of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-α transcription factors with acriflavine as third-line therapy had therapeutic effects in some tumors, providing preclinical evidence for further investigation of HIF-α inhibition as a ccRCC treatment. This autochthonous mouse ccRCC model represents a tool to investigate the biology of ccRCC and to identify new treatment strategies.

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Figure 1: Renal epithelial cell–specific co-deletion of Vhl, Trp53 and Rb1 permits the evolution of ccRCCs.
Figure 2: ccRCCs in VhlΔ/ΔTrp53Δ/ΔRb1Δ/Δ mice exhibit HIF-α and mTORC1 pathway activation.
Figure 3: ccRCCs in VhlΔ/ΔTrp53Δ/ΔRb1Δ/Δ mice exhibit global transcriptional similarities to human ccRCCs.
Figure 4: Copy-number variations in mouse ccRCCs are also present in the subset of human ccRCCs with p53–G1/S alterations.
Figure 5: Exome sequencing reveals that mouse and human ccRCCs exhibit recurrent mutations of genes associated with the primary cilium.
Figure 6: ccRCCs in VhlΔ/ΔTrp53Δ/ΔRb1Δ/Δ mice exhibit varying patterns of therapeutic sensitivity and resistance.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants to I.J.F. from the Swiss National Science Foundation (PP00P3_128257), the European Research Council (260316) and the VHL Family Alliance. We are most grateful to Johannes Loffing (University of Zurich), Jürg Biber (University of Zurich) and the late Patrick Pollard (University of Oxford) for providing antibodies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Physiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Sabine Harlander, Désirée Schönenberger, Antonella Catalano, Laura Brandt & Ian J Frew

  2. Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Sabine Harlander & Ian J Frew

  3. NEXUS Personalized Health Technologies, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Nora C Toussaint & Michael Prummer

  4. SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Zurich, Switzerland

    Nora C Toussaint & Michael Prummer

  5. BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    Antonella Catalano & Ian J Frew

  6. Center for Translational Cell Research, Clinic of Internal Medicine I, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    Antonella Catalano & Ian J Frew

  7. Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Holger Moch & Peter J Wild

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  1. Sabine Harlander
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Contributions

I.J.F. and S.H. designed the study; S.H., D.S., A.C. and L.B. conducted experiments; N.C.T., M.P., I.J.F. and S.H. conducted bioinformatic analyses; P.J.W. and H.M. conducted pathological analyses; I.J.F. wrote the manuscript with input from all authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ian J Frew.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Text and Figures

Supplementary Figures 1–9. (PDF 18589 kb)

Supplementary Table 1

RNA sequencing analysis of normal kidney cortices and mouse ccRCCs. (XLSX 4548 kb)

Supplementary Table 2

Copy number variations in mouse ccRCCs. (XLSX 68 kb)

Supplementary Table 3

Collation of high impact mutations and high VAF SNVs in mouse ccRCC tumours. (XLSX 68 kb)

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Harlander, S., Schönenberger, D., Toussaint, N. et al. Combined mutation in Vhl, Trp53 and Rb1 causes clear cell renal cell carcinoma in mice. Nat Med 23, 869–877 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.4343

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