A kinase-deficient NTRK2 splice variant predominates in glioma and amplifies several oncogenic signaling pathways

Nat Commun. 2020 Jun 12;11(1):2977. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16786-5.

Abstract

Independent scientific achievements have led to the discovery of aberrant splicing patterns in oncogenesis, while more recent advances have uncovered novel gene fusions involving neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinases (NTRKs) in gliomas. The exploration of NTRK splice variants in normal and neoplastic brain provides an intersection of these two rapidly evolving fields. Tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), encoded NTRK2, is known for critical roles in neuronal survival, differentiation, molecular properties associated with memory, and exhibits intricate splicing patterns and post-translational modifications. Here, we show a role for a truncated NTRK2 splice variant, TrkB.T1, in human glioma. TrkB.T1 enhances PDGF-driven gliomas in vivo, augments PDGF-induced Akt and STAT3 signaling in vitro, while next generation sequencing broadly implicates TrkB.T1 in the PI3K signaling cascades in a ligand-independent fashion. These TrkB.T1 findings highlight the importance of expanding upon whole gene and gene fusion analyses to include splice variants in basic and translational neuro-oncology research.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Brain / pathology
  • Brain Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Brain Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Brain Neoplasms / pathology
  • Carcinogenesis / genetics
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Ontology
  • Glioma / genetics*
  • Glioma / metabolism
  • Glioma / pathology
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Humans
  • Membrane Glycoproteins / genetics*
  • Membrane Glycoproteins / metabolism
  • Mice
  • NIH 3T3 Cells
  • Neural Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / genetics
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / metabolism
  • Oncogenes / genetics*
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / metabolism
  • RNA Isoforms / genetics*
  • RNA Isoforms / metabolism
  • RNA Splicing*
  • Receptor, trkB / genetics*
  • Receptor, trkB / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction / genetics

Substances

  • Membrane Glycoproteins
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion
  • RNA Isoforms
  • Receptor, trkB
  • tropomyosin-related kinase-B, human