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<i>Lrig1</i> expression identifies airway basal cells with high proliferative capacity and restricts lung squamous cell carcinoma growth

Succony, L; Gómez-López, S; Pennycuick, A; Alhendi, ASN; Davies, D; Clarke, SE; Gowers, KHC; ... Janes, SM; + view all (2021) <i>Lrig1</i> expression identifies airway basal cells with high proliferative capacity and restricts lung squamous cell carcinoma growth. The European Respiratory Journal 10.1183/13993003.00816-2020. Green open access

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Abstract

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) accounts for a significant proportion of cancer deaths worldwide, and is preceded by the appearance of progressively disorganised pre-invasive lesions in the airway epithelium. Yet the biological mechanisms underlying progression of pre-invasive lesions into invasive LUSC are not fully understood. <i>LRIG1</i> is downregulated in pre-invasive airway lesions and invasive LUSC tumours and this correlates with decreased lung cancer patient survival.Using an <i>Lrig1</i> knock-in reporter mouse and human airway epithelial cells collected at bronchoscopy, we show that during homeostasis LRIG1 is heterogeneously expressed in the airway epithelium. In basal airway epithelial cells, the suspected cell of origin of LUSC, LRIG1 identifies a subpopulation of progenitor cells with higher <i>in vitro</i> proliferative and self-renewal potential in both the mouse and human. Using the N-nitroso-tris-chloroethylurea (NTCU)-induced murine model of LUSC, we find that <i>Lrig1</i> loss-of-function leads to abnormally high cell proliferation during the earliest stages of pre-invasive disease and to the formation of significantly larger invasive tumours, suggesting accelerated disease progression.Together, our findings identify LRIG1 as a marker of basal airway progenitor cells with high proliferative potential and as a regulator of pre-invasive lung cancer progression. This work highlights the clinical relevance of LRIG1 and the potential of the NTCU-induced LUSC model for functional assessment of candidate tumour suppressors and oncogenes.

Type: Article
Title: <i>Lrig1</i> expression identifies airway basal cells with high proliferative capacity and restricts lung squamous cell carcinoma growth
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1183/13993003.00816-2020
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00816-2020
Language: English
Additional information: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine > Respiratory Medicine
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10133070
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