LRIG1 regulates cadherin-dependent contact inhibition directing epithelial homeostasis and pre-invasive squamous cell carcinoma development
Authors list
Liwen Lu Vitor H Teixeira ZhengQiang Yuan Trevor A Graham David Endesfelder Krishna Kolluri Noura Al-Juffali Nicholas Hamilton Andrew G Nicholson Mary Falzon Maik Kschischo Charles Swanton Nicholas A Wright Bernadette Carroll Fiona M Watt Jeremy P George Kim B Jensen Adam Giangreco Sam M JanesAbstract
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway activation is a frequent event in human carcinomas. Mutations in EGFR itself are, however, rare, and the mechanisms regulating EGFR activation remain elusive. Leucine-rich immunoglobulin repeats-1 (LRIG1), an inhibitor of EGFR activity, is one of four genes identified that predict patient survival across solid tumour types including breast, lung, melanoma, glioma, and bladder. We show that deletion of Lrig1 is sufficient to promote murine airway hyperplasia through loss of contact inhibition and that re-expression of LRIG1 in human lung cancer cells inhibits tumourigenesis. LRIG1 regulation of contact inhibition occurs via ternary complex formation with EGFR and E-cadherin with downstream modulation of EGFR activity. We find that LRIG1 LOH is frequent across cancers and its loss is an early event in the development of human squamous carcinomas. Our findings imply that the early stages of squamous carcinoma development are driven by a change in amplitude of EGFR signalling governed by the loss of contact inhibition.
Journal details
Journal Journal of Pathology
Volume 229
Issue number 4
Pages 608-620
Publication date
Full text links
Publisher website (DOI) 10.1002/path.4148
Europe PubMed Central 23208928
Pubmed 23208928
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