Identification of recurrent USP48 and BRAF mutations in Cushing’s disease
Cushing’s disease results from corticotroph adenomas of the pituitary that hypersecrete adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), leading to excess glucocorticoid and hypercortisolism. Mutations of the deubiquitinase gene USP8 occur in 35–62% of corticotroph adenomas. However, the major driver mutations in USP8 w...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Nature communications Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 3171 - 9 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
09.08.2018
Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio |
| Subjects: | |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723, 2041-1723 |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Cushing’s disease results from corticotroph adenomas of the pituitary that hypersecrete adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), leading to excess glucocorticoid and hypercortisolism. Mutations of the deubiquitinase gene
USP8
occur in 35–62% of corticotroph adenomas. However, the major driver mutations in
USP8
wild-type tumors remain elusive. Here, we report recurrent mutations in the deubiquitinase gene
USP48
(predominantly encoding p.M415I or p.M415V; 21/91 subjects) and
BRAF
(encoding p.V600E; 15/91 subjects) in corticotroph adenomas with wild-type
USP8
. Similar to
USP8
mutants, both
USP48
and
BRAF
mutants enhance the promoter activity and transcription of the gene encoding proopiomelanocortin (POMC), which is the precursor of ACTH, providing a potential mechanism for ACTH overproduction in corticotroph adenomas. Moreover, primary corticotroph tumor cells harboring
BRAF
V600E are sensitive to the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib. Our study thus contributes to the understanding of the molecular mechanism of the pathogenesis of corticotroph adenoma and informs therapeutic targets for this disease.
In this study the authors report USP48 and BRAF are frequently mutated in USP8 wild-type corticotroph adenomas, and cause Cushing’s disease mainly through promoting the promoter activity of POMC. Inhibition of BRAF may be a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of patients with BRAF-mutated corticotroph adenomas. |
|---|---|
| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 2041-1723 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-018-05275-5 |