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Cited by 0Cancer-related Molecular PathwaysChromatin Remodeling and CancerLung Cancer Treatments and Mutations

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 47 of the 47 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 53 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Combined Point Mutation in a Single Allele of the TP53 Gene Potentiates the Oncogenic and Transcriptional Properties of TP53 in Lung Cancer

Open access
Bian, Sicheng, Bian, Huiqin, Koyama, Hiroaki, Kompaniiets, Dmytro, Tse, William, Shah, Mithun V, Al-Kali, Aref, Miron, Alexander, Liu, Bin, Liu, Shujun·2026·International Journal of Biological Sciences

Abstract

Although multi-hit TP53 mutations correlate with rapid disease progression, treatment resistance, recurrence, and poor survival, their occurrence within an individual TP53 gene molecule (cbTP53) remains unexplored. Consequently, the impact of cbTP53 on protein conformation, transcriptional architecture, and oncogenicity is unknown. We show that cbTP53 with combined mutations (Y220C+R248Q+R282Q) does not drastically alter local stability or structural conformation, but significantly affects TP53 binding to DNA promoters comparing it to a single Y220C mutation. Functionally, cbTP53 promotes divergent cellular phenotypes, characterized by enhanced cell proliferation, increased formation of multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) and spheroids, altered responses to chemotherapeutic drugs (e.g., cisplatin, carboplatin) and p53 inhibitors (e.g., MB710, PK11007), and increased resistance to carboplatin-induced DNA damage. Furthermore, cbTP53 is linked to distinct immune cell profiles (e.g., CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, nature killer cells, dendritic cells), more circulating tumor cells, a higher rate of tumor engraftment, and an increased number of lung tumor nodules. Mechanistically, introduction of R248Q/R282Q mutations changes 42.7% of Y220C-regulated gene expression, and cbTP53 (vs Y220C) owns a distinctive transcriptomic signature with 1,004 up- and 1,747 down-regulated genes. cbTP53 shows the enhanced binding affinity in the promoters of inflammatory cytokines, leading to their increased production. This study establishes causative and mechanistic links of cbTP53 to lung aggressive cancer metastasis and disease progression, providing a novel perspective on the genetics of TP53 mutations in cancer.

Overview

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TL;DR

The paper engineers a combined TP53 mutation (Y220C+R248Q+R282Q, “cbTP53”) in a single allele and reports that it produces non-additive, epistatic effects on TP53 structure, DNA binding, transcription, drug response, and lung cancer aggressiveness. cbTP53 shifts cells toward enhanced anchorage-independent growth, chemoresistance, inflammatory cytokine production, immunosuppressive immune profiles, and greater metastatic burden in mice compared with the single Y220C mutant.

Key findings

  • Structural analyses found overall TP53–DNA conformations were similar (RMSD 0.5–1 Å for all Cα atoms), but cbTP53 was predicted to cause local conformational shifts and altered DNA binding; ChIP showed cbTP53 had higher binding affinity at promoters of tested cytokines than Y220C.
  • cbTP53 vs Y220C transcriptomes differed substantially: 1,004 upregulated and 1,747 downregulated genes, and introduction of R248Q/R282Q changed 42.7% of Y220C-regulated gene expression; TNFA signaling via NFκB was enriched in cbTP53 vs SC or Y220C but not Y220C vs SC.
  • In vivo, cbTP53 cells produced more lung tumor burden: 5/9 mice vs 1/9 Y220C mice had heavier lungs with metastatic lesions and tumor nodules (P = 0.0221), and cbTP53-bearing mice had larger/heavier spleens (P < 0.001).
  • cbTP53 cells showed altered drug sensitivity, with reported IC50 values for carboplatin of 10.096 (Y220C) vs 16.9258 (cbTP53) vs 8.0373 µM (scramble), and higher circulating tumor cells than Y220C (0.41% vs 0.07%).

Methods

  • Structural comparison and mutagenesis modeling used ChimeraX with available TP53 crystal structures; mutations Y220C, R248Q, and R282Q were introduced into MigR1-TP53 by site-directed mutagenesis and expressed in LLC/2 cells via retrovirus with GFP sorting to >95% purity.
  • In vitro assays included IncuCyte proliferation, CCK-8 drug sensitivity, multicellular tumor spheroid and Matrigel sphere formation, alkaline comet assay, cytokine arrays, qPCR, Western blotting, and ChIP-qPCR.
  • RNA-seq was performed in triplicate on scramble, Y220C, and cbTP53 LLC/2 cells with differential expression, GO/KEGG, Venn, and GSEA analyses; in vivo work used intravenous injection of 2 × 10^4 LLC/2 cells into syngeneic C57BL/6 mice, with blood flow cytometry and tissue analysis.

Limitations

  • The paper states that structural conclusions rely on computer modeling rather than crystal structures of TP53 carrying these combined mutations, and that R248 mutations may make such crystals difficult; thermal stability and methodological specificity may also limit structural clarity.
  • The paper states that cytokine arrays have limited sensitivity, ChIP conclusions come from a limited set of upregulated cytokines and need EMSA or ChIP-seq validation, and overexpression of human TP53 mutants in murine LLC/2 cells with wild-type endogenous p53 may introduce hetero-tetramer interference; human or p53-null validation is needed.
  • The paper states that clinical relevance is uncertain because multiple mutations within a single TP53 allele have not yet been reported in patients, and that the precise boundaries between dominant-negative and gain-of-function effects remain to be mapped; the text also notes subtle drug-response differences between Y220C and cbTP53.
  • Evident from the text: no blinding or randomization was used, sample size was not predetermined by power analysis, and some conclusions rest on small in vivo groups (n = 9 mice per group for tumor burden).

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.7150/ijbs.131687

Cites

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Metadata

Authors
Bian, S., Bian, H., Koyama, H., Kompaniiets, D., Tse, W., Shah, M. V., Al-Kali, A., Miron, A., Liu, B., & Liu, S.
Affiliations
  • MetroHealth (US)
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • Mayo Clinic (US)
Corresponding author
Liu, Shujun
Venue
International Journal of Biological Sciences
Published
2026-09-10
Volume
22
Issue
15
Pages
8139-8157
ISSN
1449-2288 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W7214639723
Cited by
0
References
46
FWCI
0.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • International Journal of Biological Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Case Western Reserve University
  • National Cancer Institute (R01CA248019, R01CA266256)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer-related Molecular Pathways
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Chromatin Remodeling and Cancer
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Lung Cancer Treatments and Mutations
Keywords
TP53, lung cancer, tumor spheroids, chemoresistance, carboplatin resistance, p53 inhibitors, tumor immune cell infiltration, circulating tumor cells, metastasis, inflammatory cytokines, gene expression signatures
MeSH terms
Alleles, Animals, Humans, Lung Neoplasms, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Tumor Suppressor Protein p53, Point Mutation, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation, Mice

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