Abstract
The transcriptional coregulator RIP140 is an ubiquitous cofactor playing a major role in the regulation of many physiopathological processes. It can either act as a coactivator or as a corepressor of signaling pathways depending on its recruitment on target genes. It has been shown that RIP140 is a good prognostic marker in sporadic intestinal tumorigenesis. This work focuses on its role in familial colorectal cancers and particularly in relation to the Lynch syndrome (LS). Lynch syndrome is a hereditary cancer predisposition, mostly colorectal, characterized by a defect in the Mismatch Repair (MMR) system, due to a first germline mutation of one gene of this system. Loss of MMR function induces a microsatellite instability (MSI) phenotype. However, there are some MSI familial colorectal cancers, where neither germinal nor somatic alteration of one MMR gene is found. They are referred to as Lynch like Syndrome (LLS) and their overall management is identical to that of LS. Murine models and colorectal cell lines, harboring modulations of RIP140 expression, allowed us to demonstrate the positive transcriptional regulation of the MMR genes, MSH2 and MSH6 by RIP140. Functional validation of this regulation was explored by microsatellite instability and sensitivity to various cytotoxic drugs analyses. A positive correlation has been confirmed between RIP140 and MSH2 and MSH6 gene expression in a cohort of 396 patients. Moreover, the transcriptional regulation by RIP140 of a specialized translesional DNA polymerase, the Polκ polymerase, has been investigated. Polκ ensures microsatellite sequences replication. We have demonstrated that RIP140 positively stimulates the expression of the POLK gene in our cell models and which appears correlated with that of RIP140 in human colorectal tumors. Finally, by sequencing different cell lines, we found a frameshift mutation of RIP140, generating a truncated protein with loss of the last two repression domains. High-throughput sequencing allowed us to look for this mutation in patient MSI colorectal tumor samples. This mutation was found in 19% of these tumors, especially LLS (16,2%), where it has been associated with lower overall survival. This mutation affects the antiproliferative and transrepressive properties of RIP140, as well as the positive regulation of the MSH2, MSH6 and POLK gene. Development of a specific antibody for this mutation would be extremely useful in following the expression of this mutated form within tumors and first tests have been already carried out. In conclusion, RIP140 controls expression of major genes involved in genome integrity maintenance and a mutation of this transcriptional coregulator could be responsible for microsatellite instability of some tumors where alterations of MMR genes are not found. Clinical studies on larger cohorts will be necessary to validate its interest as a marker usable in patient management.