Aberrant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling is common in cancer. Increased expression of wild type and mutant EGFR is a widespread feature of diverse types of cancer. EGFR signaling in cancer has been the focus of intense investigation for decades primarily for two reasons. First, aberrant EGFR signaling is likely to play an important role in the pathogenesis of cancer, and therefore, the mechanisms of EGFR-mediated oncogenic signaling are of interest. Second, the EGFR signaling system is an attractive target for therapeutic intervention. EGFR gene amplification and overexpression are a particularly striking feature of glioblastoma (GBM), observed in approximately 40% of tumors. GBM is the most common primary malignant tumor of the central nervous system in adults. In approximately 50% of tumors with EGFR amplification, a specific EGFR mutant (EGFRvIII, also known as EGFR type III, de2-7, Delta EGFR) can be detected. This mutant is highly oncogenic and is generated from a deletion of exons 2 to 7 of the EGFR gene, which results in an in-frame deletion of 267 amino acids from the extracellular domain of the receptor. EGFRvIII is unable to bind ligand, and it signals constitutively. Although EGFRvIII has the same signaling domain as the wild type receptor, it seems to generate a distinct set of downstream signals that may contribute to an increased tumorigenicity. In this review, we discuss recent progress in key aspects of EGFR signaling in GBM, focusing on neuropathology, signal transduction, imaging of the EGFR, and the role of the EGFR in mediating resistance to radiation therapy in GBM.

Mechanisms that alter protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A)-dependent lung tumour suppression via the I2PP2A/SET oncoprotein are unknown. We show here that the tumour suppressor ceramide binds I2PP2A/SET selectively in the nucleus and including its K209 and Y122 residues as determined by molecular modelling/simulations and site-directed mutagenesis. Because I2PP2A/SET was found overexpressed, whereas ceramide was downregulated in lung tumours, a sphingolipid analogue drug, FTY720, was identified to mimick ceramide for binding and targeting I2PP2A/SET, leading to PP2A reactivation, lung cancer cell death, and tumour suppression in vivo. Accordingly, while molecular targeting of I2PP2A/SET by stable knockdown prevented further tumour suppression by FTY720, reconstitution of WT-I2PP2A/SET expression restored this process. Mechanistically, targeting I2PP2A/SET by FTY720 mediated PP2A/RIPK1-dependent programmed necrosis (necroptosis), but not by apoptosis. The RIPK1 inhibitor necrostatin and knockdown or genetic loss of RIPK1 prevented growth inhibition by FTY720. Expression of WT- or death-domain-deleted (DDD)-RIPK1, but not the kinase-domain-deleted (KDD)-RIPK1, restored FTY720-mediated necroptosis in RIPK1−/− MEFs. Thus, these data suggest that targeting I2PP2A/SET by FTY720 suppresses lung tumour growth, at least in part, via PP2A activation and necroptosis mediated by the kinase domain of RIPK1.

Early steps in myelination in the central nervous system (CNS) include a specialized and extreme form of cell spreading in which oligodendrocytes extend large lamellae that spiral around axons to form myelin. Recent studies have demonstrated that laminin-2 (LN-2; α2β1γ1) stimulates oligodendrocytes to extend elaborate membrane sheets in vitro (cell spreading), mediated by integrin α6β1. Although a congenital LN-2 deficiency in humans is associated with CNS white matter changes, LN-2–deficient (dy/dy) mice have shown abnormalities primarily within the peripheral nervous system. Here, we demonstrate a critical role for LN-2 in CNS myelination by showing that dy/dy mice have quantitative and morphologic defects in CNS myelin. We have defined the molecular pathway through which LN-2 signals oligodendrocyte cell spreading by demonstrating requirements for phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity and integrin-linked kinase (ILK). Interaction of oligodendrocytes with LN-2 stimulates ILK activity. A dominant negative ILK inhibits LN-2–induced myelinlike membrane formation. A critical component of the myelination signaling cascade includes LN-2 and integrin signals through ILK.

Mounting evidence suggests that the tumor microenvironment is profoundly immunosuppressive. Thus, mitigating tumor immunosuppression is crucial for inducing sustained antitumor immunity. Whereas previous studies involved intratumoral injection, we report here an inhalable nanoparticle-immunotherapy system targeting pulmonary antigen presenting cells (APCs) to enhance anticancer immunity against lung metastases. Inhalation of phosphatidylserine coated liposome loaded with STING agonist cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine monophosphate (NP-cGAMP) in mouse models of lung metastases enables rapid distribution of NP-cGAMP to both lungs and subsequent uptake by APCs without causing immunopathology. NP-cGAMP designed for enhanced cytosolic release of cGAMP stimulates STING signaling and type I interferons production in APCs, resulting in the pro-inflammatory tumor microenvironment in multifocal lung metastases. Furthermore, fractionated radiation delivered to one tumor-bearing lung synergizes with inhaled NP-cGAMP, eliciting systemic anticancer immunity, controlling metastases in both lungs, and conferring long-term survival in mice with lung metastases and with repeated tumor challenge.