Cancer initiation and maintenance of the transformed cell state depend on altered cellular signaling and aberrant activities of transcription factors (TFs) that drive pathological gene expression in response to cooperating genetic lesions. Deciphering the roles of interacting TFs is therefore central to understanding carcinogenesis and for designing cancer therapies. Here, we use an unbiased genomic approach to define a TF network that triggers an abnormal gene expression program promoting malignancy of clonal tumors, generated in Drosophila imaginal disc epithelium by gain of oncogenic Ras (RasV12) and loss of the tumor suppressor Scribble (scrib1). We show that malignant transformation of the rasV12scrib1 tumors requires TFs of distinct families, namely the bZIP protein Fos, the ETS-domain factor Ets21c and the nuclear receptor Ftz-F1, all acting downstream of Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK). Depleting any of the three TFs improves viability of tumor-bearing larvae, and this positive effect can be enhanced further by their combined removal. Although both Fos and Ftz-F1 synergistically contribute to rasV12scrib1 tumor invasiveness, only Fos is required for JNK-induced differentiation defects and Matrix metalloprotease (MMP1) upregulation. In contrast, the Fos-dimerizing partner Jun is dispensable for JNK to exert its effects in rasV12scrib1 tumors. Interestingly, Ets21c and Ftz-F1 are transcriptionally induced in these tumors in a JNK- and Fos-dependent manner, thereby demonstrating a hierarchy within the tripartite TF network, with Fos acting as the most upstream JNK effector. Of the three TFs, only Ets21c can efficiently substitute for loss of polarity and cooperate with RasV12 in inducing malignant clones that, like rasV12scrib1 tumors, invade other tissues and overexpress MMP1 and the Drosophila insulin-like peptide 8 (Dilp8). While rasV12ets21c tumors require JNK for invasiveness, the JNK activity is dispensable for their growth. In conclusion, our study delineates both unique and overlapping functions of distinct TFs that cooperatively promote aberrant expression of target genes, leading to malignant tumor phenotypes.

SummaryCell shape dynamics, motility, and cell proliferation all depend on the actin cytoskeleton. Malignant cancer cells hijack the actin network to grow and migrate to secondary sites. Understanding the function of actin regulators is therefore of major interest. In the present study, we identify the actin cross-linking protein Filamin/Cheerio (Cher) as a mediator of malignancy in genetically defined Drosophila tumors. We show that in invasive tumors, resulting from cooperation of activated Ras with disrupted epithelial cell polarity, Cher is upregulated in a Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)-dependent manner. Although dispensable in normal epithelium, Cher becomes required in the tumor cells for their growth and invasiveness. When deprived of Cher, these tumor clones lose their full potential to proliferate and breach tissue boundaries. Instead, the Cher-deficient clones remain confined within the limits of their source epithelium, permitting survival of the host animal. Through interaction with the myosin II heavy chain subunit, Cher is likely to strengthen the cortical actomyosin network and reinforce mechanical tension within the invasive tumors. Accordingly, Cher is required for aberrant expression of genes downstream of the Hippo/Yorkie signaling in the tumor tissue. Our study identifies Cher as a new target of JNK signaling that links cytoskeleton dynamics to tumor progression.

Cancer development has been linked to aberrant sensing and interpretation of mechanical cues and force‐generating properties. Here, we show that upregulation of the actin crosslinking protein Cheerio (Cher), the fly ortholog of Filamin A (FLNA), and the conformation of its mechanosensitive region (MSR) are instrumental to the malignancy of polarity‐deficient, Ras‐driven tumours in Drosophila epithelia. We demonstrate that impaired growth and cytoskeletal contractility of tumours devoid of cher can be rescued by stimulating myosin activity. Profiling the Cher interactome in tumour‐bearing imaginal discs identified several components of the cell cortex, including the β‐heavy Spectrin Karst (Kst), the scaffolding protein Big bang (Bbg), and 14‐3‐3ε. We show that Cher binds Bbg through the MSR while the interaction with 14‐3‐3ε and Kst is MSR‐independent. Importantly, our genetic studies define Bbg, Kst, and 14‐3‐3ε as tumour suppressors. The tumour‐promoting function of Cher thus relies on its capacity to control the contractile state of the cytoskeleton through interactions with myosin and specific components of the cell cortex.