The receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) sustains prosurvival signalling directly downstream of the lineage-survival oncogene NKX2-1/TTF-1 in lung adenocarcinoma. Here we report an unanticipated function of this receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) as a scaffold of cavin-1 and caveolin-1 (CAV1), two essential structural components of caveolae. This kinase-independent function of ROR1 facilitates the interactions of cavin-1 and CAV1 at the plasma membrane, thereby preventing the lysosomal degradation of CAV1. Caveolae structures and prosurvival signalling towards AKT through multiple RTKs are consequently sustained. These findings provide mechanistic insight into how ROR1 inhibition can overcome EGFR–tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) resistance due to bypass signalling via diverse RTKs such as MET and IGF-IR, which is currently a major clinical obstacle. Considering its onco-embryonic expression, inhibition of the scaffold function of ROR1 in patients with lung adenocarcinoma is an attractive approach for improved treatment of this devastating cancer.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) function in a wide range of processes by diverse mechanisms, though their roles in regulation of oncogenes and/or tumor suppressors remain rather elusive. We performed a global search for lncRNAs affecting MYC activity using a systems biology-based approach with a K supercomputer and the GIMLET algorism based on local distance correlations. Consequently, MYMLR was identified and experimentally shown to maintain MYC transcriptional activity and cell cycle progression despite the low levels of expression. A proteomic search for MYMLR-binding proteins identified PCBP2, while it was also found that MYMLR places a 557-kb upstream enhancer region in the proximity of the MYC promoter in cooperation with PCBP2. These findings implicate a crucial role for MYMLR in regulation of the archetypical oncogene MYC and warrant future studies regarding the involvement of low copy number lncRNAs in regulation of other crucial oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes.

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We previously identified receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) as a transcriptional target of the NKX2-1/TTF-1 lineage-survival oncogene in lung adenocarcinoma. ROR1 consequently sustains a favorable balance between prosurvival phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-protein kinase B and pro-apoptotic apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1)-p38MAPK signaling. In contrast to recent advances in understanding how ROR1 sustains pro-survival signaling, the mechanism of ROR1 repression of pro-apoptotic signaling remains rather elusive. In the present study, we investigated the underlying mechanism of ROR1-mediated inhibition of the ASK1-p38MAPK signaling pathway. Growth inhibition mediated by siROR1 was partially but significantly alleviated by ASK1 co-knockdown in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Also, ASK1 phosphorylation at Thr845, which reflects its activated state, was clearly inhibited by ROR1 overexpression in both steady state and oxidative stress-elicited conditions in MSTO-211H cells. In addition, we found that ROR1 was physically associated with ASK1 at the C-terminal serine threonine-rich domain of ROR1. Furthermore, ROR1 kinase activity was shown to be required to repress the ASK1-p38 axis and oxidative stress-induced cell death. The present findings thus support our notion that ROR1 sustains lung adenocarcinoma survival, at least in part, through direct physical interaction with ASK1 and consequential repression of the pro-apoptotic ASK1-p38 axis in a ROR1 kinase activity-dependent manner.

sequencing space/sample, and d) frequency of polymerase error at the nucleotide site bearing the mutation. In targeted NGS, synthetic competitive IS control for stochastic sampling at input of both target into library preparation and of target library product into sequencer, enable reduced sequencing space requirement, and control for qualitative errors generated during library preparation and sequencing. These controls enable accurate clinical diagnostic reporting of confidence limits and limit of detection for copy number measurement, and reduce sequencing space required for analysis.