SUMMARY Expression of oncogenic KrasG12D initiates lung adenomas in a MAPK signal-dependent manner from only a subset of cell types in the adult mouse lung. Amplification of MAPK signaling is associated with progression to malignant adenocarcinomas, but whether this is a cause or consequence of disease progression is not known. To better understand the effects of MAPK signaling downstream of KrasG12D expression, we capitalized on the ability of Braf inhibition to selectively amplify MAPK pathway signaling in KrasG12D-expressing epithelial cells. MAPK signal amplification indeed promoted the rapid progression of established adenomas to malignant adenocarcinomas. However, we surprisingly observed a greater number of overall tumor-initiating events after MAPK signal amplification, due to induced proliferation of cell types that are normally refractory to KrasG12D-induced transformation. Thus, MAPK signaling in the lung is thresholded not only during malignant progression, but also at the moment of tumor initiation.

Purpose: To establish if SNPs in TNF-α and IL-2 genes are associated with Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma (POAG) in African Americans (AA). We also determined whether plasma TNF-α and IL-2 levels could serve as biomarkers for POAG in African Americans using Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Methods: A single SNP association analysis was performed to investigate the association between potential gene variants in TNF-α and IL-2 genes and POAG in the AA population. Plasma samples from 190 African Americans (72 from normal subjects and 118 POAG cases) were obtained for TNF- α studies and 367 samples (135 from normal subjects and 232 from POAG cases) were obtained for IL-2 studies. TNF-α levels and IL-2 levels were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and analyzed to see if they reached significance in cases with POAG and endophenotypes when compared to normal subjects. Results: The SNP, rs1800630, in TNF-α gene was found to be marginally associated with POAG. SNPs in IL-2 gene were not associated with POAG in the case-control analysis. No significant difference was found between TNF-α levels and IL-2 levels in normal and POAG case subjects in our study. IL-2 levels were inversely correlated with high IOP in POAG cases. Conclusions: Although we found a marginal SNP association of TNF-α, assessing the expression levels of TNF-α and IL-2 may serve as promising biomarkers for African American POAG. Further investigation is needed to determine if POAG can be subdivided into more specified cohorts of the disease, which may affect plasma cytokine levels differently.