SUMMARY K-Ras mutations occur frequently in epithelial cancers. Using shRNAs to deplete K-Ras in lung and pancreatic cancer cell lines harboring K-Ras mutations, two classes were identified—lines that do or do not require K-Ras to maintain viability. Comparing these two classes of cancer cells revealed a gene expression signature in K-Ras-dependent cells, associated with a well-differentiated epithelial phenotype, which was also seen in primary tumors. Several of these genes encode pharmacologically tractable proteins, such as Syk and Ron kinases and integrin beta6, depletion of which induces epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and apoptosis specifically in K-Ras-dependent cells. These findings indicate that epithelial differentiation and tumor cell viability are associated, and that EMT regulators in “K-Ras-addicted” cancers represent candidate therapeutic targets. SIGNIFICANCE K-Ras is the most frequently mutated oncogene in solid tumors and when aberrantly activated, is a potent tumor initiator. However, the identification of the critical effectors of K-Ras-mediated tumorigenesis and the development of clinically effective therapeutic strategies in this setting remain challenging. We have found that cancer cell lines harboring K-Ras mutations can be broadly classified into K-Ras-dependent and K-Ras-independent groups. By establishing a gene expression signature that can distinguish these two groups, we identified genes that are specifically up-regulated in K-Ras-dependent cells and are required for their viability. Therefore, the K-Ras dependency signature has revealed several potential therapeutic targets in a subset of otherwise pharmacologically intractable human cancers.

Natural killer cells constitute 50–90% of lymphocytes in human uterine decidua in early pregnancy. Here, CD56bright uterine decidual NK (dNK) cells were compared with the CD56bright and CD56dim peripheral NK cell subsets by microarray analysis, with verification of results by flow cytometry and RT-PCR. Among the ∼10,000 genes studied, 278 genes showed at least a threefold change with P ≤ 0.001 when comparing the dNK and peripheral NK cell subsets, most displaying increased expression in dNK cells. The largest number of these encoded surface proteins, including the unusual lectinlike receptors NKG2E and Ly-49L, several killer cell Ig-like receptors, the integrin subunits αD, αX, β1, and β5, and multiple tetraspanins (CD9, CD151, CD53, CD63, and TSPAN-5). Additionally, two secreted proteins, galectin-1 and progestagen-associated protein 14, known to have immunomodulatory functions, were selectively expressed in dNK cells.

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