Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) is a devastating cancer with specific features of muscle differentiation that can result from mutational activation of RAS family members. However, to date, RAS pathway activation has not been reported in a majority of ERMS patients. Here, we have created a zebrafish model of RAS-induced ERMS, in which animals develop externally visible tumors by 10 d of life. Microarray analysis and cross-species comparisons identified two conserved gene signatures found in both zebrafish and human ERMS, one associated with tumor-specific and tissue-restricted gene expression in rhabdomyosarcoma and a second comprising a novel RAS-induced gene signature. Remarkably, our analysis uncovered that RAS pathway activation is exceedingly common in human RMS. We also created a new transgenic coinjection methodology to fluorescently label distinct subpopulations of tumor cells based on muscle differentiation status. In conjunction with fluorescent activated cell sorting, cell transplantation, and limiting dilution analysis, we were able to identify the cancer stem cell in zebrafish ERMS. When coupled with gene expression studies of this cell population, we propose that the zebrafish RMS cancer stem cell shares similar self-renewal programs as those found in activated satellite cells.[Keywords: Zebrafish; rhabdomyosarcoma; RAS; P53; transgenic] Supplemental material is available at http://www.genesdev.org.

Germline mutations of the fumarate hydratase (FH, fumarase) gene are found in the recessive FH deficiency syndrome and in dominantly inherited susceptibility to multiple cutaneous and uterine leiomyomatosis (MCUL). We have previously reported a number of germline FH mutations from MCUL patients. In this study, we report additional FH mutations in MCUL and FH deficiency patients. Mutations can readily be found in about 75% of MCUL cases and most cases of FH deficiency. Some of the more common FH mutations are probably derived from founding individuals. Protein-truncating FH mutations are functionally null alleles. Disease-associated missense FH changes map to highly conserved residues, mostly in or around the enzyme's active site or activation site; we predict that these mutations severely compromise enzyme function. The mutation spectra in FH deficiency and MCUL are similar, although in the latter mutations tend to occur earlier in the gene and, perhaps, are more likely to result in a truncated or absent protein. We have found that not all mutation-carrier parents of FH deficiency children have a strong predisposition to leiomyomata. We have confirmed that renal carcinoma is sometimes part of MCUL, as part of the variant hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cancer (HLRCC) syndrome, and have shown that these cancers may have either type II papillary or collecting duct morphology. We have found no association between the type or site of FH mutation and any aspect of the MCUL phenotype. Biochemical assay for reduced FH functional activity in the germline of MCUL patients can indicate carriers of FH mutations with high sensitivity and specificity, and can detect reduced FH activity in some patients without detectable FH mutations. We conclude that MCUL is probably a genetically homogeneous tumour predisposition syndrome, primarily resulting from absent or severely reduced fumarase activity, with currently unknown functional consequences for the smooth muscle or kidney cell.

Pancreatitis is caused by inflammatory injury to the exocrine pancreas, from which both humans and animal models appear to recover via regeneration of digestive enzyme-producing acinar cells. This regenerative process involves transient phases of inflammation, metaplasia and redifferentiation, driven by cell-cell interactions between acinar cells, leukocytes and resident fibroblasts. The NFκB signaling pathway is a critical determinant of pancreatic inflammation and metaplasia, whereas a number of developmental signals and transcription factors are devoted to promoting acinar redifferentiation after injury. Imbalances between these pro-inflammatory and pro-differentiation pathways contribute to chronic pancreatitis, characterized by persistent inflammation, fibrosis and acinar dedifferentiation. Loss of acinar cell differentiation also drives pancreatic cancer initiation, providing a mechanistic link between pancreatitis and cancer risk. Unraveling the molecular bases of exocrine regeneration may identify new therapeutic targets for treatment and prevention of both of these deadly diseases.

RAS family members are among the most frequently mutated oncogenes in human cancers. Given the utility of zebrafish in both chemical and genetic screens, developing RAS-induced cancer models will make large-scale screens possible to understand further the molecular mechanisms underlying malignancy. We developed a heat shock-inducible Cre/Lox-mediated transgenic approach in which activated human kRASG12D can be conditionally induced within transgenic animals by heat shock treatment. Specifically, double transgenic fish Tg(B-actin-LoxP-EGFP-LoxP-kRASG12D; hsp70-Cre) developed four types of tumors and hyperplasia after heat shock of whole zebrafish embryos, including rhabdomyosarcoma, myeloproliferative disorder, intestinal hyperplasia, and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. Using ex vivo heat shock and transplantation of whole kidney marrow cells from double transgenic animals, we were able to generate specifically kRASG12D-induced myeloproliferative disorder in recipient fish. This heat shock-inducible recombination approach allowed for the generation of multiple types of RAS-induced tumors and hyperplasia without characterizing tissue-specific promoters. Moreover, these tumors and hyperplasia closely resemble human diseases at both the morphologic and molecular levels.myeloproliferative disorder ͉ RAS ͉ rhabdomyosarcoma ͉ intestine ͉ malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor R AS genes encode a family of 21-kDa proteins that switch between inactive GDP-bound (RAS-GDP) and active GTPbound (RAS-GTP) conformations. Once in its activated GTPbound form, RAS interacts with downstream effectors to modulate diverse cellular responses, including proliferation, differentiation, and survival (1). Point mutations within RAS family members often occur at codon 12, 13, or 61 (2), which abolish RAS-GTP hydrolysis and lead to constitutive activation of downstream signaling pathways. These activating mutations are common in human malignancies; for example, Ͼ90% of pancreatic adenocarcinomas, 50% of colorectal cancers, 25-50% of lung cancers, 5-35% of rhabdomyosarcomas (RMS), and 25-50% of myeloid leukemia have mutational activation of RAS family members. Among the three different human RAS genes (H-, N-,