Mutations in the Wnt co-receptor LRP5 alter bone mass in humans, but the mechanisms responsible for Wnts actions in bone are unclear. To investigate the role of the classical Wnt signaling pathway in osteogenesis, we generated mice lacking the ␤-catenin or adenomatous polyposis coli (Apc) genes in osteoblasts. Loss of ␤-catenin produced severe osteopenia with striking increases in osteoclasts, whereas constitutive activation of ␤-catenin in the conditional Apc mutants resulted in dramatically increased bone deposition and a disappearance of osteoclasts. In vitro, osteoblasts lacking the ␤-catenin gene exhibited impaired maturation and mineralization with elevated expression of the osteoclast differentiation factor, receptor activated by nuclear factor-B ligand (RANKL), and diminished expression of the RANKL decoy receptor, osteoprotegerin. By contrast, Apc-deficient osteoblasts matured normally but demonstrated decreased expression of RANKL and increased osteoprotegerin. These findings suggest that Wnt/␤-catenin signaling in osteoblasts coordinates postnatal bone acquisition by controlling the differentiation and activity of both osteoblasts and osteoclasts.

Mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1 and 2, originally discovered in 2009, occur in the vast majority of low grade gliomas and secondary high grade gliomas. These mutations, which occur early in gliomagenesis, change the function of the enzymes, causing them to produce 2-hydroxyglutarate, a possible oncometabolite, and to not produce NADPH. IDH mutations are oncogenic, although whether the mechanism is through alterations in hydroxylases, redox potential, cellular metabolism, or gene expression is not clear. The mutations also drive increased methylation in gliomas. Gliomas with mutated IDH1 and IDH2 have improved prognosis compared to gliomas with wild-type IDH. Mutated IDH can now be detected by immunohistochemistry and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. No drugs currently target mutated IDH, although this remains an area of active research.

Humans and mice lacking Lrp5 have low BMD. To evaluate whether Lrp5 and Lrp6 interact genetically to control bone or skeletal development, we created mice carrying mutations in both Lrp5 and the related gene Lrp6. We found that compound mutants had dose-dependent deficits in BMD and limb formation, suggesting functional redundancy between these two genes in bone and limb development.Introduction: Lrp5 and Lrp6 are closely related members of the low density lipoprotein receptor family and are co-receptors for Wnt ligands. While Lrp5 mutations are associated with low BMD in humans and mice, the role of Lrp6 in bone formation has not been analyzed. Materials and Methods:To address whether Lrp5 and Lrp6 play complimentary roles in bone and skeletal development, we created mice with mutations in both genes. We inspected limbs of mice from the different genotypic classes of compound mutants to identify abnormalities. DXA and CT were used to evaluate the effect of mutations in Lrp5 and Lrp6 on BMD and microarchitecture. Results: Mice heterozygous for mutations in Lrp6 and either heterozygous or homozygous for a mutation in Lrp5 (Lrp6 ϩ/Ϫ ;Lrp5 ϩ/Ϫ or Lrp6 ϩ/Ϫ ;Lrp5

There is a critical need to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of melanoma brain metastases (MBM). Thus, we performed RNA sequencing on 88 resected MBMs and 42 patient-matched extracranial metastases; tumors with suffi cient tissue also underwent wholeexome sequencing, T-cell receptor sequencing, and IHC. MBMs demonstrated heterogeneity of immune infi ltrates that correlated with prior radiation and post-craniotomy survival. Comparison with patientmatched extracranial metastases identifi ed signifi cant immunosuppression and enrichment of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in MBMs. Gene-expression analysis of intracranial and subcutaneous xenografts, and a spontaneous MBM model, confi rmed increased OXPHOS gene expression in MBMs, which was also detected by direct metabolite profi ling and [U-13 C]-glucose tracing in vivo. IACS-010759, an OXPHOS inhibitor currently in early-phase clinical trials, improved survival of mice bearing MAPK inhibitor-resistant intracranial melanoma xenografts and inhibited MBM formation in the spontaneous MBM model. The results provide new insights into the pathogenesis and therapeutic resistance of MBMs. SIGNIFICANCE: Improving our understanding of the pathogenesis of MBMs will facilitate the rational development and prioritization of new therapeutic strategies. This study reports the most comprehensive molecular profi ling of patient-matched MBMs and extracranial metastases to date. The data provide new insights into MBM biology and therapeutic resistance.

The low-density-lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5), a coreceptor in the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, has been implicated in human disorders of low and high bone mass. Loss-of-function mutations cause the autosomal recessive osteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome, and heterozygous missense mutations in families segregating autosomal dominant high bone mass (HBM) phenotypes have been identified. We expressed seven different HBM-LRP5 missense mutations to delineate the mechanism by which they alter Wnt signaling. None of the mutations caused activation of the receptor in the absence of ligand. Each mutant receptor was able to reach the cell surface, albeit at differing amounts, and transduce exogenously supplied Wnt1 and Wnt3a signal. All HBM mutant proteins had reduced physical interaction with and reduced inhibition by DKK1. These data suggest that HBM mutant proteins can transit to the cell surface in sufficient quantity to transduce Wnt signal and that the likely mechanism for the HBM mutations' physiologic effects is via reduced affinity to and inhibition by DKK1.

Summary Metastases are the major cause of melanoma-related mortality. Previous studies implicating aberrant AKT signaling in human melanoma metastases led us to evaluate the effect of activated AKT1 expression in non-metastatic BRAFV600E/Cdkn2aNull mouse melanomas in vivo. Expression of activated AKT1 resulted in highly metastatic melanomas with lung and brain metastases in 67% and 17% of our mice, respectively. Interestingly, silencing of PTEN in BRAFV600E/Cdkn2aNull melanomas cooperated with activated AKT1 resulting in decreased tumor latency and the development of lung and brain metastases in nearly 80% of tumor-bearing mice. These data demonstrate that AKT1 activation is sufficient to elicit lung and brain metastases in this context and reveal that activation of AKT1 is distinct from PTEN silencing in metastatic melanoma progression. These findings advance our knowledge of the mechanisms driving melanoma metastasis and may provide valuable insights for clinical management of this disease.

SUMMARY Oncogene-induced senescence, e.g., in melanocytic nevi, terminates the expansion of pre-malignant cells via transcriptional silencing of proliferation-related genes due to decoration of their promoters with repressive tri-methylated histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) marks. We show here that structurally distinct H3K9-active demethylases—the lysine-specific demethylase-1 (LSD1) and several Jumonji C domain-containing moieties (such as JMJD2C)—disable senescence and permit Ras/Braf-evoked transformation. In mouse and zebrafish models, enforced LSD1 or JMJD2C expression promoted Braf-V600E-driven melanomagenesis. A large subset of established melanoma cell lines and primary human melanoma samples presented with a collective upregulation of related and unrelated H3K9 demethylase activities, whose targeted inhibition restored senescence, even in Braf inhibitor-resistant melanomas, evoked secondary immune effects and controlled tumor growth in vivo.

Mutations in receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) growth factor receptors (EGFR, PDGFR, MET and ERBB2), which result in downstream activation of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and PI(3)K/AKT pathway, are found in almost all high grade gliomas and MAPK signaling is necessary for continued glioma maintenance. In addition, BRAF is mutated in the majority of low grade gliomas and its expression and activity is significantly increased in the majority of high grade gliomas. While the importance of RTKs and RAS signaling in glioma development has been demonstrated, the role of BRAF has yet to be characterized. We evaluated the effect of activated BRAF in glioma formation using the retroviral RCAS/TVA system to transfer genes encoding activated forms of BRAF, KRas, Akt and Cre to Nestin expressing neural progenitor cells in Ink4a/Arf lox/lox mice in vivo. While expression of activated BRAF alone is not sufficient for tumorigenesis, the combination of activated BRAF and Akt or BRAF with Ink4a/Arf loss is transforming. Interestingly, activated BRAF generates gliomas with characteristics similar to activated KRas in the context of Akt but not Ink4a/Arf loss. Our studies demonstrate a role for BRAF activation and signaling in glioma development and as potential target for glioma therapy.