Search

Gorlin's or nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) causes predisposition to basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the commonest cancer in adult human. Mutations in the tumor suppressor gene PTCH1 are responsible for this autosomal dominant syndrome. In NBCCS patients, as in the general population, ultraviolet exposure is a major risk factor for BCC development. However these patients also develop BCCs in sun-protected areas of the skin, suggesting the existence of other mechanisms for BCC predisposition in NBCCS patients. As increasing evidence supports the idea that the stroma influences carcinoma development, we hypothesized that NBCCS fibroblasts could facilitate BCC occurence of the patients. WT (n = 3) and NBCCS fibroblasts bearing either nonsense (n = 3) or missense (n = 3) PTCH1 mutations were cultured in dermal equivalents made of a collagen matrix and their transcriptomes were compared by whole genome microarray analyses. Strikingly, NBCCS fibroblasts over-expressed mRNAs encoding pro-tumoral factors such as Matrix Metalloproteinases 1 and 3 and tenascin C. They also over-expressed mRNA of pro-proliferative diffusible factors such as fibroblast growth factor 7 and the stromal cell-derived factor 1 alpha, known for its expression in carcinoma associated fibroblasts. These data indicate that the PTCH1(+/-) genotype of healthy NBCCS fibroblasts results in phenotypic traits highly reminiscent of those of BCC associated fibroblasts, a clue to the yet mysterious proneness to non photo-exposed BCCs in NBCCS patients.

Basal cell carcinoma of the skin is the most common type of cancer in humans. The majority of these tumors displays aberrant activation of the SONIC HEDGEHOG (SHH)/PATCHED pathway, triggered by mutations in the PATCHED tumor suppressor gene, which encodes a transmembrane receptor of SHH. In this study, we took advantage of the natural genotype (PATCHED(+/-)) of healthy keratinocytes expanded from patients with the nevoid basal cell carcinoma or Gorlin syndrome to mimic heterozygous somatic mutations thought to occur in the PATCHED gene early upon basal cell carcinoma development in the general population. PATCHED(+/-) epidermis developed on a dermal equivalent containing wild-type (WT) PATCHED(+/+) fibroblasts exhibited striking invasiveness and hyperproliferation, as well as marked differentiation impairment. Deciphering the phenotype of PATCHED(+/-) keratinocytes revealed slight increases of the transcriptional activators GLI1 and GLI2-the latter known to provoke basal cell carcinoma-like tumors when overexpressed in transgenic mice. PATCHED(+/-) keratinocytes also showed a substantial increase of the cell cycle regulator cyclin D1. These data show for the first time the physiological impact of constitutive heterozygous PATCHED mutations in primary human keratinocytes and strongly argue for a yet elusive mechanism of haploinsufficiency leading to cancer proneness.