Sustained experimental activation of FGF8/ERK in the developing chicken spinal cord models early events in ERK-mediated tumorigenesis.

ABSTRACT: The MAPK/ERK pathway regulates a variety of physiological cellular functions, including cell proliferation and survival. It is abnormally activated in many types of human cancers in response to driver mutations in regulators of this pathway that trigger tumor initiation. The early steps of oncogenic progression downstream of ERK overactivation are poorly understood due to a lack of appropriate models. We show here that ERK1/2 overactivation in the trunk neural tube of the chicken embryo through expression of a constitutively active form of the upstream kinase MEK1 (MEK1ca), rapidly provokes a profound change in the transcriptional signature of developing spinal cord cells. These changes are concordant with a previously established role of the tyrosine kinase receptor ligand FGF8 acting via

SUBMITTER: Wilmerding A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8717438 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature