Tumor suppressor gene co-operativity in compound Patched1 and suppressor of fused heterozygous mutant mice.

Dysregulation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway is central to the development of certain tumor types, including medulloblastoma and basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Patched1 (Ptch1) and Suppressor of fused (Sufu) are two essential negative regulators of the pathway with tumor suppressor activity. Ptch1(+/-) mice are predisposed to developing medulloblastoma and rhabdonnyosarcoma, while Sufu(+/-) mice develop a skin phenotype characterized by basaloid epidermal proliferations. Here, we have studied tumor development in Sufu(+/-)Ptch1(+/-) mice to determine the effect of compound heterozygosity on the onset, incidence, and spectrum of tumors. We found significantly more (2.3-fold) basaloid proliferations in Sufu(+/-)Ptch1(+/-) compared to Sufu(+/-) female, but not male, mice. For medulloblastoma, the cumulative 1-yr incidence was 1.5-fold higher in Sufu(+/-)Ptch1(+/-) compared to Ptch1(+/-) female mice but this strong trend was not statistically significant. Together this suggests a weak genetic interaction of the two tumor suppressor genes. We noted a few rhabdomyosarcomas and pancreatic cysts in the Sufu(+/-)Ptch(+/-) mice, but the numbers were not significantly different from the single heterozygous mice. Hydrocephalus developed in similar to 20% of the Ptch1(+/-) and Sufu(+/-)Ptch1(+/-) but not in Sufu(+/-) mice. Interestingly, most of the medulloblastomas from the Sufu(+/-)Ptch1(+/-) mice had lost expression of the remaining Ptch1 wild-type allele but not the Sufu wild-type allele. On the contrary, Sufu as well as Gli1 and Gli2 expression was upregulated in the medulloblastomas compared to adult cerebellum in Ptch1(+/-) and Sufu(+/-)Ptch1(+/-) mice. This suggests that Sufu expression may be regulated by Hedgehog pathway activity and could constitute another negative feedback loop in the pathway. (C) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.