Thymidylate synthase drives the phenotypes of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in non-small cell lung cancer

Background Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) enhances motility, stemness, chemoresistance and metastasis. Little is known about how various pathways coordinate to elicit EMT’s different functional aspects in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Thymidylate synthase (TS) has been previously correlated with EMT transcription factor ZEB1 in NSCLC and imparts resistance against anti-folate chemotherapy. In this study, we establish a functional correlation between TS, EMT, chemotherapy and metastasis and propose a network for TS mediated EMT. Methods Published datasets were analysed to evaluate the significance of TS in NSCLC fitness and prognosis. Promoter reporter assay was used to sort NSCLC cell lines in TS HIGH and TS LOW . Metastasis was assayed in a syngeneic mouse model. Results TS levels were prognostic and predicted chemotherapy response. Cell lines with higher TS promoter activity were more mesenchymal-like. RNA-seq identified EMT as one of the most differentially regulated pathways in connection to TS expression. EMT transcription factors HOXC6 and HMGA2 were identified as upstream regulator of TS, and AXL, SPARC and FOSL1 as downstream effectors. TS knock-down reduced the metastatic colonisation in vivo. Conclusion These results establish TS as a theranostic NSCLC marker integrating survival, chemo-resistance and EMT, and identifies a regulatory network that could be targeted in EMT-driven NSCLC.