Isoform-specific disruption of the TP73 gene reveals a critical role for TAp73? in tumorigenesis via leptin

TP73, a member of the p53 family, is expressed as TAp73 and ?Np73 along with multiple C -terminal isoforms (a-?). ?Np73 is primarily expressed in neuronal cells and necessary for neuronal development. Interestingly, while TAp73a is a tumor suppressor and predominantly expressed in normal cells, TAp73 is found to be frequently altered in human cancers, suggesting a role of TAp73 C -terminal isoforms in tumorigenesis. To test this, the TCGA SpliceSeq database was searched and showed that exon 11 (E11) exclusion occurs frequently in several human cancers. We also found that p73a to p73? isoform switch resulting from E11 skipping occurs frequently in human prostate cancers and dog lymphomas. To determine whether p73a to p73? isoform switch plays a role in tumorigenesis, CRISPR technology was used to generate multiple cancer cell lines and a mouse model in that Trp73 E11 is deleted. Surprisingly, we found that in E11- deificient cells, p73? becomes the predominant isoform and exerts oncogenic activities by promoting cell prolif-eration and migration. In line with this, E11- deficient mice were more prone to obesity and B- cell lymphomas, indicating a unique role of p73? in lipid metabolism and tumorigenesis. Additionally, we found that E11-deficient mice phenocopies Trp73- deficient mice with short lifespan, infertility, and chronic inflammation. Mechanistically, we showed that Leptin, a pleiotropic adipocytokine involved in energy metabolism and oncogenesis, was highly induced by p73?,necessary for p73?-mediated oncogenic activity, and associated with p73a to ? isoform switch in human prostate cancer and dog lymphoma. Finally, we showed that E11- knockout promoted, whereas knockdown of p73? or Leptin suppressed, xenograft growth in mice. Our study indicates that the p73?-Leptin pathway promotes tumorigenesis and alters lipid metabolism, which may be targeted for cancer management.