Functional role of ALK-related signal cascades on modulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and apoptosis in uterine carcinosarcoma

BACKGROUND: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), which is a receptor tyrosine kinase, is essentially and transiently expressed in the developing nervous system. Recently, the deregulated expression of full-length ALK has been observed in some primary solid tumors, but little is known about its involvement in the tumorigenesis of uterine carcinosarcomas (UCSs). Here we examined the functional role of the ALK gene in UCSs. METHODS: Regulation and function of the ALK gene were assessed using two endometrial carcinoma cell lines. Expression of ALK and its related molecules were also investigated using clinical samples of UCSs. RESULTS: In cell lines, ALK promoter activity was significantly increased by transfection of Sox11 and N-myc, which are known to contribute to neuronal properties. Cells stably overexpressing full-length ALK showed an enhancement of EMT properties mediated by TGF-β1 and HGF, along with an increase in phosphorylated (p) Akt and nuclear p65. Overexpression of p65 also led to transactivation of Twist1 gene, known as an EMT inducer. Finally, treatment of the stable ALK-overexpressing cells with doxorubicin resulted in inhibition of apoptosis with progressive increase in the expression ratio of both pAkt and bcl2 relative to total Akt and bax, respectively. In clinical samples, strong cytoplasmic ALK immunoreactivity and mRNA signals without rearrangement or amplification of the ALK locus were frequently observed in UCSs, particularly in the sarcomatous components. Further, ALK IHC score was found to be positively correlated with Sox11, N-myc, Twist1, and bcl2 scores. CONCLUSION: ALK-related signal cascades containing Akt, NF-κB, Twist1, and bcl2 may participate in initial signaling for divergent sarcomatous differentiation driven from carcinomatous components in UCSs through induction of the EMT process and inhibition of apoptotic features. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12943-017-0609-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.