Ninjurin1 drives lung tumor formation and progression by potentiating Wnt/β-Catenin signaling through Frizzled2-LRP6 assembly

BACKGROUND: Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) play a pivotal role in lung tumor formation and progression. Nerve injury-induced protein 1 (Ninjurin1, Ninj1) has been implicated in lung cancer; however, the pathological role of Ninj1 in the context of lung tumorigenesis remains largely unknown. METHODS: The role of Ninj1 in the survival of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) CSCs within microenvironments exhibiting hazardous conditions was assessed by utilizing patient tissues and transgenic mouse models where Ninj1 repression and oncogenic Kras(G12D/+) or carcinogen-induced genetic changes were induced in putative pulmonary stem cells (SCs). Additionally, NSCLC cell lines and primary cultures of patient-derived tumors, particularly Ninj1(high) and Ninj1(low) subpopulations and those with gain- or loss-of-Ninj1 expression, and also publicly available data were all used to assess the role of Ninj1 in lung tumorigenesis. RESULTS: Ninj1 expression is elevated in various human NSCLC cell lines and tumors, and elevated expression of this protein can serve as a biomarker for poor prognosis in patients with NSCLC. Elevated Ninj1 expression in pulmonary SCs with oncogenic changes promotes lung tumor growth in mice. Ninj1(high) subpopulations within NSCLC cell lines, patient-derived tumors, and NSCLC cells with gain-of-Ninj1 expression exhibited CSC-associated phenotypes and significantly enhanced survival capacities in vitro and in vivo in the presence of various cell death inducers. Mechanistically, Ninj1 forms an assembly with lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) through its extracellular N-terminal domain and recruits Frizzled2 (FZD2) and various downstream signaling mediators, ultimately resulting in transcriptional upregulation of target genes of the LRP6/β-catenin signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Ninj1 may act as a driver of lung tumor formation and progression by protecting NSCLC CSCs from hostile microenvironments through ligand-independent activation of LRP6/β-catenin signaling. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13046-022-02323-3.