A Novel TP53 Gene Mutation Sustains Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer through Mitophagy

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the world. In particular, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents the majority of the lung cancer population. Advances in DNA sequencing technologies have significantly contributed to revealing the roles, functions and mechanisms of gene mutations. However, the driver mutations that cause cancers and their pathologies remain to be explored. Here, we performed next-generation sequencing (NGS) on tumor tissues isolated from 314 Chinese NSCLC patients and established the mutational landscape in NSCLC. Among 656 mutations, we identified TP53-p.Glu358Val as a driver mutation in lung cancer and found that it activates mitophagy to sustain cancer cell growth. In support of this finding, mice subcutaneously implanted with NSCLC cells expressing TP53-p.Glu358Val developed larger tumors compared to wild-type cells. The pharmaceutical inhibition of autophagy/mitophagy selectively suppresses the cell proliferation of TP53-null or TP53-p.Glu358Val-expressing lung cancer cells. Together, our study characterizes a new TP53 mutation identified from Chinese lung cancer patients and uncovers its roles in regulating mitophagy, providing a new insight into NSCLC treatment.