Transactivation of Met signaling by oncogenic Gnaq drives the evolution of melanoma in Hgf-Cdk4 mice

Recent pan-cancer genomic analyses have identified numerous oncogenic driver mutations that occur in a cell-type and tissue-specific distribution. For example, oncogenic mutations in Braf and Nras genes arise predominantly in melanocytic neoplasms of the epidermis, while oncogenic mutations in Gnaq/11 genes arise mostly in melanocytic lesions of the dermis or the uvea. The mechanisms promoting cell-type and tissue-specific oncogenic events currently remain poorly understood. Here, we report that Gnaq/11 hotspot mutations occur as early oncogenic drivers during the evolution of primary melanomas in Hgf-Cdk4 mice. Additional single base substitutions in the Trp53 gene and structural chromosomal aberrations favoring amplifications of the chromosomal region containing the Met receptor gene accumulate during serial tumor transplantation and in cell lines established in vitro. Mechanistically, we found that the Gnaq Q209L mutation transactivates the Met receptor. Overexpression of oncogenic Gnaq Q209L in the immortalized melanocyte cell line promoted in vivo growth that was enhanced by transgenic Hgf expression in the tumor microenvironment. This cross-signaling mechanism explains the selection of oncogenic Gnaq/11 in primary Hgf-Cdk4 melanomas and provides an example of how oncogenic driver mutations, intracellular signaling cascades, and microenvironmental cues cooperate to drive cancer development in a tissue-specific fashion.