SRF-MYOCD axis is the targetable driver of a well differentiated aggressive subtype of leiomyosarcomas

Abstract

In leiomyosarcoma (LMS), a very aggressive disease, a relatively transcriptionally uniform subgroup of well differentiated tumors has been described and is associated with poor survival. The question raised how differentiation and tumor progression, two apparently antagonist processes, coexist and allow tumor malignancy. We first identified the most transcriptionally homogeneous LMS subgroup in three independent cohorts, which we named hLMS. The integration of multi-omics data and functional analysis suggests that hLMS originate from vascular smooth muscle cells and show that hLMS transcriptional program reflects both modulation of smooth muscle contraction activity controlled by MYOCD/SRF regulatory network and activation of the cell cycle activity controlled by E2F/RB1 pathway. We propose that the phenotypic plasticity of vascular smooth muscle cells coupled with MYOCD/SRF pathway amplification, essential for hLMS survival, concomitant with PTEN absence and RB1 alteration, could explain how hLMS balance this uncommon interplay between differentiation and aggressiveness.