Establishment of a patient-derived mucoepidermoid carcinoma cell line with the CRTC1-MAML2 fusion gene

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant tumor of the major and minor salivary glands. Surgical resection is the only curative treatment and there is no effective post-operative therapy for MEC. The present study reports an Institutional Review Board-approved case of a 45-year-old Japanese female diagnosed with low-grade MEC in the hard palate. Radical resection, supraomohyoid neck dissection and antero-lateral thigh flap reconstruction was performed. A MEC cell line was then established from the resected tumor tissue. Short tandem repeat profiling confirmed the origin and authenticity of the cell line, that harbors a CRTC1-MAML2 translocation, which is frequently observed in MEC. Amphiregulin (AREG), identified as one of the targets of the CRTC1-MAML2 fusion gene, was expressed in the cell line. The AREG receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was also highly phosphorylated. The results predicted that AREG-EGFR signaling, which is required for tumor growth and survival, might be activated in the cell line in a cell-autonomous manner. As AREG expression is associated with EGFR-targeted drug resistance, this cell line might assist with the identification of novel strategies for MEC treatment.

Automated summary

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant tumor of the salivary glands. This study established a low-grade MEC cell line from a patient and found activation of the AREG-EGFR signaling pathway, which may contribute to tumor growth and survival. This cell line could potentially aid in the identification of new strategies for MEC treatment.