Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29400712›Full record

ArticleNature medicine2018

Noncanonical hedgehog pathway activation through SRF-MKL1 promotes drug resistance in basal cell carcinomas.

Ramon J Whitson, Alex Lee, Nicole M Urman, Amar Mirza, Catherine Y Yao, Alexander S Brown, Jiang R Li, Gautam Shankar, Micah A Fry, Scott X Atwood and 8 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
74citing papers in PubMed
5.0field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

74 citing papers in PubMed, 112 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Does Basal Cell Carcinoma Arise from a Precursor Lesion?The Journal of investigative dermatology · 2026
    Review
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14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Ramon J WhitsonProgram in Epithelial Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Alex LeeChildren's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California, USA.
Nicole M UrmanDepartment of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Amar MirzaProgram in Epithelial Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Catherine Y YaoProgram in Epithelial Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Alexander S BrownProgram in Epithelial Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Jiang R LiProgram in Epithelial Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Gautam ShankarProgram in Epithelial Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Micah A FryChildren's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California, USA.
Scott X AtwoodProgram in Epithelial Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7407-9792
Eunice Y LeeDepartment of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
S Tyler HollmigDepartment of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Sumaira Z AasiDepartment of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Kavita Y SarinProgram in Epithelial Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5363-3053
Matthew P ScottDepartment of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Ervin H EpsteinChildren's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California, USA.
Jean Y TangProgram in Epithelial Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Anthony E OroProgram in Epithelial Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6261-138X
Stanford University · USUniversity of California, Irvine · US

Funding

STROMAL REGULATION OF BASAL CELL CARCINOMA FORMATIONR01AR046786 · NIAMS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Anthony E Oro · 2001 to 2026
$9.5M
Postgraduate Training Program in Epithelial BiologyT32AR007422 · NIAMS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI PAUL KHAVARI · 1986 to 2026
$5.0M
REGULATING GLI FUNCTION IN HAIR FOLLICLE PROGENITORSR01AR054780 · NIAMS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI ORO, ANTHONY E · 2007 to 2017
$4.3M
Mechanisms of Hedgehog Target Gene Selection in Development and CancerR01CA157895 · NCI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI ORO, ANTHONY E · 2011 to 2015
$1.7M
aPKC function in Hedgehog signaling and basal cell carcinomaR00CA176847 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI ATWOOD, SCOTT · 2015 to 2017
$623k
High Throughput DNA Sequencer UpgradeS10OD018220 · OD · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI COLLER, JOHN · 2014 to 2014
$596k
Nikon A1Rsi resonant spectral confocal microscopeS10OD010580 · OD · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI FULLER, MARGARET T · 2013 to 2013
$377k
The role of extracellular signaling in mechanisms of drug resistance in basal cell carcinomaF30CA217017 · NCI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI YAO, CATHERINE · 2017 to 2019
$103k
NCI NIH HHS F30 CA217017NCI NIH HHS R00 CA176847NCI NIH HHS R01 CA157895NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR046786NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR054780NIAMS NIH HHS T32 AR007422NIH HHS S10 OD010580NIH HHS S10 OD018220
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Hedgehog pathway-dependent cancers can escape Smoothened (SMO) inhibition through mutations in genes encoding canonical hedgehog pathway components; however, around 50% of drug-resistant basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) lack additional variants of these genes. Here we use multidimensional genomics analysis of human and mouse drug-resistant BCCs to identify a noncanonical hedgehog activation pathway driven by the transcription factor serum response factor (SRF). Active SRF along with its coactivator megakaryoblastic leukemia 1 (MKL1) binds DNA near hedgehog target genes and forms a previously unknown protein complex with the hedgehog transcription factor glioma-associated oncogene family zinc finger-1 (GLI1), causing amplification of GLI1 transcriptional activity. We show that cytoskeletal activation through Rho and the formin family member Diaphanous (mDia) is required for SRF-MKL-driven GLI1 activation and for tumor cell viability. Remarkably, nuclear MKL1 staining served as a biomarker in tumors from mice and human subjects to predict tumor responsiveness to MKL inhibitors, highlighting the therapeutic potential of targeting this pathway. Thus, our study illuminates, for the first time, cytoskeletal-activation-driven transcription as a personalized therapeutic target for combatting drug-resistant malignancies.

Indexed as

AnimalsBasal Cell CarcinomaCell Line, TumorCell ProliferationCell SurvivalDrug Resistance, NeoplasmGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHedgehog ProteinsHumansMiceMultiprotein ComplexesSerum Response FactorSignal TransductionTrans-ActivatorsTranscriptional ActivationZinc Finger Protein GLI1GLI1 protein, humanHedgehog ProteinsMRTFA protein, humanMultiprotein ComplexesSerum Response FactorSRF protein, humanTrans-ActivatorsZinc Finger Protein GLI1

Identifiers

PMID29400712
PMCPMC5839965
OpenAlexW2787477673

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.