Kadur Lakshminarasimha Murthy, PreetishXi, RuiArguijo, DianaEveritt, Jeffrey IKocak, Dewran DKobayashi, YoshihikoBozec, AlineVicent, SilvestreDing, ShengliCrawford, Gregory EHsu, DavidTata, Purushothama RaoReddy, TimothyShen, Xiling2024-02-012024-02-012022-021534-58071878-1551https://hdl.handle.net/10161/30082Oncogenic Kras induces a hyper-proliferative state that permits cells to progress to neoplasms in diverse epithelial tissues. Depending on the cell of origin, this also involves lineage transformation. Although a multitude of downstream factors have been implicated in these processes, the precise chronology of molecular events controlling them remains elusive. Using mouse models, primary human tissues, and cell lines, we show that, in Kras-mutant alveolar type II cells (AEC2), FOSL1-based AP-1 factor guides the mSWI/SNF complex to increase chromatin accessibility at genomic loci controlling the expression of genes necessary for neoplastic transformation. We identified two orthogonal processes in Kras-mutant distal airway club cells. The first promoted their transdifferentiation into an AEC2-like state through NKX2.1, and the second controlled oncogenic transformation through the AP-1 complex. Our results suggest that neoplasms retain an epigenetic memory of their cell of origin through cell-type-specific transcription factors. Our analysis showed that a cross-tissue-conserved AP-1-dependent chromatin remodeling program regulates carcinogenesis.Cell LineNucleosomesEpithelial CellsAnimalsMice, Inbred NODHumansMice, SCIDNeoplasmsProto-Oncogene Proteins c-fosTranscription Factor AP-1Cell ProliferationOrgan SpecificityEpigenesis, GeneticBase SequenceMutationOncogenesProto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)Mutant ProteinsCell PlasticityAlveolar Epithelial CellsEpigenomeJournal article