FGFR1-activated Translation of WNT Pathway Components with Structured 5' UTRs is Vulnerable to Inhibition of EIF4A-dependent Translation Initiation

Cooperativity between WNT and FGF signaling is well documented in embryonic development and cancer progression, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this crosstalk remain elusive. In this study, we interrogated the dynamics of RNA levels, ribosome occupancy, and protein expression as a function of inducible FGF signaling in mouse mammary glands with constitutive WNT hyperactivation. Multi-omics correlation analysis revealed a substantial discrepancy between RNA and ribosome occupancy levels versus protein levels. However, this discrepancy decreased as cells became pre-malignant and dynamically responded to FGF signaling, implicating the importance of stringent gene regulation in non-transformed cells. Analysis of individual genes demonstrated that acute FGF hyperactivation increased translation of many stem cell self-renewal regulators, including WNT signaling components, and decreased translation of genes regulating cellular senescence. WNT pathway components translationally upregulated by FGF signaling had long and structured 5' UTRs with a high frequency of polypurine sequences, several of which harbored (CGG)4 motifs that can fold into either stable G-quadruplexes or other stable secondary structures. The FGF-mediated increase in translation of WNT pathway components was compromised by silvestrol, an inhibitor of EIF4A that clamps EIF4A to polypurine sequences to block 43S scanning and inhibits its RNA-unwinding activity important for translation initiation. Moreover, silvestrol treatment significantly delayed FGF-WNT-driven tumorigenesis. Taken together, these results suggest that FGF signaling selectively enhances translation of structured mRNAs, particularly WNT signaling components, and highlight their vulnerability to inhibitors that target the RNA helicase EIF4A.

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