Gene expression profile of human gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) organoids TP53/CDKN2A KO

Inactivation of the tumor suppressor genes TP53 and CDKN2A occurs early during GEJ tumorigenesis. However, due to a paucity of GEJ-specific disease models, cancer-promoting consequences of TP53 and CDKN2A inactivation at the GEJ have been incompletely characterized. Here we report the development of the first wild-type primary human GEJ organoid model, as well as a CRISPR-edited transformed GEJ organoid model. CRISPR/Cas9 engineering to inactivate TP53 and CDKN2A (TP53/CDKN2A KO) in GEJ organoids induced morphologic dysplasia as well as pro-neoplastic features in vitro and tumor formation in vivo. Notably, lipidomic profiling identified several Platelet-Activating Factors (PTAFs) among the most upregulated lipids in CRISPR-edited organoids; and importantly, PT AF/PT AFR abrogation by siRNA knockdown or a pharmacologic inhibitor (WEB2086) significantly blocked proliferation and other pro-neoplastic features of TP53/CDKN2A KO GEJ organoids in vitro and tumor formation in vivo. In addition, murine xenografts derived from Eso26, an established esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) cell line, were suppressed by WEB2086. Mechanistically, TP53/CDKN2A dual inactivation disrupted both the transcriptome and the DNA methylome, likely mediated by key transcription factors, particularly Forkhead Box M1 (FOXM1). Importantly, FOXM1 activated PTAFR transcription by binding to the PTAFR promoter, further amplifying the PTAF-PTAFR pathway. In summary, we established a robust model system for investigating early GEJ neoplastic events, identified crucial metabolic and epigenomic changes occurring during GEJ model tumorigenesis, and discovered a potential cancer-therapeutic strategy, while providing insights into pro-neoplastic mechanisms associated with TP53/CDKN2A inactivation in early GEJ neoplasia.