FAT2

Gene Summary

Gene:FAT2; FAT atypical cadherin 2
Aliases: CDHF8, CDHR9, HFAT2, MEGF1, SCA45
Location:5q33.1
Summary:This gene is the second identified human homolog of the Drosophila fat gene, which encodes a tumor suppressor essential for controlling cell proliferation during Drosophila development. The gene product is a member of the cadherin superfamily, a group of integral membrane proteins characterized by the presence of cadherin-type repeats. In addition to containing 34 tandem cadherin-type repeats, the gene product has two epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like repeats and one laminin G domain. This protein most likely functions as a cell adhesion molecule, controlling cell proliferation and playing an important role in cerebellum development. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Databases:OMIM, HGNC, Ensembl, GeneCard, Gene
Protein:protocadherin Fat 2
Source:NCBIAccessed: 01 September, 2019

Ontology:

What does this gene/protein do?
Show (7)

Cancer Overview

Research Indicators

Publications Per Year (1994-2019)
Graph generated 01 September 2019 using data from PubMed using criteria.

Literature Analysis

Mouse over the terms for more detail; many indicate links which you can click for dedicated pages about the topic.

  • SAV1 protein, human
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Bladder Cancer
  • FAT2
  • Signal Transduction
  • RASSF2
  • Squamous Cell Carcinoma
  • Transcription Factors
  • Cell Cycle
  • Pancreatic Cancer
  • Transfection
  • DNA Sequence Analysis
  • Cell Aggregation
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Apoptosis
  • Presenilin-1
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Chromosome 5
  • Tumor Suppressor Proteins
  • Exome
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • RT-PCR
  • Mutation
  • Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins
  • Cadherins
  • snail family transcription factors
  • DNA Copy Number Variations
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases
  • Genomics
  • Epigenetics
  • Esophageal Cancer
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Cancer Gene Expression Regulation
  • Phosphoproteins
  • Gene-Environment Interaction
  • Prostate Cancer
  • Cell Movement
  • Base Sequence
Tag cloud generated 01 September, 2019 using data from PubMed, MeSH and CancerIndex

Specific Cancers (1)

Data table showing topics related to specific cancers and associated disorders. Scope includes mutations and abnormal protein expression.

Entity Topic PubMed Papers
Esophageal CancerFAT2 mutation in Esophogeal Cancer
Lin DC, et al (2014) reported mutation of FAT2 as part of sequenced whole exomes (WES) study of genomic and molecular characterization of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. 20 tumours were analysed in an initial 'discovery' cohort, and then a further 119 samples to validate.
View Publications2

Note: list is not exhaustive. Number of papers are based on searches of PubMed (click on topic title for arbitrary criteria used).

Latest Publications: FAT2 (cancer-related)

Li Y, Kang K, Krahn JM, et al.
A comprehensive genomic pan-cancer classification using The Cancer Genome Atlas gene expression data.
BMC Genomics. 2017; 18(1):508 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) has generated comprehensive molecular profiles. We aim to identify a set of genes whose expression patterns can distinguish diverse tumor types. Those features may serve as biomarkers for tumor diagnosis and drug development.
METHODS: Using RNA-seq expression data, we undertook a pan-cancer classification of 9,096 TCGA tumor samples representing 31 tumor types. We randomly assigned 75% of samples into training and 25% into testing, proportionally allocating samples from each tumor type.
RESULTS: We could correctly classify more than 90% of the test set samples. Accuracies were high for all but three of the 31 tumor types, in particular, for READ (rectum adenocarcinoma) which was largely indistinguishable from COAD (colon adenocarcinoma). We also carried out pan-cancer classification, separately for males and females, on 23 sex non-specific tumor types (those unrelated to reproductive organs). Results from these gender-specific analyses largely recapitulated results when gender was ignored. Remarkably, more than 80% of the 100 most discriminative genes selected from each gender separately overlapped. Genes that were differentially expressed between genders included BNC1, FAT2, FOXA1, and HOXA11. FOXA1 has been shown to play a role for sexual dimorphism in liver cancer. The differentially discriminative genes we identified might be important for the gender differences in tumor incidence and survival.
CONCLUSIONS: We were able to identify many sets of 20 genes that could correctly classify more than 90% of the samples from 31 different tumor types using TCGA RNA-seq data. This accuracy is remarkable given the number of the tumor types and the total number of samples involved. We achieved similar results when we analyzed 23 non-sex-specific tumor types separately for males and females. We regard the frequency with which a gene appeared in those sets as measuring its importance for tumor classification. One third of the 50 most frequently appearing genes were pseudogenes; the degree of enrichment may be indicative of their importance in tumor classification. Lastly, we identified a few genes that might play a role in sexual dimorphism in certain cancers.

Dang TT, Westcott JM, Maine EA, et al.
ΔNp63α induces the expression of FAT2 and Slug to promote tumor invasion.
Oncotarget. 2016; 7(19):28592-611 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Tumor invasion can be induced by changes in gene expression that alter cell phenotype. The transcription factor ΔNp63α promotes basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) migration by inducing the expression of the mesenchymal genes Slug and Axl, which confers cells with a hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal state. However, the extent of the ΔNp63α regulated genes that support invasive behavior is not known. Here, using gene expression analysis, ChIP-seq, and functional testing, we find that ΔNp63α promotes BLBC motility by inducing the expression of the atypical cadherin FAT2, the vesicular binding protein SNCA, the carbonic anhydrase CA12, the lipid binding protein CPNE8 and the kinase NEK1, along with Slug and Axl. Notably, lung squamous cell carcinoma migration also required ΔNp63α dependent FAT2 and Slug expression, demonstrating that ΔNp63α promotes migration in multiple tumor types by inducing mesenchymal and non-mesenchymal genes. ΔNp63α activation of FAT2 and Slug influenced E-cadherin localization to cell-cell contacts, which can restrict spontaneous cell movement. Moreover, live-imaging of spheroids in organotypic culture demonstrated that ΔNp63α, FAT2 and Slug were essential for the extension of cellular protrusions that initiate collective invasion. Importantly, ΔNp63α is co-expressed with FAT2 and Slug in patient tumors and the elevated expression of ΔNp63α, FAT2 and Slug correlated with poor patient outcome. Together, these results reveal how ΔNp63α promotes cell migration by directly inducing the expression of a cohort of genes with distinct cellular functions and suggest that FAT2 is a new regulator of collective invasion that may influence patient outcome.

Miyanaga A, Masuda M, Tsuta K, et al.
Hippo pathway gene mutations in malignant mesothelioma: revealed by RNA and targeted exon sequencing.
J Thorac Oncol. 2015; 10(5):844-51 [PubMed] Related Publications
INTRODUCTION: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an aggressive neoplasm causatively associated with exposure to asbestos. MM is rarely responsive to conventional cytotoxic drugs, and the outcome remains dismal. It is, therefore, necessary to identify the signaling pathways that drive MM and to develop new therapeutics specifically targeting the molecules involved.
METHODS: We performed comprehensive RNA sequencing of 12 MM cell lines and four clinical samples using so-called next-generation sequencers.
RESULTS: We found 15 novel fusion transcripts including one derived from chromosomal translocation between the large tumor suppressor 1 (LATS1) and presenilin-1 (PSEN1) genes. LATS1 is one of the central players of the emerging Hippo signaling pathway. The LATS1-PSEN1 fusion gene product lacked the ability to phosphorylate yes-associated protein and to suppress the growth of a MM cell line. The wild-type LATS1 allele was undetectable in this cell line, indicating two-hit genetic inactivation of its tumor suppressor function. Using pathway-targeted exon sequencing, we further identified a total of 11 somatic mutations in four Hippo pathway genes (neurofibromatosis type 2 [NF2], LATS2, RASSF1, and SAV1) in 35% (8 of 23) of clinical samples. Nuclear staining of yes-associated protein was detected in 55% (24 of 44) of the clinical samples. Expression and/or phosphorylation of the Hippo signaling proteins, RASSF1, Merlin (NF2), LATS1, and LATS2, was frequently absent.
CONCLUSIONS: The frequent alterations of Hippo pathway molecules found in this study indicate the therapeutic feasibility of targeting this pathway in patients with MM.

Gao YB, Chen ZL, Li JG, et al.
Genetic landscape of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Nat Genet. 2014; 46(10):1097-102 [PubMed] Related Publications
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the deadliest cancers. We performed exome sequencing on 113 tumor-normal pairs, yielding a mean of 82 non-silent mutations per tumor, and 8 cell lines. The mutational profile of ESCC closely resembles those of squamous cell carcinomas of other tissues but differs from that of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Genes involved in cell cycle and apoptosis regulation were mutated in 99% of cases by somatic alterations of TP53 (93%), CCND1 (33%), CDKN2A (20%), NFE2L2 (10%) and RB1 (9%). Histone modifier genes were frequently mutated, including KMT2D (also called MLL2; 19%), KMT2C (MLL3; 6%), KDM6A (7%), EP300 (10%) and CREBBP (6%). EP300 mutations were associated with poor survival. The Hippo and Notch pathways were dysregulated by mutations in FAT1, FAT2, FAT3 or FAT4 (27%) or AJUBA (JUB; 7%) and NOTCH1, NOTCH2 or NOTCH3 (22%) or FBXW7 (5%), respectively. These results define the mutational landscape of ESCC and highlight mutations in epigenetic modulators with prognostic and potentially therapeutic implications.

Xie T, Cho YB, Wang K, et al.
Patterns of somatic alterations between matched primary and metastatic colorectal tumors characterized by whole-genome sequencing.
Genomics. 2014; 104(4):234-41 [PubMed] Related Publications
Colorectal cancer (CRC) patients have poor prognosis after formation of distant metastasis. Understanding the molecular mechanisms by which genetic changes facilitate metastasis is critical for the development of targeted therapeutic strategies aimed at controlling disease progression while minimizing toxic side effects. A comprehensive portrait of somatic alterations in CRC and the changes between primary and metastatic tumors has yet to be developed. We performed whole genome sequencing of two primary CRC tumors and their matched liver metastases. By comparing to matched germline DNA, we catalogued somatic alterations at multiple scales, including single nucleotide variations, small insertions and deletions, copy number aberrations and structural variations in both the primary and matched metastasis. We found that the majority of these somatic alterations are present in both sites. Despite the overall similarity, several de novo alterations in the metastases were predicted to be deleterious, in genes including FBXW7, DCLK1 and FAT2, which might contribute to the initiation and progression of distant metastasis. Through careful examination of the mutation prevalence among tumor cells at each site, we also proposed distinct clonal evolution patterns between primary and metastatic tumors in the two cases. These results suggest that somatic alterations may play an important role in driving the development of colorectal cancer metastasis and present challenges and opportunities when considering the choice of treatment.

Lin DC, Hao JJ, Nagata Y, et al.
Genomic and molecular characterization of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Nat Genet. 2014; 46(5):467-73 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is prevalent worldwide and particularly common in certain regions of Asia. Here we report the whole-exome or targeted deep sequencing of 139 paired ESCC cases, and analysis of somatic copy number variations (SCNV) of over 180 ESCCs. We identified previously uncharacterized mutated genes such as FAT1, FAT2, ZNF750 and KMT2D, in addition to those already known (TP53, PIK3CA and NOTCH1). Further SCNV evaluation, immunohistochemistry and biological analysis suggested their functional relevance in ESCC. Notably, RTK-MAPK-PI3K pathways, cell cycle and epigenetic regulation are frequently dysregulated by multiple molecular mechanisms in this cancer. Our approaches also uncovered many druggable candidates, and XPO1 was further explored as a therapeutic target because it showed both gene mutation and protein overexpression. Our integrated study unmasks a number of novel genetic lesions in ESCC and provides an important molecular foundation for understanding esophageal tumors and developing therapeutic targets.

Tang H, Wei P, Duell EJ, et al.
Axonal guidance signaling pathway interacting with smoking in modifying the risk of pancreatic cancer: a gene- and pathway-based interaction analysis of GWAS data.
Carcinogenesis. 2014; 35(5):1039-45 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Cigarette smoking is the best established modifiable risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Genetic factors that underlie smoking-related pancreatic cancer have previously not been examined at the genome-wide level. Taking advantage of the existing Genome-wide association study (GWAS) genotype and risk factor data from the Pancreatic Cancer Case Control Consortium, we conducted a discovery study in 2028 cases and 2109 controls to examine gene-smoking interactions at pathway/gene/single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) level. Using the likelihood ratio test nested in logistic regression models and ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA), we examined 172 KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathways, 3 manually curated gene sets, 3 nicotine dependency gene ontology pathways, 17 912 genes and 468 114 SNPs. None of the individual pathway/gene/SNP showed significant interaction with smoking after adjusting for multiple comparisons. Six KEGG pathways showed nominal interactions (P < 0.05) with smoking, and the top two are the pancreatic secretion and salivary secretion pathways (major contributing genes: RAB8A, PLCB and CTRB1). Nine genes, i.e. ZBED2, EXO1, PSG2, SLC36A1, CLSTN1, MTHFSD, FAT2, IL10RB and ATXN2 had P interaction < 0.0005. Five intergenic region SNPs and two SNPs of the EVC and KCNIP4 genes had P interaction < 0.00003. In IPA analysis of genes with nominal interactions with smoking, axonal guidance signaling $$\left(P=2.12\times 1{0}^{-7}\right)$$ and α-adrenergic signaling $$\left(P=2.52\times 1{0}^{-5}\right)$$ genes were significantly overrepresented canonical pathways. Genes contributing to the axon guidance signaling pathway included the SLIT/ROBO signaling genes that were frequently altered in pancreatic cancer. These observations need to be confirmed in additional data set. Once confirmed, it will open a new avenue to unveiling the etiology of smoking-associated pancreatic cancer.

Katoh M
Function and cancer genomics of FAT family genes (review).
Int J Oncol. 2012; 41(6):1913-8 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
FAT1, FAT2, FAT3 and FAT4 are human homologs of Drosophila Fat, which is involved in tumor suppression and planar cell polarity (PCP). FAT1 and FAT4 undergo the first proteolytic cleavage by Furin and are predicted to undergo the second cleavage by γ‑secretase to release intracellular domain (ICD). Ena/VAPS‑binding to FAT1 induces actin polymerization at lamellipodia and filopodia to promote cell migration, while Scribble‑binding to FAT1 induces phosphorylation and functional inhibition of YAP1 to suppress cell growth. FAT1 is repressed in oral cancer owing to homozygous deletion or epigenetic silencing and is preferentially downregulated in invasive breast cancer. On the other hand, FAT1 is upregulated in leukemia and prognosis of preB‑ALL patients with FAT1 upregulation is poor. FAT4 directly interacts with MPDZ/MUPP1 to recruit membrane‑associated guanylate kinase MPP5/PALS1. FAT4 is involved in the maintenance of PCP and inhibition of cell proliferation. FAT4 mRNA is repressed in breast cancer and lung cancer due to promoter hypermethylation. FAT4 gene is recurrently mutated in several types of human cancers, such as melanoma, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. FAT1 and FAT4 suppress tumor growth via activation of Hippo signaling, whereas FAT1 promotes tumor migration via induction of actin polymerization. FAT1 is tumor suppressive or oncogenic in a context‑dependent manner, while FAT4 is tumor suppressive. Copy number aberration, translocation and point mutation of FAT1, FAT2, FAT3, FAT4, FRMD1, FRMD6, NF2, WWC1, WWC2, SAV1, STK3, STK4, MOB1A, MOB1B, LATS1, LATS2, YAP1 and WWTR1/TAZ genes should be comprehensively investigated in various types of human cancers to elucidate the mutation landscape of the FAT‑Hippo signaling cascades. Because YAP1 and WWTR1 are located at the crossroads of adhesion, GPCR, RTK and stem‑cell signaling network, cancer genomics of the FAT signaling cascades could be applied for diagnostics, prognostics and therapeutics in the era of personalized medicine.

Sadeqzadeh E, de Bock CE, Zhang XD, et al.
Dual processing of FAT1 cadherin protein by human melanoma cells generates distinct protein products.
J Biol Chem. 2011; 286(32):28181-91 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
The giant cadherin FAT1 is one of four vertebrate orthologues of the Drosophila tumor suppressor fat. It engages in several functions, including cell polarity and migration, and in Hippo signaling during development. Homozygous deletions in oral cancer suggest that FAT1 may play a tumor suppressor role, although overexpression of FAT1 has been reported in some other cancers. Here we show using Northern blotting that human melanoma cell lines variably but universally express FAT1 and less commonly FAT2, FAT3, and FAT4. Both normal melanocytes and keratinocytes also express comparable FAT1 mRNA relative to melanoma cells. Analysis of the protein processing of FAT1 in keratinocytes revealed that, like Drosophila FAT, human FAT1 is cleaved into a non-covalent heterodimer before achieving cell surface expression. The use of inhibitors also established that such cleavage requires the proprotein convertase furin. However, in melanoma cells, the non-cleaved proform of FAT1 is also expressed at the cell surface together with the furin-cleaved heterodimer. Moreover, furin-independent processing generates a potentially functional proteolytic product in melanoma cells, a persistent 65-kDa membrane-bound cytoplasmic fragment no longer in association with the extracellular fragment. In vitro localization studies of FAT1 showed that melanoma cells display high levels of cytosolic FAT1 protein, whereas keratinocytes, despite comparable FAT1 expression levels, exhibited mainly cell-cell junctional staining. Such differences in protein distribution appear to reconcile with the different protein products generated by dual FAT1 processing. We suggest that the uncleaved FAT1 could promote altered signaling, and the novel products of alternate processing provide a dominant negative function in melanoma.

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Cite this page: Cotterill SJ. FAT2, Cancer Genetics Web: http://www.cancer-genetics.org/FAT2.htm Accessed:

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