Is there a role for the cylindromatosis tumor suppressor (CYLD) in lung cancer?
To explore a correlation between CYLD expression and responsiveness to TRAIL in lung cancer cell lines, we established lung cancer cell lines that stably express CYLD. Our data provided the first evidence that increased expression of CYLD directly blocks TRAIL-induced NF - B activation, and consequently increases TRAIL-induced apoptosis in lung cancer cells. CYLD may act as a therapeutic target of lung cancer. Targeting CYLD, in combination with TRAIL, may be a new strategy to treat lung cancer with high NF - B activity. Cyld encodes a 956-amino acid deubiquitinating enzyme, which is a negative regulator of nuclear factor kappaB and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Mutations that truncate and inactivate the carboxyl-terminal deubiquitinating domain of CYLD underlie the development of skin appendage tumors in humans, whereas down-regulation of Cyld expression has been associated with the development of various types of human malignancies including lung cancer. To establish an animal model of human CYLD inactivation and characterize the biological role of CYLD in vivo, we generated mice carrying a homozygous deletion of Cyld exon 9 mice ) using a conditional approach. Our study identifies an important role of CYLD in lung maturation, which may underlie the development of many cases of lung cancer. 