PCSK5^M452I is a recessive hypomorph exclusive to MCF10DCIS.com cells

The most widely used cell line for studying ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) premalignancy is the transformed breast epithelial cell line, MCF10DCIS.com. During its original clonal isolation and selection, MCF10DCIS.com acquired a heterozygous M452I mutation in the proprotein convertase PCSK5, which has never been reported in any human cancer. The mutation is noteworthy because PCSK5 matures GDF11, a TGFβ-superfamily ligand that suppresses progression of triple-negative breast cancer. We asked here whether PCSK5^M452I and its activity toward GDF11 might contribute to the unique properties of MCF10DCIS.com. Using an optimized in-cell GDF11 maturation assay, we found that overexpressed PCSK5^M452I was measurably active but at a fraction of the wildtype enzyme. In a PCSK5 ^-/- clone of MCF10DCIS.com reconstituted with different PCSK5 alleles, PCSK5^M452I was mildly defective in anterograde transport. However, the multicellular organization of PCSK5^M452I addback cells in 3D matrigel cultures was significantly less compact than wildtype and indistinguishable from a PCSK5^T288P null allele. Growth of intraductal MCF10DCIS.com xenografts was similarly impaired along with the frequency of comedo necrosis and stromal activation. In no setting did PCSK5^M452I exhibit gain-of-function activity, leading us to conclude that it is hypomorphic and thus compensated by the remaining wildtype allele in MCF10DCIS.com.

This work reassures that an exotic PCSK5 mutation is not responsible for the salient characteristics of the MCF10DCIS.com cell line.