Oncogenic KRAS Recruits an Expansive Transcriptional Network through Mutant p53 to Drive Pancreatic Cancer Metastasis

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is almost uniformly fatal and characterized by early metastasis. Oncogenic mutations prevail in 95% of PDAC tumors and co-occur with genetic alterations in the tumor suppressor in nearly 70% of patients. Most alterations are missense mutations that exhibit gain-of-function phenotypes that include increased invasiveness and metastasis, yet the extent of direct cooperation between effectors and mutant p53 remains largely undefined. We show that oncogenic effectors activate CREB1 to allow physical interactions with mutant p53 that hyperactivate multiple prometastatic transcriptional networks. Specifically, mutant p53 and CREB1 upregulate the prometastatic, pioneer transcription factor , activating its transcriptional network while promoting WNT/β-catenin signaling, together driving PDAC metastasis. Pharmacologic CREB1 inhibition dramatically reduced and β-catenin expression and dampened PDAC metastasis, identifying a new therapeutic strategy to disrupt cooperation between oncogenic and mutant p53 to mitigate metastasis. SIGNIFICANCE: Oncogenic and mutant p53 are the most commonly mutated oncogene and tumor suppressor gene in human cancers, yet direct interactions between these genetic drivers remain undefined. We identified a cooperative node between oncogenic effectors and mutant p53 that can be therapeutically targeted to undermine cooperation and mitigate metastasis. .