Review Article

Modelling Cooperative Tumorigenesis in Drosophila

Table 2

Tumour-wild-type tissue and intertumoural interactions.

Non-cell autonomous overgrowth/tumorigenesis
1st mutation/mechanism2nd mutation/mechanismPhenotype/references

hid/rpr overexpressionp35 expression (blocks effector caspase activity) generates “undead cells”Eye-antennal or wing epithelial tissue non-cell autonomous overgrowth [59, 129134]
Initiator caspase (Dronc) activationDependent on ROS production, JNK activation, Dpp, Wg upregulation/secretion

ptc mutantark (apaf1) mutantEye-antennal and wing epithelial tissue non-cell autonomous overgrowth [135]
Hh pathway upregulation​

Results in upregulation of Dpp secretion from mutant cells and elevated Dpp signalling and Yki activity in the wild-type cells

RafGOF overexpressionStrong activation of JNK (hepACT)Non-cell autonomous overgrowth and morphology changes of eye-antennal epithelial tissue [136]

Rac1 overexpressionAbrupt (BTB-POZ Zn finger transcription factor)Eye-antennal epithelial tissue non-cell autonomous overgrowth [78]

Intertumoural cooperation

RasV12 overexpression

scrib mutant cells next to RasV12 overexpressing cellsInvasive neoplastic tumours of the larval eye neural-epithelium [137]
Activation of JNK and Upd upregulation and Jak-Stat signalling

Mitochondrial dysfunction in RasV12 overexpressing cells next to RasV12 overexpressing cellsInvasive neoplastic tumours of the larval eye neural-epithelium [138, 139]
Results in ROS production, upregulation of JNK, deregulation of Hippo, secretion of Wg and Upd

Chromosome instabilityCell death blockage (p35 expression)Invasive tumours in the wing epithelium [61, 140]
Induced by spindle assembly or spindle-assembly checkpoint mutants leading to cell delamination (rod, bub3, asp)​

Results in Metabolic stress, ROS induced-JNK activation in epithelial cells promoting cell delamination
Results in Secretion of Wg, Upd from delaminated cells, promoting the proliferation of epithelial tumour cells

Spindle orientation defectsCell death blockage (p35 expression) with mud knockdownInvasive tumours in the eye-antennal or wing epithelium [61, 141, 142]
Due to mutants/knockdown of genes involved in spindle alignment (mud, scrib, dlg) leading to cell delamination​


RasV12 or p35 expression with scrib or dlg
Results in Rho1-Wnd induced JNK activation in epithelial cells promoting cell delamination
Results in secretion of Wg, Upd from delaminated cells, promoting the proliferation of epithelial tumour cells

Dosage compensation mechanism mutantsp35 overexpression or deletion of rpr, hid, grim to block cell deathInvasive tumours in the wing epithelium [142]
Knockdown of msl1 or msl2 in males or Sxl in femalesResults in ROS induced-JNK activation
Results in MMP1 expression in delaminating cells