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(American Journal of Pathology. 2006;168:321-330.)
© 2006 American Society for Investigative Pathology

Constitutive Hedgehog Signaling in Chondrosarcoma Up-Regulates Tumor Cell Proliferation

Tri Dung Tiet^*, Sevan Hopyan^*¶||, Puviindran Nadesan^*, Nalan Gokgoz, Raymond Poon^*, Alvin C. Lin^*, Taiqiang Yan, Irene L. Andrulis, Benjamin A. Alman^*¶|| and Jay S. Wunder^||**

From the Program in Developmental Biology, Research Institute,^* and the Division of Orthopaedics,^¶ The Hospital for Sick Children; the Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology and Surgery|| and the Institute of Medical Science; and the Program in Molecular Biology and Cancer, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, and the University Musculoskeletal Oncology Unit and Division of Orthopaedics,^** Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Chondrosarcoma is a malignant cartilage tumor that may arise from benign precursor lesions, such as enchondromas. Some cases of multiple enchondromas are caused by a mutation that results in constitutive activation of Hedgehog-mediated signaling. We found that chondrosarcomas expressed high levels of the Hedgehog target genes PTCH1 and GLI1. Treatment with parathyroid hormone-related protein down-regulated Indian Hedgehog (IHH) expression in normal growth plates but not in chondrosarcoma or enchondroma organ cultures. Treatment of the chondrosarcoma organ cultures with Hedgehog protein increased cell proliferation rate, whereas addition of chemical inhibitors of Hedgehog signaling decreased the proliferation rate. Chondrosarcoma xenografts from 12 different human tumors were established in NOD-SCID mice. Treatment with triparanol, an inhibitor of Hedgehog signaling, resulted in a 60% decrease in tumor volume, a 30% decrease in cellularity, and a 20% reduction in proliferation rate. These results show that Hedgehog signaling is active in chondrosarcoma and benign cartilage tumors and regulates tumor cell proliferation. Our data raise the intriguing possibility that Hedgehog blockade could serve as an effective treatment for chondrosarcoma, a tumor for which there are currently no universally effective nonsurgical management options.

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