Mutationally Activated BRAFV600E Elicits Papillary Thyroid Cancer in the Adult Mouse

Mutated BRAF is detected in approximately 45% of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC). To model PTC, we bred mice with adult-onset, thyrocyte-specific expression of BRAFV600E. One month following BRAFV600E expression, mice displayed increased thyroid size, widespread alterations in thyroid architecture, and dramatic hypothyroidism. Over 1 year, without any deliberate manipulation of tumor suppressor genes, all mice developed PTC displaying nuclear atypia and marker expression characteristic of the human disease. Pharmacologic inhibition of MEK1/2 led to decreased thyroid size, restoration of thyroid form and function, and inhibition of tumorigenesis. Mice with BRAFV600E-induced PTC will provide an excellent system to study thyroid tumor initiation and progression and the evaluation of inhibitors of oncogenic BRAF signaling. ©2011 AACR.