Somatic Uniparental Disomy of PTEN in Endothelial Cells Causes Vascular Malformations in Patients with PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome

Abstract

PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS) is a rare tumor risk disorder caused by germline loss-of-function mutations in PTEN. Half of these patients develop vascular malformations, a hamartoma characterized by overgrowth of vessels. In this study, we harness biopsies and patient-derived endothelial cells (EC) to study the genetic etiology of PHTS-related vascular malformations. We discover that these lesions are generated by somatic loss of the PTEN wild-type allele through copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity, leading to somatic uniparental disomy of the PTEN-mutated allele in ECs. We established a mouse model of PHTS-related vascular malformations and identified that the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin and AKT inhibitor capivasertib block vascular lesion growth. As proof-of-concept for clinical activity, off-label treatment with rapamycin of two patients with PHTS reduced vascular overgrowth and abrogated lesion-associated pain. Overall, our results uncover the genetic cause of vascular malformations in patients with PHTS and open new avenues for therapeutic intervention.

Significance: Somatic loss of PTEN in ECs causes vascular malformations in patients with the tumor risk syndrome PHTS. These lesions respond to PI3K signaling inhibition. See related commentary by Del Prior and Toker, p. 1306.