Activation of the EGFR/PI3K/AKT pathway limits the efficacy of trametinib treatment in head and neck cancer

The combination of breast cancer PDO and mini-PDX platform for drug screening and individualized treatment

The majority of advanced breast cancers exhibit strong aggressiveness, heterogeneity, and drug resistance, and currently, the lack of effective treatment strategies is one of the main challenges that cancer research must face. Therefore, developing a feasible preclinical model to explore tailored treatments for refractory breast cancer is urgently needed. We established organoid biobanks from 17 patients with breast cancer and characterized them by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and next generation sequencing (NGS). In addition, we in the first combination of patient-derived organoids (PDOs) with mini-patient-derived xenografts (Mini-PDXs) for the rapid and precise screening of drug sensitivity. We confirmed that breast cancer organoids are a high-fidelity three-dimension (3D) model in vitro that recapitulates the original tumour's histological and genetic features. In addition, for a heavily pretreated patient with advanced drug-resistant breast cancer, we combined PDO and Mini-PDX models to identify potentially effective combinations of therapeutic agents for this patient who were alpelisib + fulvestrant. In the drug sensitivity experiment of organoids, we observed changes in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling axis and oestrogen receptor (ER) protein expression levels, which further verified the reliability of the screening results. Our study demonstrates that the PDO combined with mini-PDX model offers a rapid and precise drug screening platform that holds promise for personalized medicine, improving patient outcomes and addressing the urgent need for effective therapies in advanced breast cancer.

Gentiopicroside inhibits the progression of gastric cancer through modulating EGFR/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

This study was designed to clarify the function and potential mechanism of gentiopicroside (GPS) in regulating the malignant progression of gastric cancer (GC) through in vitro cellular experiments and in vivo animal models.

METHODS

AGS and HGC27 cells were divided into control group and GPS treatment groups (50 µM and 100 µM). Then, the cellular proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis were detected, respectively. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to observe the mitochondrial changes, and the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was determined using the JC-1 commercial kit. Network pharmacology analysis was utilized to screen the potential molecule that may be related to the GPS activity on GC cells, followed by validation tests using Western blot in the presence of specific activator. In addition, xenografted tumor model was established using BALB/c nude mice via subcutaneous injection of HGC27 cells, along with pulmonary metastasis model. Then, the potential effects of GPS on the tumor growth and metastasis were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and HE staining.

RESULTS

GPS inhibited the proliferation, invasion and migration of GC cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, it could induce mitochondrial apoptosis. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) may be a potential target for GPS action in GC by network pharmacological analysis. GPS inhibits activation of the EGFR/PI3K/AKT axis by reducing EGFR expression. In vivo experiments indicated that GPS induced significant decrease in tumor volume, and it also inhibited the pulmonary metastasis. For the safety concerns, GPS caused no obvious toxicities to the heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney tissues. IHC staining confirmed GPS downregulated the activity of EGFR/PI3K/AKT.

CONCLUSIONS

Our investigation demonstrated for the first time that GPS could inhibit GC malignant progression by targeting the EGFR/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. This study indicated that GPS may be serve as a safe anti-tumor drug for further treatment of GC.

Combined PI3K and MAPK inhibition synergizes to suppress PDAC

Oncogenic KRAS mutations are nearly ubiquitous in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), yet therapeutic attempts to target KRAS as well as its target MAPK pathway effectors have shown limited success due to the difficulty to pharmacologically target KRAS, inherent drug resistance in PDAC cells, and acquired resistance through activation of alternative mitogenic pathways such JAK-STAT and PI3K-AKT. While KRAS canonically drives the MAPK signaling pathway via RAF-MEK-ERK, it is also known to play a role in PI3K-AKT signaling. Our therapeutic study targeted the PI3K-AKT pathway with the drug Omipalisib (p110α/β/δ/γ and mTORC1/2 inhibitor) in combination with MAPK pathway targeting drug Trametinib (MEK1/2 inhibitor) or SHP099-HCL (SHP099), which is an inhibitor of the KRAS effector SHP2. Western blot analysis demonstrated that application of Trametinib or SHP099 alone selectively blocked ERK phosphorylation (pERK) but failed to suppress phosphorylated AKT (pAKT) and in some instances increased pAKT levels. Conversely, Omipalisib alone successfully inhibited pAKT but failed to suppress pERK. Therefore, we hypothesized that a combination therapeutic comprised of Omipalisib with either Trametinib or SHP099 would inhibit two prominent mitogenic pathways, MEK and PI3K-AKT, to more effectively suppress pancreatic cancer. In vitro studies demonstrated that both Omipalisib/Trametinib and Omipalisib/SHP099 combination therapeutic strategies were generally more effective than treatment with each drug individually at reducing proliferation, colony formation, and cell migration compared to vehicle controls. Additionally, we found that while combination Omipalisib/SHP099 treatment reduced implanted tumor growth in vivo , the Omipalisib/Trametinib treatment was significantly more effective. Therefore, we additionally tested the Omipalisib/Trametinib combination therapeutic in the highly aggressive PKT (Ptf1a cre , LSL-Kras G12D , TGFbR2 fl/fl ) spontaneous mouse model of PDAC. We subsequently found that PKT mice treated with the Omipalisib/Trametinib combination therapeutic survived significantly longer than mice treated with either drug alone, and more than doubled the mean survival time of vehicle control mice. Altogether, our data support the importance of a dual treatment strategy targeting both MAPK and PI3K-AKT pathways.