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Mukherjee N, Katsnelson E, Brunetti TM, Michel K, Couts KL, Lambert KA, Robinson WA, McCarter MD, Norris DA, Tobin RP, Shellman YG. MCL1 inhibition targets Myeloid Derived Suppressors Cells, promotes antitumor immunity and enhances the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade. Cell Death Dis 2024; 15:198. [PMID: 38459020 PMCID: PMC10923779 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-024-06524-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are now the first-line treatment for patients with advanced melanoma. Despite promising clinical results, many patients fail to respond to these therapies. BH3 mimetics, a novel class of small molecule inhibitors that bind and inhibit anti-apoptotic members of the BCL2 family proteins such as BCL2 or MCL1, have been very successful in treating hematologic malignancies. However, there are limited studies on the immunomodulatory role of the BH3 mimetics. Several factors contribute to ICI resistance including myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) that exert immunosuppressive effects through direct and indirect inhibition of antitumor immunity. Thus, targeting MDSCs to enhance antitumor immunity has the potential to enhance the efficacy of ICIs. In this study, we show that the MCL1 inhibitor S64315 reduces melanoma tumor growth in an immune cell-dependent manner in mice. Specifically, S64315 enhances antitumor immunity by reducing MDSC frequency and by promoting the activity of CD8+T cells. Additionally, human MDSCs are 10 times more sensitive to S64315 than cutaneous melanoma lines. Further, we found that a higher expression of MCL1 is associated with poor survival for patients treated with anti-PD-1. Finally, combining S64315 and anti-PD-1 significantly slowed tumor growth compared to either agent alone. Together, this proof-of-concept study demonstrates the potential of combining an MCL1 inhibitor with anti-PD-1 in the treatment of melanoma. It justifies the further development of next generation MCL1 inhibitors to improve efficacy of ICIs in treating malignant melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nabanita Mukherjee
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Elizabeth Katsnelson
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, Division of Surgical Oncology, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Tonya M Brunetti
- Department of Immunology & Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
- University of Colorado Cancer Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Kylie Michel
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Kasey L Couts
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Karoline A Lambert
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - William A Robinson
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Martin D McCarter
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, Division of Surgical Oncology, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - David A Norris
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dermatology Section, Denver, CO, 80220, USA
| | - Richard P Tobin
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, Division of Surgical Oncology, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
| | - Yiqun G Shellman
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
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van den Bosch QCC, de Klein A, Verdijk RM, Kiliç E, Brosens E. Uveal melanoma modeling in mice and zebrafish. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2024; 1879:189055. [PMID: 38104908 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2023.189055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Despite extensive research and refined therapeutic options, the survival for metastasized uveal melanoma (UM) patients has not improved significantly. UM, a malignant tumor originating from melanocytes in the uveal tract, can be asymptomatic and small tumors may be detected only during routine ophthalmic exams; making early detection and treatment difficult. UM is the result of a number of characteristic somatic alterations which are associated with prognosis. Although UM morphology and biology have been extensively studied, there are significant gaps in our understanding of the early stages of UM tumor evolution and effective treatment to prevent metastatic disease remain elusive. A better understanding of the mechanisms that enable UM cells to thrive and successfully metastasize is crucial to improve treatment efficacy and survival rates. For more than forty years, animal models have been used to investigate the biology of UM. This has led to a number of essential mechanisms and pathways involved in UM aetiology. These models have also been used to evaluate the effectiveness of various drugs and treatment protocols. Here, we provide an overview of the molecular mechanisms and pharmacological studies using mouse and zebrafish UM models. Finally, we highlight promising therapeutics and discuss future considerations using UM models such as optimal inoculation sites, use of BAP1mut-cell lines and the rise of zebrafish models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quincy C C van den Bosch
- Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Annelies de Klein
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Robert M Verdijk
- Department of Pathology, Section of Ophthalmic Pathology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Emine Kiliç
- Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Erwin Brosens
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
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Arang N, Lubrano S, Ceribelli M, Rigiracciolo DC, Saddawi-Konefka R, Faraji F, Ramirez SI, Kim D, Tosto FA, Stevenson E, Zhou Y, Wang Z, Bogomolovas J, Molinolo AA, Swaney DL, Krogan NJ, Yang J, Coma S, Pachter JA, Aplin AE, Alessi DR, Thomas CJ, Gutkind JS. High-throughput chemogenetic drug screening reveals PKC-RhoA/PKN as a targetable signaling vulnerability in GNAQ-driven uveal melanoma. Cell Rep Med 2023; 4:101244. [PMID: 37858338 PMCID: PMC10694608 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most prevalent cancer of the eye in adults, driven by activating mutation of GNAQ/GNA11; however, there are limited therapies against UM and metastatic UM (mUM). Here, we perform a high-throughput chemogenetic drug screen in GNAQ-mutant UM contrasted with BRAF-mutant cutaneous melanoma, defining the druggable landscape of these distinct melanoma subtypes. Across all compounds, darovasertib demonstrates the highest preferential activity against UM. Our investigation reveals that darovasertib potently inhibits PKC as well as PKN/PRK, an AGC kinase family that is part of the "dark kinome." We find that downstream of the Gαq-RhoA signaling axis, PKN converges with ROCK to control FAK, a mediator of non-canonical Gαq-driven signaling. Strikingly, darovasertib synergizes with FAK inhibitors to halt UM growth and promote cytotoxic cell death in vitro and in preclinical metastatic mouse models, thus exposing a signaling vulnerability that can be exploited as a multimodal precision therapy against mUM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Arang
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Simone Lubrano
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Michele Ceribelli
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
| | | | | | - Farhoud Faraji
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Sydney I Ramirez
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Daehwan Kim
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Frances A Tosto
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
| | - Erica Stevenson
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; J. David Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Yuan Zhou
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; J. David Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Zhiyong Wang
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Julius Bogomolovas
- School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Alfredo A Molinolo
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Danielle L Swaney
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; J. David Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Nevan J Krogan
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; J. David Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Jing Yang
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | | | | | - Andrew E Aplin
- Department of Cancer Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Dario R Alessi
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Craig J Thomas
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
| | - J Silvio Gutkind
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
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