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Huang MF, Wang YX, Chou YT, Lee DF. Therapeutic Strategies for RB1-Deficient Cancers: Intersecting Gene Regulation and Targeted Therapy. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:1558. [PMID: 38672640 PMCID: PMC11049207 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16081558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The retinoblastoma (RB) transcriptional corepressor 1 (RB1) is a critical tumor suppressor gene, governing diverse cellular processes implicated in cancer biology. Dysregulation or deletion in RB1 contributes to the development and progression of various cancers, making it a prime target for therapeutic intervention. RB1's canonical function in cell cycle control and DNA repair mechanisms underscores its significance in restraining aberrant cell growth and maintaining genomic stability. Understanding the complex interplay between RB1 and cellular pathways is beneficial to fully elucidate its tumor-suppressive role across different cancer types and for therapeutic development. As a result, investigating vulnerabilities arising from RB1 deletion-associated mechanisms offers promising avenues for targeted therapy. Recently, several findings highlighted multiple methods as a promising strategy for combating tumor growth driven by RB1 loss, offering potential clinical benefits in various cancer types. This review summarizes the multifaceted role of RB1 in cancer biology and its implications for targeted therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mo-Fan Huang
- Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (M.-F.H.); (Y.-X.W.)
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Yuan-Xin Wang
- Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (M.-F.H.); (Y.-X.W.)
- Institute of Biotechnology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan;
| | - Yu-Ting Chou
- Institute of Biotechnology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan;
| | - Dung-Fang Lee
- Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (M.-F.H.); (Y.-X.W.)
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Center for Precision Health, McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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2
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Wang J, Ferrena A, Zhang R, Singh S, Viscarret V, Al-Harden W, Aldahamsheh O, Borjihan H, Singla A, Yaguare S, Tingling J, Zi X, Lo Y, Gorlick R, Schwartz EL, Zhao H, Yang R, Geller DS, Zheng D, Hoang BH. Targeted inhibition of SCF SKP2 confers anti-tumor activities resulting in a survival benefit in osteosarcoma. Oncogene 2024; 43:962-975. [PMID: 38355807 PMCID: PMC10959747 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-024-02942-4] [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: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Osteosarcoma(OS) is a highly aggressive bone cancer for which treatment has remained essentially unchanged for decades. Although OS is characterized by extensive genomic heterogeneity and instability, RB1 and TP53 have been shown to be the most commonly inactivated tumor suppressors in OS. We previously generated a mouse model with a double knockout (DKO) of Rb1 and Trp53 within cells of the osteoblastic lineage, which largely recapitulates human OS with nearly complete penetrance. SKP2 is a repression target of pRb and serves as a substrate recruiting subunit of the SCFSKP2 complex. In addition, SKP2 plays a central role in regulating the cell cycle by ubiquitinating and promoting the degradation of p27. We previously reported the DKOAA transgenic model, which harbored a knock-in mutation in p27 that impaired its binding to SKP2. Here, we generated a novel p53-Rb1-SKP2 triple-knockout model (TKO) to examine SKP2 function and its potential as a therapeutic target in OS. First, we observed that OS tumorigenesis was significantly delayed in TKO mice and their overall survival was markedly improved. In addition, the loss of SKP2 also promoted an apoptotic microenvironment and reduced the stemness of DKO tumors. Furthermore, we found that small-molecule inhibitors of SKP2 exhibited anti-tumor activities in vivo and in OS organoids as well as synergistic effects when combined with a standard chemotherapeutic agent. Taken together, our results suggest that SKP2 inhibitors may reduce the stemness plasticity of OS and should be leveraged as next-generation adjuvants in this cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jichuan Wang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Musculoskleletal Tumor Center, Beijing Key Laboratory for Musculoskeletal Tumors, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Alexander Ferrena
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Ranxin Zhang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Swapnil Singh
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Valentina Viscarret
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Waleed Al-Harden
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Osama Aldahamsheh
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Orthopedic Department, Al-Balqa Applied University, As-Salt, Jordan
| | - Hasibagan Borjihan
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Amit Singla
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Simon Yaguare
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Janet Tingling
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Xiaolin Zi
- Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine Medical Center, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Yungtai Lo
- Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Richard Gorlick
- Division of Pediatrics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Edward L Schwartz
- Departments of Oncology, Molecular Pharmacology, and Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Hongling Zhao
- Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Rui Yang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - David S Geller
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Deyou Zheng
- Departments of Genetics, Neurology and Neuroscience. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
| | - Bang H Hoang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
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3
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Ferrena A, Wang J, Zhang R, Karadal-Ferrena B, Al-Hardan W, Singh S, Borjihan H, Schwartz EL, Zhao H, Oktay MH, Yang R, Geller DS, Hoang BH, Zheng D. SKP2 Knockout in Rb1/p53-Deficient Mouse Models of Osteosarcoma Induces Immune Infiltration and Drives a Transcriptional Program with a Favorable Prognosis. Mol Cancer Ther 2024; 23:223-234. [PMID: 37871911 PMCID: PMC10842346 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-23-0173] [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: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 08/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Osteosarcoma is an aggressive bone malignancy with a poor prognosis. One putative proto-oncogene in osteosarcoma is SKP2, encoding a substrate recognition factor of the SCF E3 ubiquitin ligase. We previously demonstrated that Skp2 knockout in murine osteosarcoma improved survival and delayed tumorigenesis. Here, we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) on tumors from a transgenic osteosarcoma mouse model with conditional Trp53 and Rb1 knockouts in the osteoblast lineage ("DKO": Osx1-Cre;Rb1lox/lox;p53lox/lox) and a triple-knockout model with additional Skp2 germline knockout ("TKO": Osx1-Cre;Rb1lox/lox;p53lox/lox;Skp2-/-), followed by qPCR and immunohistochemistry validation. To investigate the clinical implications of our results, we analyzed a human osteosarcoma patient cohort ("NCI-TARGET OS") with RNA-seq and clinical data. We found large differences in gene expression after SKP2 knockout. Surprisingly, we observed increased expression of genes related to immune microenvironment infiltration in TKO tumors, especially the signature genes for macrophages and to a lesser extent, T cells, B cells, and vascular cells. We also uncovered a set of relevant transcription factors that may mediate these changes. In osteosarcoma patient cohorts, high expression of genes upregulated in TKO was correlated with favorable overall survival, which was largely explained by the macrophage gene signatures. This relationship was further supported by our finding that SKP2 expression was negatively correlated with macrophage infiltration in the NCI-TARGET osteosarcoma and the TCGA Sarcoma cohorts. Overall, our findings indicate that SKP2 may mediate immune exclusion from the osteosarcoma tumor microenvironment, suggesting that SKP2 modulation in osteosarcoma may induce antitumor immune activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Ferrena
- Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Jichuan Wang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Ranxin Zhang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | | | - Waleed Al-Hardan
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Swapnil Singh
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Hasibagan Borjihan
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Edward L. Schwartz
- Department of Oncology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Hongling Zhao
- Department of Developmental & Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Maja H. Oktay
- Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Gruss-Lipper Biophotonics Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Integrated Imaging Program, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Rui Yang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - David S Geller
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Bang H Hoang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Deyou Zheng
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
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4
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Ferrena A, Wang J, Zhang R, Karadal-Ferrena B, Al-Hardan W, Singh S, Borjihan H, Schwartz E, Zhao H, Yang R, Geller D, Hoang B, Zheng D. SKP2 knockout in Rb1/p53 deficient mouse models of osteosarcoma induces immune infiltration and drives a transcriptional program with a favorable prognosis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.09.540053. [PMID: 37214958 PMCID: PMC10197654 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.09.540053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Purpose Osteosarcoma (OS) is an aggressive bone malignancy with a poor prognosis. One putative proto-oncogene in OS is SKP2, encoding a substrate recognition factor of the SCF E3 ubiquitin ligase. We previously demonstrated that SKP2 knockout in murine OS improved survival and delayed tumorigenesis. Here we aim to define the SKP2 drives transcriptional program and its clinical implication in OS. Experimental Design We performed RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) on tumors from a transgenic OS mouse model with conditional Trp53 and Rb1 knockouts in the osteoblast lineage ("DKO": Osx1-Cre;Rb1lox/lox;p53lox/lox) and a triple-knockout model with additional Skp2 germline knockout ("TKO": Osx1-Cre;Rb1lox/lox;p53lox/lox;SKP2-/-). We validated our RNA-seq findings using qPCR and immunohistochemistry. To investigate the clinical implications of our results, we analyzed a human OS patient cohort ("NCI-TARGET OS") with RNA-seq and clinical data. Results We found large differences in gene expression after SKP2 knockout. Strikingly, we observed increased expression of genes related to immune microenvironment infiltration in TKO tumors. We observed significant increases in signature genes for macrophages and to a lesser extent, T cells, B cells and vascular cells. We also uncovered a set of relevant transcription factors that may mediate the changes. In OS patient cohorts, high expression of genes upregulated in TKO was correlated with favorable overall survival, which was largely explained by the macrophage gene signatures. This relationship was further supported by our finding that SKP2 expression was negatively correlated with macrophage infiltration in the NCI-TARGET OS and the TCGA Sarcoma cohort. Conclusion Our findings indicate that SKP2 may mediate immune exclusion from the OS tumor microenvironment, suggesting that SKP2 modulation in OS may induce anti-tumor immune activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Ferrena
- Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Jichuan Wang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Ranxin Zhang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | | | - Waleed Al-Hardan
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Swapnil Singh
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Hasibagan Borjihan
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Edward Schwartz
- Department of Oncology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Hongling Zhao
- Department of Developmental & Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Rui Yang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - David Geller
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Bang Hoang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Deyou Zheng
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
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5
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Markowska M, Budzinska MA, Coenen-Stass A, Kang S, Kizling E, Kolmus K, Koras K, Staub E, Szczurek E. Synthetic lethality prediction in DNA damage repair, chromatin remodeling and the cell cycle using multi-omics data from cell lines and patients. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7049. [PMID: 37120674 PMCID: PMC10148866 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34161-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Discovering synthetic lethal (SL) gene partners of cancer genes is an important step in developing cancer therapies. However, identification of SL interactions is challenging, due to a large number of possible gene pairs, inherent noise and confounding factors in the observed signal. To discover robust SL interactions, we devised SLIDE-VIP, a novel framework combining eight statistical tests, including a new patient data-based test iSurvLRT. SLIDE-VIP leverages multi-omics data from four different sources: gene inactivation cell line screens, cancer patient data, drug screens and gene pathways. We applied SLIDE-VIP to discover SL interactions between genes involved in DNA damage repair, chromatin remodeling and cell cycle, and their potentially druggable partners. The top 883 ranking SL candidates had strong evidence in cell line and patient data, 250-fold reducing the initial space of 200K pairs. Drug screen and pathway tests provided additional corroboration and insights into these interactions. We rediscovered well-known SL pairs such as RB1 and E2F3 or PRKDC and ATM, and in addition, proposed strong novel SL candidates such as PTEN and PIK3CB. In summary, SLIDE-VIP opens the door to the discovery of SL interactions with clinical potential. All analysis and visualizations are available via the online SLIDE-VIP WebApp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magda Markowska
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, Stefana Banacha 2, 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
- Postgraduate School of Molecular Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Zwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Magdalena A Budzinska
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, Stefana Banacha 2, 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
- Ardigen S.A., Podole 76, 30-394, Cracow, Poland
| | - Anna Coenen-Stass
- Translational Medicine, Oncology Bioinformatics, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurt Strasse 250, 64293, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Senbai Kang
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, Stefana Banacha 2, 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ewa Kizling
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, Stefana Banacha 2, 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Krzysztof Koras
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, Stefana Banacha 2, 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Eike Staub
- Translational Medicine, Oncology Bioinformatics, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurt Strasse 250, 64293, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Ewa Szczurek
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, Stefana Banacha 2, 02-097, Warsaw, Poland.
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Targeting the untargetable: RB1-deficient tumours are vulnerable to Skp2 ubiquitin ligase inhibition. Br J Cancer 2022; 127:969-975. [PMID: 35752713 PMCID: PMC9470583 DOI: 10.1038/s41416-022-01898-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteins that regulate the cell cycle are accumulated and degraded in a coordinated manner during the transition from one cell cycle phase to the next. The rapid loss of a critical protein, for example, to allow the cell to move from G1/G0 to S phase, is often regulated by its ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation. Protein ubiquitination is mediated by a series of three ligases, of which the E3 ligases provide the specificity for a particular protein substrate. One such E3 ligase is SCFSkp1/Cks1, which has a substrate recruiting subunit called S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2). Skp2 regulates cell proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation, can act as an oncogene, and is overexpressed in human cancer. A primary target of Skp2 is the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27 (CDKN1b) that regulates the cell cycle at several points. The RB1 tumour suppressor gene regulates Skp2 activity by two mechanisms: by controlling its mRNA expression, and by an effect on Skp2's enzymatic activity. For the latter, the RB1 protein (pRb) directly binds to the substrate-binding site on Skp2, preventing protein substrates from being ubiquitinated and degraded. Inactivating mutations in RB1 are common in human cancer, becoming more frequent in aggressive, metastatic, and drug-resistant tumours. Hence, RB1 mutation leads to the loss of pRb, an unrestrained increase in Skp2 activity, the unregulated decrease in p27, and the loss of cell cycle control. Because RB1 mutations lead to the loss of a functional protein, its direct targeting is not possible. This perspective will discuss evidence validating Skp2 as a therapeutic target in RB1-deficient cancer.
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Zhao H, Iqbal NJ, Sukrithan V, Nicholas C, Xue Y, Yu C, Locker J, Zou J, Schwartz EL, Zhu L. Targeted Inhibition of the E3 Ligase SCF Skp2/Cks1 Has Antitumor Activity in RB1-Deficient Human and Mouse Small-Cell Lung Cancer. Cancer Res 2020; 80:2355-2367. [PMID: 32265224 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-19-2400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The RB1 tumor suppressor gene is mutated in highly aggressive tumors including small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), where its loss, along with TP53, is required and sufficient for tumorigenesis. While RB1-mutant cells fail to arrest at G1-S in response to cell-cycle restriction point signals, this information has not led to effective strategies to treat RB1-deficient tumors, as it is challenging to develop targeted drugs for tumors that are driven by the loss of gene function. Our group previously identified Skp2, a substrate recruiting subunit of the SCF-Skp2 E3 ubiquitin ligase, as an early repression target of pRb whose knockout blocked tumorigenesis in Rb1-deficient prostate and pituitary tumors. Here we used genetic mouse models to demonstrate that deletion of Skp2 completely blocked the formation of SCLC in Rb1/Trp53-knockout mice (RP mice). Skp2 KO caused an increased accumulation of the Skp2-degradation target p27, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, which was confirmed as the mechanism of protection by using knock-in of a mutant p27 that was unable to bind to Skp2. Building on the observed synthetic lethality between Rb1 and Skp2, we found that small molecules that bind/inhibit Skp2 have in vivo antitumor activity in mouse tumors and human patient-derived xenograft models of SCLC. Using genetic and pharmacologic approaches, antitumor activity was seen with Skp2 loss or inhibition in established SCLC primary lung tumors, in liver metastases, and in chemotherapy-resistant tumors. Our data highlight a downstream actionable target in RB1-deficient cancers, for which there are currently no targeted therapies available. SIGNIFICANCE: There are no effective therapies for SCLC. The identification of an actionable target downstream of RB1, inactivated in SCLC and other advanced tumors, could have a broad impact on its treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongling Zhao
- Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Niloy J Iqbal
- Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Vineeth Sukrithan
- Department of Medicine (Oncology), Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Cari Nicholas
- Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Yingjiao Xue
- Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Cindy Yu
- Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Joseph Locker
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Juntao Zou
- Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Edward L Schwartz
- Department of Medicine (Oncology), Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. .,Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Liang Zhu
- Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. .,Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
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8
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Indovina P, Pentimalli F, Conti D, Giordano A. Translating RB1 predictive value in clinical cancer therapy: Are we there yet? Biochem Pharmacol 2019; 166:323-334. [PMID: 31176618 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2019.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The retinoblastoma RB1 gene has been identified in the 80s as the first tumor suppressor. RB1 loss of function, as well alterations in its pathway, occur in most human cancers and often have prognostic value. RB1 has a key role in restraining cell cycle entry and, along with its family members, regulates a myriad of cellular processes and affects cell response to a variety of stimuli, ultimately determining cell fate. Consistently, RB1 status is a crucial determinant of the cell response to antitumoral therapies, impacting on the outcome of both traditional and modern anti-cancer strategies, including precision medicine approaches, such as kinase inhibitors, and immunotherapy. Despite many efforts however, the predictive value of RB1 status in the clinical practice is still underused, mainly owing to the complexity of RB1 function, to differences depending on the cellular context and on the therapeutic strategies, and, not-lastly, to technical issues. Here, we provide an overview of studies analyzing the role of RB1 in response to conventional cytotoxic and cytostatic therapeutic agents in different cancer types, including hormone dependent ones. We also review RB1 predictive value in the response to the last generation CDK4/6 inhibitors, other kinase inhibitors, and immunotherapy and discuss new emerging non-canonical roles of RB1 that could impact on the response to antitumoral treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Indovina
- Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Center for Biotechnology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
| | - Francesca Pentimalli
- Cell Biology and Biotherapy Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, IRCCS, Fondazione G. Pascale, Napoli 80131, Italy
| | - Daniele Conti
- Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Center for Biotechnology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA; Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
| | - Antonio Giordano
- Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Center for Biotechnology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA; Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy.
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9
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Oser MG, Fonseca R, Chakraborty AA, Brough R, Spektor A, Jennings RB, Flaifel A, Novak JS, Gulati A, Buss E, Younger ST, McBrayer SK, Cowley GS, Bonal DM, Nguyen QD, Brulle-Soumare L, Taylor P, Cairo S, Ryan CJ, Pease EJ, Maratea K, Travers J, Root DE, Signoretti S, Pellman D, Ashton S, Lord CJ, Barry ST, Kaelin WG. Cells Lacking the RB1 Tumor Suppressor Gene Are Hyperdependent on Aurora B Kinase for Survival. Cancer Discov 2019; 9:230-247. [PMID: 30373918 PMCID: PMC6368871 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-18-0389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Revised: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 15% of lung cancers and is almost always linked to inactivating RB1 and TP53 mutations. SCLC frequently responds, albeit briefly, to chemotherapy. The canonical function of the RB1 gene product RB1 is to repress the E2F transcription factor family. RB1 also plays both E2F-dependent and E2F-independent mitotic roles. We performed a synthetic lethal CRISPR/Cas9 screen in an RB1 -/- SCLC cell line that conditionally expresses RB1 to identify dependencies that are caused by RB1 loss and discovered that RB1 -/- SCLC cell lines are hyperdependent on multiple proteins linked to chromosomal segregation, including Aurora B kinase. Moreover, we show that an Aurora B kinase inhibitor is efficacious in multiple preclinical SCLC models at concentrations that are well tolerated in mice. These results suggest that RB1 loss is a predictive biomarker for sensitivity to Aurora B kinase inhibitors in SCLC and perhaps other RB1 -/- cancers. SIGNIFICANCE: SCLC is rarely associated with actionable protooncogene mutations. We did a CRISPR/Cas9-based screen that showed that RB1 -/- SCLC are hyperdependent on AURKB, likely because both genes control mitotic fidelity, and confirmed that Aurora B kinase inhibitors are efficacious against RB1 -/- SCLC tumors in mice at nontoxic doses.See related commentary by Dick and Li, p. 169.This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 151.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew G Oser
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Raquel Fonseca
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Abhishek A Chakraborty
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Rachel Brough
- The CRUK Gene Function Laboratory, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
- Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Breast Cancer Research Centre, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alexander Spektor
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Rebecca B Jennings
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Abdallah Flaifel
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jesse S Novak
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Aditi Gulati
- The CRUK Gene Function Laboratory, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
- Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Breast Cancer Research Centre, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth Buss
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland
| | - Scott T Younger
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Samuel K McBrayer
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Glenn S Cowley
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Dennis M Bonal
- Lurie Family Imaging Center, Center for Biomedical Imaging in Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Quang-De Nguyen
- Lurie Family Imaging Center, Center for Biomedical Imaging in Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | - Paula Taylor
- IMED Oncology, AstraZeneca, Cheshire, United Kingdom
| | | | - Colm J Ryan
- Systems Biology Ireland, University College Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
| | | | - Kim Maratea
- IMED Drug Safety and Metabolism, AstraZeneca, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jon Travers
- IMED Oncology, AstraZeneca, Cheshire, United Kingdom
| | - David E Root
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Sabina Signoretti
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - David Pellman
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Susan Ashton
- IMED Oncology, AstraZeneca, Cheshire, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher J Lord
- The CRUK Gene Function Laboratory, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
- Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Breast Cancer Research Centre, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
| | - Simon T Barry
- IMED Oncology, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - William G Kaelin
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
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