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Pietrobono S, Sabbadini F, Bertolini M, Mangiameli D, De Vita V, Fazzini F, Lunardi G, Casalino S, Scarlato E, Merz V, Zecchetto C, Quinzii A, Di Conza G, Lahn M, Melisi D. Autotaxin Secretion Is a Stromal Mechanism of Adaptive Resistance to TGFβ Inhibition in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Cancer Res 2024; 84:118-132. [PMID: 37738399 PMCID: PMC10758691 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-23-0104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
The TGFβ receptor inhibitor galunisertib demonstrated efficacy in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in the randomized phase II H9H-MC-JBAJ study, which compared galunisertib plus the chemotherapeutic agent gemcitabine with gemcitabine alone. However, additional stromal paracrine signals might confer adaptive resistance that limits the efficacy of this therapeutic strategy. Here, we found that autotaxin, a secreted enzyme that promotes inflammation and fibrosis by generating lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), mediates adaptive resistance to TGFβ receptor inhibition. Blocking TGFβ signaling prompted the skewing of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) toward an inflammatory (iCAF) phenotype. iCAFs were responsible for a significant secretion of autotaxin. Paracrine autotaxin increased LPA-NFκB signaling in tumor cells that triggered treatment resistance. The autotaxin inhibitor IOA-289 suppressed NFκB activation in PDAC cells and overcame resistance to galunisertib and gemcitabine. In immunocompetent orthotopic murine models, IOA-289 synergized with galunisertib in restoring sensitivity to gemcitabine. Most importantly, treatment with galunisertib significantly increased plasma levels of autotaxin in patients enrolled in the H9H-MC-JBAJ study, and median progression-free survival was significantly longer in patients without an increase of autotaxin upon treatment with galunisertib compared with those with increased autotaxin. These results establish that autotaxin secretion by CAFs is increased by TGFβ inhibition and that circulating autotaxin levels predict response to the combination treatment approach of gemcitabine plus galunisertib. SIGNIFICANCE TGFβ inhibition skews cancer-associated fibroblasts toward an inflammatory phenotype that secretes autotaxin to drive adaptive resistance in PDAC, revealing autotaxin as a therapeutic target and biomarker of galunisertib response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Pietrobono
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Fabio Sabbadini
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Monica Bertolini
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Domenico Mangiameli
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Veronica De Vita
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Federica Fazzini
- Investigational Cancer Therapeutics Clinical Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata, Verona, Italy
| | - Giulia Lunardi
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Simona Casalino
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Enza Scarlato
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Valeria Merz
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Camilla Zecchetto
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Alberto Quinzii
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
| | | | | | - Davide Melisi
- Digestive Molecular Clinical Oncology Research Unit, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
- Investigational Cancer Therapeutics Clinical Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata, Verona, Italy
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Banerjee S, Lee S, Norman DD, Tigyi GJ. Designing Dual Inhibitors of Autotaxin-LPAR GPCR Axis. Molecules 2022; 27:5487. [PMID: 36080255 PMCID: PMC9458164 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27175487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The ATX-LPA-LPAR1 signaling pathway plays a universal role in stimulating diverse cellular responses, including cell proliferation, migration, survival, and invasion in almost every cell type. The ATX-LPAR1 axis is linked to several metabolic and inflammatory diseases including cancer, fibrosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Numerous selective ATX or LPAR1 inhibitors have been developed and so far, their clinical efficacy has only been evaluated in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. None of the ATX and LPAR1 inhibitors have advanced to clinical trials for cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. Nonetheless, several research groups, including ours, have shown considerable benefit of simultaneous ATX and LPAR1 inhibition through combination therapy. Recent research suggests that dual-targeting therapies are superior to combination therapies that use two selective inhibitors. However, limited reports are available on ATX-LPAR1 dual inhibitors, potentially due to co-expression of multiple different LPARs with close structural similarities at the same target. In this review, we discuss rational design and future directions of dual ATX-LPAR1 inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Souvik Banerjee
- Department of Chemistry, Middle Tennessee State University, 1301 E. Main Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA
- Molecular Biosciences Program, Middle Tennessee State University, 1301 E. Main Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA
| | - Suechin Lee
- Department of Physiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, 3 N. Dunlap Street, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Derek D. Norman
- Department of Physiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, 3 N. Dunlap Street, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Gabor J. Tigyi
- Department of Physiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, 3 N. Dunlap Street, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
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