1
|
Eek Mariampillai A, Hauge S, Kongsrud K, Syljuåsen RG. Immunogenic cell death after combined treatment with radiation and ATR inhibitors is dually regulated by apoptotic caspases. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1138920. [PMID: 37346039 PMCID: PMC10279842 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1138920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Inhibitors of the ATR kinase act as radiosensitizers through abrogating the G2 checkpoint and reducing DNA repair. Recent studies suggest that ATR inhibitors can also increase radiation-induced antitumor immunity, but the underlying immunomodulating mechanisms remain poorly understood. Moreover, it is poorly known how such immune effects relate to different death pathways such as caspase-dependent apoptosis. Here we address whether ATR inhibition in combination with irradiation may increase the presentation of hallmark factors of immunogenic cell death (ICD), and to what extent caspase activation regulates this response. Methods Human lung cancer and osteosarcoma cell lines (SW900, H1975, H460, U2OS) were treated with X-rays and ATR inhibitors (VE822; AZD6738) in the absence and presence of a pan-caspase inhibitor. The ICD hallmarks HMGB1 release, ATP secretion and calreticulin surface-presentation were assessed by immunoblotting of growth medium, the CellTiter-Glo assay and an optimized live-cell flow cytometry assay, respectively. To obtain accurate measurement of small differences in the calreticulin signal by flow cytometry, we included normalization to a barcoded control sample. Results Extracellular release of HMGB1 was increased in all the cell lines at 72 hours after the combined treatment with radiation and ATR inhibitors, relative to mock treatment or cells treated with radiation alone. The HMGB1 release correlated largely - but not strictly - with loss of plasma membrane integrity, and was suppressed by addition of the caspase inhibitor. However, one cell line showed HMGB1 release despite caspase inhibition, and in this cell line caspase inhibition induced pMLKL, a marker for necroptosis. ATP secretion occurred already at 48 hours after the co-treatment and did clearly not correlate with loss of plasma membrane integrity. Addition of pan-caspase inhibition further increased the ATP secretion. Surface-presentation of calreticulin was increased at 24-72 hours after irradiation, but not further increased by either ATR or caspase inhibition. Conclusion These results show that ATR inhibition can increase the presentation of two out of three ICD hallmark factors from irradiated human cancer cells. Moreover, caspase activation distinctly affects each of the hallmark factors, and therefore likely plays a dual role in tumor immunogenicity by promoting both immunostimulatory and -suppressive effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Eek Mariampillai
- Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Sissel Hauge
- Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Karoline Kongsrud
- Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Randi G. Syljuåsen
- Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rødland GE, Hauge S, Hasvold G, Bay LTE, Raabe TTH, Joel M, Syljuåsen RG. Differential Effects of Combined ATR/WEE1 Inhibition in Cancer Cells. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13153790. [PMID: 34359691 PMCID: PMC8345075 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13153790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Cancer cells often show elevated replication stress and loss of cell cycle checkpoints. The ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) and WEE1 kinases play roles in protecting cancer cells from high replication stress and in regulating the remaining cell cycle checkpoints. Inhibitors of ATR or WEE1 therefore have the potential to selectively kill cancer cells and are currently being tested in clinical trials. However, more studies are needed to understand how these inhibitors work in various types of cancer and to find the most effective ways of using them. Here, we have explored whether simultaneous treatment with ATR and WEE1 inhibitors is a promising approach. Effects were investigated in cell lines from osteosarcoma and lung cancer. We expect our results to be of importance for future treatment strategies with these inhibitors. Abstract Inhibitors of WEE1 and ATR kinases are considered promising for cancer treatment, either as monotherapy or in combination with chemo- or radiotherapy. Here, we addressed whether simultaneous inhibition of WEE1 and ATR might be advantageous. Effects of the WEE1 inhibitor MK1775 and ATR inhibitor VE822 were investigated in U2OS osteosarcoma cells and in four lung cancer cell lines, H460, A549, H1975, and SW900, with different sensitivities to the WEE1 inhibitor. Despite the differences in cytotoxic effects, the WEE1 inhibitor reduced the inhibitory phosphorylation of CDK, leading to increased CDK activity accompanied by ATR activation in all cell lines. However, combining ATR inhibition with WEE1 inhibition could not fully compensate for cell resistance to the WEE1 inhibitor and reduced cell viability to a variable extent. The decreased cell viability upon the combined treatment correlated with a synergistic induction of DNA damage in S-phase in U2OS cells but not in the lung cancer cells. Moreover, less synergy was found between ATR and WEE1 inhibitors upon co-treatment with radiation, suggesting that single inhibitors may be preferable together with radiotherapy. Altogether, our results support that combining WEE1 and ATR inhibitors may be beneficial for cancer treatment in some cases, but also highlight that the effects vary between cancer cell lines.
Collapse
|
3
|
Kitata RB, Choong WK, Tsai CF, Lin PY, Chen BS, Chang YC, Nesvizhskii AI, Sung TY, Chen YJ. A data-independent acquisition-based global phosphoproteomics system enables deep profiling. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2539. [PMID: 33953186 PMCID: PMC8099862 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22759-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Phosphoproteomics can provide insights into cellular signaling dynamics. To achieve deep and robust quantitative phosphoproteomics profiling for minute amounts of sample, we here develop a global phosphoproteomics strategy based on data-independent acquisition (DIA) mass spectrometry and hybrid spectral libraries derived from data-dependent acquisition (DDA) and DIA data. Benchmarking the method using 166 synthetic phosphopeptides shows high sensitivity (<0.1 ng), accurate site localization and reproducible quantification (~5% median coefficient of variation). As a proof-of-concept, we use lung cancer cell lines and patient-derived tissue to construct a hybrid phosphoproteome spectral library covering 159,524 phosphopeptides (88,107 phosphosites). Based on this library, our single-shot streamlined DIA workflow quantifies 36,350 phosphosites (19,755 class 1) in cell line samples within two hours. Application to drug-resistant cells and patient-derived lung cancer tissues delineates site-specific phosphorylation events associated with resistance and tumor progression, showing that our workflow enables the characterization of phosphorylation signaling with deep coverage, high sensitivity and low between-run missing values.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Wai-Kok Choong
- Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Feng Tsai
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, 99354, USA
| | - Pei-Yi Lin
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Bo-Shiun Chen
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
- Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Yun-Chien Chang
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
- Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Alexey I Nesvizhskii
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, and Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA
| | - Ting-Yi Sung
- Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Ju Chen
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan.
- Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Oo ZY, Proctor M, Stevenson AJ, Nazareth D, Fernando M, Daignault SM, Lanagan C, Walpole S, Bonazzi V, Škalamera D, Snell C, Haass NK, Larsen JE, Gabrielli B. Combined use of subclinical hydroxyurea and CHK1 inhibitor effectively controls melanoma and lung cancer progression, with reduced normal tissue toxicity compared to gemcitabine. Mol Oncol 2019; 13:1503-1518. [PMID: 31044505 PMCID: PMC6599846 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.12497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2018] [Revised: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Drugs such as gemcitabine that increase replication stress are effective chemotherapeutics in a range of cancer settings. These drugs effectively block replication and promote DNA damage, triggering a cell cycle checkpoint response through the ATR–CHK1 pathway. Inhibiting this signalling pathway sensitises cells to killing by replication stress‐inducing drugs. Here, we investigated the effect of low‐level replication stress induced by low concentrations (> 0.2 mm) of the reversible ribonucleotide reductase inhibitor hydroxyurea (HU), which slows S‐phase progression but has little effect on cell viability or proliferation. We demonstrate that HU effectively synergises with CHK1, but not ATR inhibition, in > 70% of melanoma and non‐small‐cell lung cancer cells assessed, resulting in apoptosis and complete loss of proliferative potential in vitro and in vivo. Normal fibroblasts and haemopoietic cells retain viability and proliferative potential following exposure to CHK1 inhibitor plus low doses of HU, but normal cells exposed to CHK1 inhibitor combined with submicromolar concentrations of gemcitabine exhibited complete loss of proliferative potential. The effects of gemcitabine on normal tissue correlate with irreversible ATR–CHK1 pathway activation, whereas low doses of HU reversibly activate CHK1 independently of ATR. The combined use of CHK1 inhibitor and subclinical HU also triggered an inflammatory response involving the recruitment of macrophages in vivo. These data indicate that combining CHK1 inhibitor with subclinical HU is superior to combination with gemcitabine, as it provides equal anticancer efficacy but with reduced normal tissue toxicity. These data suggest a significant proportion of melanoma and lung cancer patients could benefit from treatment with this drug combination.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zay Yar Oo
- Smiling for Smiddy Research Group, Translational Research Institute, Mater Research Institute-The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, The University of Queensland-Diamantina Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Martina Proctor
- Smiling for Smiddy Research Group, Translational Research Institute, Mater Research Institute-The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Alexander J Stevenson
- Smiling for Smiddy Research Group, Translational Research Institute, Mater Research Institute-The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Deborah Nazareth
- Smiling for Smiddy Research Group, Translational Research Institute, Mater Research Institute-The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Madushan Fernando
- Smiling for Smiddy Research Group, Translational Research Institute, Mater Research Institute-The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Sheena M Daignault
- Translational Research Institute, The University of Queensland-Diamantina Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Catherine Lanagan
- Smiling for Smiddy Research Group, Translational Research Institute, Mater Research Institute-The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Sebastian Walpole
- Translational Research Institute, The University of Queensland-Diamantina Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Vanessa Bonazzi
- Translational Research Institute, The University of Queensland-Diamantina Institute, Brisbane, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Dubravka Škalamera
- Smiling for Smiddy Research Group, Translational Research Institute, Mater Research Institute-The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Cameron Snell
- Smiling for Smiddy Research Group, Translational Research Institute, Mater Research Institute-The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,Mater Pathology, Mater Adults Hospital, Mater Misericordiae Limited, South Brisbane, Australia
| | - Nikolas K Haass
- Translational Research Institute, The University of Queensland-Diamantina Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Jill E Larsen
- QIMR-Berghofer Medical Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Brian Gabrielli
- Smiling for Smiddy Research Group, Translational Research Institute, Mater Research Institute-The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, The University of Queensland-Diamantina Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Frost HR, Amos CI. A multi-omics approach for identifying important pathways and genes in human cancer. BMC Bioinformatics 2018; 19:479. [PMID: 30541428 PMCID: PMC6292115 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-018-2476-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2017] [Accepted: 11/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Cancer develops when pathways controlling cell survival, cell fate or genome maintenance are disrupted by the somatic alteration of key driver genes. Understanding how pathway disruption is driven by somatic alterations is thus essential for an accurate characterization of cancer biology and identification of therapeutic targets. Unfortunately, current cancer pathway analysis methods fail to fully model the relationship between somatic alterations and pathway activity. Results To address these limitations, we developed a multi-omics method for identifying biologically important pathways and genes in human cancer. Our approach combines single-sample pathway analysis with multi-stage, lasso-penalized regression to find pathways whose gene expression can be explained largely in terms of gene-level somatic alterations in the tumor. Importantly, this method can analyze case-only data sets, does not require information regarding pathway topology and supports personalized pathway analysis using just somatic alteration data for a limited number of cancer-associated genes. The practical effectiveness of this technique is illustrated through an analysis of data from The Cancer Genome Atlas using gene sets from the Molecular Signatures Database. Conclusions Novel insights into the pathophysiology of human cancer can be obtained from statistical models that predict expression-based pathway activity in terms of non-silent somatic mutations and copy number variation. These models enable the identification of biologically important pathways and genes and support personalized pathway analysis in cases where gene expression data is unavailable. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12859-018-2476-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- H Robert Frost
- Department of Biomedical Data Science, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, 03755, NH, USA.
| | - Christopher I Amos
- Department of Biomedical Data Science, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, 03755, NH, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Kim D, Liu Y, Oberly S, Freire R, Smolka MB. ATR-mediated proteome remodeling is a major determinant of homologous recombination capacity in cancer cells. Nucleic Acids Res 2018; 46:8311-8325. [PMID: 30010936 PMCID: PMC6144784 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The ATR kinase is crucial for genome maintenance, but the mechanisms by which ATR controls the DNA repair machinery are not fully understood. Here, we find that long-term chronic inhibition of ATR signaling severely impairs the ability of cells to utilize homologous recombination (HR)-mediated DNA repair. Proteomic analysis shows that chronic ATR inhibition depletes the abundance of key HR factors, suggesting that spontaneous ATR signaling enhances the capacity of cells to use HR-mediated repair by controlling the abundance of the HR machinery. Notably, ATR controls the abundance of HR factors largely via CHK1-dependent transcription, and can also promote stabilization of specific HR proteins. Cancer cells exhibit a strong dependency on ATR signaling for maintaining elevated levels of HR factors, and we propose that increased constitutive ATR signaling caused by augmented replication stress in cancer cells drives the enhanced HR capacity observed in certain tumor types. Overall, these findings define a major pro-HR function for ATR and have important implications for therapy by providing rationale for sensitizing HR-proficient cancer cells to PARP inhibitors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dongsung Kim
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Susannah Oberly
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Raimundo Freire
- Unidad de Investigación, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Instituto de Tecnologias Biomedicas, 38320 Tenerife, Spain
| | - Marcus B Smolka
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 607 255 0274; Fax: +1 607 255 5961;
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
He L, Zhu H, Zhou S, Wu T, Wu H, Yang H, Mao H, SekharKathera C, Janardhan A, Edick AM, Zhang A, Hu Z, Pan F, Guo Z. Wnt pathway is involved in 5-FU drug resistance of colorectal cancer cells. Exp Mol Med 2018; 50:1-12. [PMID: 30111797 PMCID: PMC6093888 DOI: 10.1038/s12276-018-0128-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2017] [Revised: 04/28/2018] [Accepted: 05/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is widely used in the treatment of cancers, but its antineoplastic activity is limited in drug-resistant cancer cells. To investigate the detailed mechanism of 5-FU resistance, we developed a model of 5-FU-resistant cells from HCT-8 cells, a well-established colorectal cancer cell line. We found that the drug-resistant cells demonstrated high expression of TCF4 and β-catenin, indicating an upregulated Wnt pathway. A microarray analysis revealed that the suppression of the checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) pathway explained the resistance to 5-FU, especially in p53 wild-type cancer cells such as HCT-8. Our data also demonstrated that the CHK1 pathway is suppressed by the Wnt pathway in 5-FU-resistant cells. In summary, we have discovered a novel mechanism for 5-FU resistance mediated by histone deacetylation, which also revealed the crosstalk between the Wnt pathway and CHK1 pathway.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lingfeng He
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Hong Zhu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Shiying Zhou
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Ting Wu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Huan Wu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Huan Yang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Huiwen Mao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Chandra SekharKathera
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Avilala Janardhan
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Ashlin M Edick
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Anna Zhang
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Zhigang Hu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Feiyan Pan
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Zhigang Guo
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 WenYuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
STK3 is a therapeutic target for a subset of acute myeloid leukemias. Oncotarget 2018; 9:25458-25473. [PMID: 29876001 PMCID: PMC5986655 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.25238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation and accumulation of immature myeloblasts, which impair normal hematopoiesis. While this definition categorizes the disease into a distinctive group, the large number of different genetic and epigenetic alterations actually suggests that AML is not a single disease, but a plethora of malignancies. Still, most AML patients are not treated with targeted medication but rather by uniform approaches such as chemotherapy. The identification of novel treatment options likely requires the identification of cancer cell vulnerabilities that take into account the different genetic and epigenetic make-up of the individual tumors. Here we show that STK3 depletion by knock-down, knock-out or chemical inhibition results in apoptotic cells death in some but not all AML cell lines and primary cells tested. This effect is mediated by a premature activation of cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) in presence of elevated cyclin B1 levels. The anti-leukemic effects seen in both bulk and progenitor AML cells suggests that STK3 might be a promising target in a subset of AML patients.
Collapse
|
9
|
Ku BM, Bae YH, Koh J, Sun JM, Lee SH, Ahn JS, Park K, Ahn MJ. Mutational status of TP53 defines the efficacy of Wee1 inhibitor AZD1775 in KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer. Oncotarget 2017; 8:67526-67537. [PMID: 28978051 PMCID: PMC5620191 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.18728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
KRAS is frequently mutated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, direct targeting of KRAS has proven to be challenging, and inhibition of KRAS effectors has resulted in limited clinical efficacy. Wee1 kinase is an important regulator of the G2 checkpoint and is overexpressed in various cancers. Inhibition of Wee1 exerts anticancer effects as a monotherapy or in combination with DNA-damaging agents when cancer cells harbor TP53 mutations. However, its role in KRAS-mutant NSCLC, especially as a single agent, has not been explored. Here, we investigate the anticancer potential of Wee1 inhibitor AZD1775 as a monotherapy and uncover a possible cellular context underlying sensitivity to AZD1775. Our data show that treatment with AZD1775 significantly inhibited cell survival, growth, and proliferation of TP53-mutant (TP53MUT) compared to TP53 wild-type (TP53WT) in KRAS-mutant (KRASMUT) NSCLC cells. In KRASMUT/TP53MUT cells, AZD1775 treatment led to DNA damage, a decrease of survival signaling, and cell death by apoptosis. Interestingly, cell death through apoptosis was found to be heavily dependent on specific cellular genetic context, rather than inhibition of Wee1 kinase activity alone. In addition, AZD1775 treatment was well tolerated and displayed single-agent efficacy in a mouse xenograft model. This study provides rationale for inhibiting Wee1 using AZD1775 as a potential anticancer therapy against the TP53MUT subgroup of KRASMUT NSCLC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bo Mi Ku
- Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Yeon-Hee Bae
- Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Jiae Koh
- Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Jong-Mu Sun
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Se-Hoon Lee
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Jin Seok Ahn
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Keunchil Park
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Myung-Ju Ahn
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
El-Aarag SA, Mahmoud A, Hashem MH, Abd Elkader H, Hemeida AE, ElHefnawi M. In silico identification of potential key regulatory factors in smoking-induced lung cancer. BMC Med Genomics 2017; 10:40. [PMID: 28592245 PMCID: PMC5463402 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-017-0284-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide and is the most commonly diagnosed cancer. Like other cancers, it is a complex and highly heterogeneous disease involving multiple signaling pathways. Identifying potential therapeutic targets is critical for the development of effective treatment strategies. Methods We used a systems biology approach to identify potential key regulatory factors in smoking-induced lung cancer. We first identified genes that were differentially expressed between smokers with normal lungs and those with cancerous lungs, then integrated these differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with data from a protein-protein interaction database to build a network model with functional modules for pathway analysis. We also carried out a gene set enrichment analysis of DEG lists using the Kinase Enrichment Analysis (KEA), Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) hubs, and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) databases. Results Twelve transcription factors were identified as having potential significance in lung cancer (CREB1, NUCKS1, HOXB4, MYCN, MYC, PHF8, TRIM28, WT1, CUX1, CRX, GABP, and TCF3); three of these (CRX, GABP, and TCF) have not been previously implicated in lung carcinogenesis. In addition, 11 kinases were found to be potentially related to lung cancer (MAPK1, IGF1R, RPS6KA1, ATR, MAPK14, MAPK3, MAPK4, MAPK8, PRKCZ, and INSR, and PRKAA1). However, PRKAA1 is reported here for the first time. MEPCE, CDK1, PRKCA, COPS5, GSK3B, BRCA1, EP300, and PIN1 were identified as potential hubs in lung cancer-associated signaling. In addition, we found 18 pathways that were potentially related to lung carcinogenesis, of which 12 (mitogen-activated protein kinase, gonadotropin-releasing hormone, Toll-like receptor, ErbB, and insulin signaling; purine and ether lipid metabolism; adherens junctions; regulation of autophagy; snare interactions in vesicular transport; and cell cycle) have been previously identified. Conclusion Our systems-based approach identified potential key molecules in lung carcinogenesis and provides a basis for investigations of tumor development as well as novel drug targets for lung cancer treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Salem A El-Aarag
- Bioinformatics Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute (GEBRI), University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt
| | - Amal Mahmoud
- Bioinformatics Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute (GEBRI), University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt
| | - Medhat H Hashem
- Animal biotechnology Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, (GEBRI), University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt
| | - Hatem Abd Elkader
- Information Systems Department, Faculty of Computer and Information, Menoufia University, Al Minufiyah, Egypt
| | - Alaa E Hemeida
- Bioinformatics Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute (GEBRI), University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt
| | - Mahmoud ElHefnawi
- Biomedical Informatics and Chemoinformatics Group, Informatics and Systems Department, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt. .,Center of Informatics, Nile university, Sheikh Zayed City, Giza, Egypt.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
WEE1 inhibition targets cell cycle checkpoints for triple negative breast cancers to overcome cisplatin resistance. Sci Rep 2017; 7:43517. [PMID: 28262781 PMCID: PMC5338009 DOI: 10.1038/srep43517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2016] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cisplatin is one of the most commonly used therapeutic drugs for cancer therapy, yet prolonged cisplatin treatment frequently results in drug resistance. To enhance therapeutic effect of cisplatin, we conducted a high throughput screening using a kinase library containing 704 kinases against triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. We demonstrated that cisplatin activates ATR, CHK1 and WEE1, which shut down DNA replication and attenuate cisplatin induced-lethality. WEE1 inhibition sensitizes TNBCs and cisplatin resistant cancer cells to cisplatin-induced lethality, because it not only impairs DNA replication checkpoint more profoundly than inhibition of ATR or CHK1, but also defects G2-M cell cycle checkpoint. Finally, we demonstrated that combined cisplatin treatment and WEE1 inhibition synergistically inhibits xenograft cancer growth accompanied by markedly reduced expression of TNBC signature genes. Thus targeting DNA replication and G2-M cell cycle checkpoint simultaneously by cisplatin and WEE1 inhibition is promising for TNBCs treatment, and for overcoming their cisplatin resistance.
Collapse
|