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Anderson KG, Braun DA, Buqué A, Gitto SB, Guerriero JL, Horton B, Keenan BP, Kim TS, Overacre-Delgoffe A, Ruella M, Triplett TA, Veeranki O, Verma V, Zhang F. Leveraging immune resistance archetypes in solid cancer to inform next-generation anticancer therapies. J Immunother Cancer 2023; 11:e006533. [PMID: 37399356 PMCID: PMC10314654 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-006533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Anticancer immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific antibodies, and chimeric antigen receptor T cells, have improved outcomes for patients with a variety of malignancies. However, most patients either do not initially respond or do not exhibit durable responses due to primary or adaptive/acquired immune resistance mechanisms of the tumor microenvironment. These suppressive programs are myriad, different between patients with ostensibly the same cancer type, and can harness multiple cell types to reinforce their stability. Consequently, the overall benefit of monotherapies remains limited. Cutting-edge technologies now allow for extensive tumor profiling, which can be used to define tumor cell intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of primary and/or acquired immune resistance, herein referred to as features or feature sets of immune resistance to current therapies. We propose that cancers can be characterized by immune resistance archetypes, comprised of five feature sets encompassing known immune resistance mechanisms. Archetypes of resistance may inform new therapeutic strategies that concurrently address multiple cell axes and/or suppressive mechanisms, and clinicians may consequently be able to prioritize targeted therapy combinations for individual patients to improve overall efficacy and outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin G Anderson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Carter Center for Immunology Research, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
- University of Virginia Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - David A Braun
- Center of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, Yale University Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Aitziber Buqué
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA
| | - Sarah B Gitto
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jennifer L Guerriero
- Division of Breast Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Brendan Horton
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Bridget P Keenan
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Teresa S Kim
- Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Abigail Overacre-Delgoffe
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Marco Ruella
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Todd A Triplett
- Department of Immunotherapeutics and Biotechnology, Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Abilene, Texas, USA
| | - Omkara Veeranki
- Medical Affairs and Clinical Development, Caris Life Sciences Inc, Irving, Texas, USA
| | - Vivek Verma
- Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, Minnesota, USA
| | - Fan Zhang
- Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
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Zhu Z, Johnson RL, Zhang Z, Herring LE, Jiang G, Damania B, James LI, Liu P. Development of VHL-recruiting STING PROTACs that suppress innate immunity. Cell Mol Life Sci 2023; 80:149. [PMID: 37183204 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-023-04796-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
STING acts as a cytosolic nucleotide sensor to trigger host defense upon viral or bacterial infection. While STING hyperactivation can exert anti-tumor effects by increasing T cell filtrates, in other contexts hyperactivation of STING can contribute to autoimmune and neuroinflammatory diseases. Several STING targeting agonists and a smaller subset of antagonists have been developed, yet STING targeted degraders, or PROTACs, remain largely underexplored. Here, we report a series of STING-agonist derived PROTACs that promote STING degradation in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cells. We show that our STING PROTACs activate STING and target activated/phospho-STING for degradation. Locking STING on the endoplasmic reticulum via site-directed mutagenesis disables STING translocation to the proteasome and resultingly blocks STING degradation. We also demonstrate that PROTAC treatment blocks downstream innate immune signaling events and attenuates the anti-viral response. Interestingly, we find that VHL acts as a bona fide E3 ligase for STING in RCC; thus, VHL-recruiting STING PROTACs further promote VHL-dependent STING degradation. Our study reveals the design and biological assessment of VHL-recruiting agonist-derived STING PROTACs, as well as demonstrates an example of hijacking a physiological E3 ligase to enhance target protein degradation via distinct mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhichuan Zhu
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Rebecca L Johnson
- Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Zhigang Zhang
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Laura E Herring
- UNC Proteomics Core Facility, Department of Pharmacology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Guochun Jiang
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- UNC HIV Cure Center, Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Blossom Damania
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- University of North Carolina Center for AIDS Research, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Lindsey I James
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
- Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
| | - Pengda Liu
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
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Su S, Chen J, Jiang Y, Wang Y, Vital T, Zhang J, Laggner C, Nguyen KT, Zhu Z, Prevatte AW, Barker NK, Herring LE, Davis IJ, Liu P. SPOP and OTUD7A Control EWS-FLI1 Protein Stability to Govern Ewing Sarcoma Growth. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2021; 8:e2004846. [PMID: 34060252 PMCID: PMC8292909 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202004846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Chromosomal translocation results in development of an Ewing sarcoma breakpoint region 1-Friend leukemia integration 1 (EWS-FLI1) fusion oncogene in the majority of Ewing sarcoma. The persistent dependence of the tumor for this oncoprotein points to EWS-FLI1 as an ideal drug target. Although EWS-FLI1 transcriptional targets and binding partners are evaluated, the mechanisms regulating EWS-FLI1 protein stability remain elusive. Speckle-type POZ protein (SPOP) and OTU domain-containing protein 7A (OTUD7A) are identified as the bona fide E3 ligase and deubiquitinase, respectively, that control EWS-FLI1 protein turnover in Ewing sarcoma. Casein kinase 1-mediated phosphorylation of the VTSSS degron in the FLI1 domain enhances SPOP activity to degrade EWS-FLI1. Opposing this process, OTUD7A deubiquitinates and stabilizes EWS-FLI1. Depletion of OTUD7A in Ewing sarcoma cell lines reduces EWS-FLI1 protein abundance and impedes Ewing sarcoma growth in vitro and in mice. Performing an artificial-intelligence-based virtual drug screen of a 4-million small molecule library, 7Ai is identified as a potential OTUD7A catalytic inhibitor. 7Ai reduces EWS-FLI1 protein levels and decreases Ewing sarcoma growth in vitro and in a xenograft mouse model. This study supports the therapeutic targeting of OTUD7A as a novel strategy for Ewing sarcoma bearing EWS-FLI1 and related fusions, and may also be applicable to other cancers dependent on aberrant FLI1 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyuan Su
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
- Department of Biochemistry and BiophysicsSchool of MedicineThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
| | - Jianfeng Chen
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
- Department of Biochemistry and BiophysicsSchool of MedicineThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
| | - Yao Jiang
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
- Present address:
Cancer CenterUnion HospitalTongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan430022China
| | - Ying Wang
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
- Department of Biochemistry and BiophysicsSchool of MedicineThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
| | - Tamara Vital
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
- Department of GeneticsThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
- Department of PediatricsThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC 27599USA
| | - Jiaming Zhang
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
- Present address:
Department of Oral Medicine, Infection, and ImmunityHarvard School of Dental MedicineBostonMA02215USA
| | | | | | - Zhichuan Zhu
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
- Department of Biochemistry and BiophysicsSchool of MedicineThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
| | - Alex W. Prevatte
- UNC Proteomics Core FacilityDepartment of PharmacologyThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
| | - Natalie K. Barker
- UNC Proteomics Core FacilityDepartment of PharmacologyThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
| | - Laura E. Herring
- UNC Proteomics Core FacilityDepartment of PharmacologyThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
| | - Ian J. Davis
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
- Department of GeneticsThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
- Department of PediatricsThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC 27599USA
| | - Pengda Liu
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
- Department of Biochemistry and BiophysicsSchool of MedicineThe University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNC27599USA
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Lesch BJ, Tothova Z, Morgan EA, Liao Z, Bronson RT, Ebert BL, Page DC. Intergenerational epigenetic inheritance of cancer susceptibility in mammals. eLife 2019; 8:e39380. [PMID: 30963999 PMCID: PMC6456297 DOI: 10.7554/elife.39380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Susceptibility to cancer is heritable, but much of this heritability remains unexplained. Some 'missing' heritability may be mediated by epigenetic changes in the parental germ line that do not involve transmission of genetic variants from parent to offspring. We report that deletion of the chromatin regulator Kdm6a (Utx) in the paternal germ line results in elevated tumor incidence in genetically wild type mice. This effect increases following passage through two successive generations of Kdm6a male germline deletion, but is lost following passage through a wild type germ line. The H3K27me3 mark is redistributed in sperm of Kdm6a mutants, and we define approximately 200 H3K27me3-marked regions that exhibit increased DNA methylation, both in sperm of Kdm6a mutants and in somatic tissue of progeny. Hypermethylated regions in enhancers may alter regulation of genes involved in cancer initiation or progression. Epigenetic changes in male gametes may therefore impact cancer susceptibility in adult offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zuzana Tothova
- Department of Medicine, Division of HematologyBrigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
- Broad Institute of MIT and HarvardCambridgeUnited States
| | - Elizabeth A Morgan
- Department of PathologyBrigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
| | - Zhicong Liao
- Department of GeneticsYale School of MedicineNew HavenUnited States
- Yale Cancer CenterYale School of MedicineNew HavenUnited States
| | - Roderick T Bronson
- Department of PathologyTufts University School of Medicine and Veterinary MedicineNorth GraftonUnited States
| | - Benjamin L Ebert
- Department of Medicine, Division of HematologyBrigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
- Broad Institute of MIT and HarvardCambridgeUnited States
| | - David C Page
- Whitehead InstituteCambridgeUnited States
- Department of BiologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Whitehead InstituteCambridgeUnited States
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