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Tan YQ, Sun B, Zhang X, Zhang S, Guo H, Basappa B, Zhu T, Sethi G, Lobie PE, Pandey V. Concurrent inhibition of pBADS99 synergistically improves MEK inhibitor efficacy in KRAS G12D-mutant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Cell Death Dis 2024; 15:173. [PMID: 38409090 PMCID: PMC10897366 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-024-06551-7] [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] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Therapeutic targeting of KRAS-mutant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has remained a significant challenge in clinical oncology. Direct targeting of KRAS has proven difficult, and inhibition of the KRAS effectors have shown limited success due to compensatory activation of survival pathways. Being a core downstream effector of the KRAS-driven p44/42 MAPK and PI3K/AKT pathways governing intrinsic apoptosis, BAD phosphorylation emerges as a promising therapeutic target. Herein, a positive association of the pBADS99/BAD ratio with higher disease stage and worse overall survival of PDAC was observed. Homology-directed repair of BAD to BADS99A or small molecule inhibition of BADS99 phosphorylation by NCK significantly reduced PDAC cell viability by promoting cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. NCK also abrogated the growth of preformed colonies of PDAC cells in 3D culture. Furthermore, high-throughput screening with an oncology drug library to identify potential combinations revealed a strong synergistic effect between NCK and MEK inhibitors in PDAC cells harboring either wild-type or mutant-KRAS. Mechanistically, both mutant-KRAS and MEK inhibition increased the phosphorylation of BADS99 in PDAC cells, an effect abrogated by NCK. Combined pBADS99-MEK inhibition demonstrated strong synergy in reducing cell viability, enhancing apoptosis, and achieving xenograft stasis in KRAS-mutant PDAC. In conclusion, the inhibition of BADS99 phosphorylation enhances the efficacy of MEK inhibition, and their combined inhibition represents a mechanistically based and potentially effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of KRAS-mutant PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Qin Tan
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering and Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
- Food Science and Technology Program, Department of Life Sciences, BNU-HKBU United International College, Zhuhai, 519087, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Bowen Sun
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering and Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Xi Zhang
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering and Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
- Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuwei Zhang
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering and Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Hui Guo
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering and Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Basappa Basappa
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Studies in Organic Chemistry, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, 570006, Mysore, India
| | - Tao Zhu
- Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Center for Advanced Interdisciplinary Science and Biomedicine of IHM, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, People's Republic of China
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, People's Republic of China
| | - Gautam Sethi
- Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117600, Singapore
- NUS Centre for Cancer Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117599, Singapore
| | - Peter E Lobie
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering and Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China.
- Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
| | - Vijay Pandey
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering and Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China.
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