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Gilardi M, Wang Z, Proietto M, Chillà A, Calleja-Valera JL, Goto Y, Vanoni M, Janes MR, Mikulski Z, Gualberto A, Molinolo AA, Ferrara N, Gutkind JS, Burrows F. Tipifarnib as a Precision Therapy for HRAS-Mutant Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas. Mol Cancer Ther 2020; 19:1784-1796. [PMID: 32727882 PMCID: PMC7484242 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-19-0958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2019] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Tipifarnib is a potent and highly selective inhibitor of farnesyltransferase (FTase). FTase catalyzes the posttranslational attachment of farnesyl groups to signaling proteins that are required for localization to cell membranes. Although all RAS isoforms are FTase substrates, only HRAS is exclusively dependent upon farnesylation, raising the possibility that HRAS-mutant tumors might be susceptible to tipifarnib-mediated inhibition of FTase. Here, we report the characterization of tipifarnib activity in a wide panel of HRAS-mutant and wild-type head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) xenograft models. Tipifarnib treatment displaced both mutant and wild-type HRAS from membranes but only inhibited proliferation, survival, and spheroid formation of HRAS-mutant cells. In vivo, tipifarnib treatment induced tumor stasis or regression in all six HRAS-mutant xenografts tested but displayed no activity in six HRAS wild-type patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. Mechanistically, drug treatment resulted in the reduction of MAPK pathway signaling, inhibition of proliferation, induction of apoptosis, and robust abrogation of neovascularization, apparently via effects on both tumor cells and endothelial cells. Bioinformatics and quantitative image analysis further revealed that FTase inhibition induces progressive squamous cell differentiation in tipifarnib-treated HNSCC PDXs. These preclinical findings support that HRAS represents a druggable oncogene in HNSCC through FTase inhibition by tipifarnib, thereby identifying a precision therapeutic option for HNSCCs harboring HRAS mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara Gilardi
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Zhiyong Wang
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Marco Proietto
- Section of Molecular Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Anastasia Chillà
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Yusuke Goto
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Marco Vanoni
- Dept of Biotechnology and Biosciences, and SYSBIO Centre of Systems Biology, University Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Zbigniew Mikulski
- La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla, CA
| | | | | | - Napoleone Ferrara
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - J. Silvio Gutkind
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA,Corresponding authors: To whom correspondence should be addressed at: J. Silvio Gutkind, Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, 3855 Health Sciences Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0803, USA; Phone: 858-534-5980; and to Francis Burrows, Kura Oncology, Inc., San Diego, California.
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