Neural Crest-Like Stem Cell Transcriptome Analysis Identifies LPAR1 in Melanoma Progression and Therapy Resistance.
Cancer Res 2021;
81:5230-5241. [PMID:
34462276 PMCID:
PMC8530965 DOI:
10.1158/0008-5472.can-20-1496]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Metastatic melanoma is challenging to clinically address. Although standard-of-care targeted therapy has high response rates in patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma, therapy relapse occurs in most cases. Intrinsically resistant melanoma cells drive therapy resistance and display molecular and biologic properties akin to neural crest-like stem cells (NCLSC) including high invasiveness, plasticity, and self-renewal capacity. The shared transcriptional programs and vulnerabilities between NCLSCs and cancer cells remains poorly understood. Here, we identify a developmental LPAR1-axis critical for NCLSC viability and melanoma cell survival. LPAR1 activity increased during progression and following acquisition of therapeutic resistance. Notably, genetic inhibition of LPAR1 potentiated BRAFi ± MEKi efficacy and ablated melanoma migration and invasion. Our data define LPAR1 as a new therapeutic target in melanoma and highlights the promise of dissecting stem cell-like pathways hijacked by tumor cells. SIGNIFICANCE: This study identifies an LPAR1-axis critical for melanoma invasion and intrinsic/acquired therapy resistance.
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