Profiling candidate therapeutics with limited cancer models during preclinical development hinders predictions of clinical efficacy and identifying factors that underlie heterogeneous patient responses for patient-selection strategies. We established ∼1,000 patient-derived tumor xenograft models (PDXs) with a diverse set of driver mutations. With these PDXs, we performed in vivo compound screens using a 1 × 1 × 1 experimental design (PDX clinical trial or PCT) to assess the population responses to 62 treatments across six indications. We demonstrate both the reproducibility and the clinical translatability of this approach by identifying associations between a genotype and drug response, and established mechanisms of resistance. In addition, our results suggest that PCTs may represent a more accurate approach than cell line models for assessing the clinical potential of some therapeutic modalities. We therefore propose that this experimental paradigm could potentially improve preclinical evaluation of treatment modalities and enhance our ability to predict clinical trial responses.
The non-receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2, encoded by PTPN11, has an important role in signal transduction downstream of growth factor receptor signalling and was the first reported oncogenic tyrosine phosphatase. Activating mutations of SHP2 have been associated with developmental pathologies such as Noonan syndrome and are found in multiple cancer types, including leukaemia, lung and breast cancer and neuroblastoma. SHP2 is ubiquitously expressed and regulates cell survival and proliferation primarily through activation of the RAS–ERK signalling pathway. It is also a key mediator of the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) immune checkpoint pathways. Reduction of SHP2 activity suppresses tumour cell growth and is a potential target of cancer therapy. Here we report the discovery of a highly potent (IC50 = 0.071 μM), selective and orally bioavailable small-molecule SHP2 inhibitor, SHP099, that stabilizes SHP2 in an auto-inhibited conformation. SHP099 concurrently binds to the interface of the N-terminal SH2, C-terminal SH2, and protein tyrosine phosphatase domains, thus inhibiting SHP2 activity through an allosteric mechanism. SHP099 suppresses RAS–ERK signalling to inhibit the proliferation of receptor-tyrosine-kinase-driven human cancer cells in vitro and is efficacious in mouse tumour xenograft models. Together, these data demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition of SHP2 is a valid therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancers.
5-Methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) is a key enzyme in the methionine salvage pathway. The MTAP gene is frequently deleted in human cancers because of its chromosomal proximity to the tumor suppressor gene CDKN2A. By interrogating data from a large-scale short hairpin RNA-mediated screen across 390 cancer cell line models, we found that the viability of MTAP-deficient cancer cells is impaired by depletion of the protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT5. MTAP-deleted cells accumulate the metabolite methylthioadenosine (MTA), which we found to inhibit PRMT5 methyltransferase activity. Deletion of MTAP in MTAP-proficient cells rendered them sensitive to PRMT5 depletion. Conversely, reconstitution of MTAP in an MTAP-deficient cell line rescued PRMT5 dependence. Thus, MTA accumulation in MTAP-deleted cancers creates a hypomorphic PRMT5 state that is selectively sensitized toward further PRMT5 inhibition. Inhibitors of PRMT5 that leverage this dysregulated metabolic state merit further investigation as a potential therapy for MTAP/CDKN2A-deleted tumors.
The use of RNA interference (RNAi) has enabled loss-offunction studies in mammalian cancer cells and has hence become critical for identifying and validating cancer drug targets. Current transient siRNA and stable shRNA systems, however, have limited utility in accurately assessing the cancer dependency due to their short-lived effects and limited in vivo utility, respectively. In this study, a single-vector lentiviral, Tet-inducible shRNA system (pLKO-Tet-On) was generated to allow for the rapid generation of multiple stable cell lines with regulatable shRNA expression. We demonstrate the advantages and versatility of this system by targeting two polycomb group proteins, Bmi-1 and Mel-18, in a number of cancer cell lines. Our data show that pLKO-Tet-Onmediated knockdown is tightly regulated by the inducer tetracycline and its derivative, doxycycline, in a concentration-and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, target gene expression is fully restored upon withdrawal of the inducing agent. An additional, 17 distinct gene products have been targeted by inducible shRNAs with robust regulation in all cases. Importantly, we functionally validate the ability of the pLKO-Tet-On vector to reversibly silence targeted transcripts in vivo. The versatile and robust inducible lentiviral RNAi system reported herein can therefore serve as a powerful tool to rapidly reveal tumor cell dependence.
D-type cyclins (D1, D2 and D3) together with their associated cyclin-dependent kinases CDK4 and CDK6 are components of the core cell cycle machinery that drives cell proliferation1,2. Inhibitors of CDK4 and CDK6 are currently in clinical trials for patients with several cancer types, with promising results2. Here, we show that cyclin D3-CDK6 phosphorylates and inhibits the catalytic activity of two key enzymes in the glycolytic pathway, 6-phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase M2. This re-directs the glycolytic intermediates into the pentose phosphate (PPP) and serine pathways. Inhibition of cyclin D3-CDK6 in tumor cells reduces PPP and serine pathway flows, thereby depleting anti-oxidants NADPH and glutathione. This, in turn elevates the levels of reactive oxygen species and causes tumor cell apoptosis. The pro-survival function of cyclin D-associated kinase operates in tumors expressing high levels of cyclin D3-CDK6 complexes. We propose that measuring the levels of cyclin D3-CDK6 in human cancers might help to identify tumor subsets that undergo cell death and tumor regression upon CDK4/6-inhibition. Cyclin D3-CDK6, through its ability to link cell cycle and cell metabolism represents a particularly powerful oncogene that affects cancer cells at several levels, and this property can be exploited for anti-cancer therapy.
We used Pax-2 mRNA expression and Lim 1/2 antibody staining as markers for the conversion of chick intermediate mesoderm (IM) to pronephric tissue and Lmx-1 mRNA expression as a marker for mesonephros. Pronephric markers were strongly expressed caudal to the fifth somite by stage 9. To determine whether the pronephros was induced by adjacent tissues and, if so, to identify the inducing tissues and the timing of induction, we microsurgically dissected one side of chick embryos developing in culture and then incubated them for up to 3 days. The undisturbed contralateral side served as a control. Most embryos cut parallel to the rostrocaudal axis between the trunk paraxial mesoderm and IM before stage 8 developed a pronephros on the control side only. Embryos manipulated after stage 9 developed pronephric structures on both sides, but the caudal pronephric extension was attenuated on the cut side. These results suggest that a medial signal is required for pronephric development and show that the signal is propagated in a rostral to caudal sequence. In manipulated embryos cultured for 3 days in ovo, the mesonephros as well as the pronephros failed to develop on the experimental side. In contrast, embryos cut between the notochord and the trunk paraxial mesoderm formed pronephric structures on both sides, regardless of the stage at which the operation was performed, indicating that the signal arises from the paraxial mesoderm (PM) and not from axial mesoderm. This cut also served as a control for cuts between the PM and the IM and showed that signaling itself was blocked in the former experiments, not the migration of pronephric or mesonephric precursor cells from the primitive streak. Additional control experiments ruled out the need for signals from lateral plate mesoderm, ectoderm, or endoderm. To determine whether the trunk paraxial mesoderm caudal to the fifth somite maintains its inductive capacity in the absence of contact with more rostral tissue, embryos were transected. Those transected below the prospective level of the fifth somite expressed Pax-2 in both the rostral and the caudal isolates, whereas embryos transected rostral to this level expressed Pax-2 in the caudal isolate only. Thus, a rostral signal is not required to establish the normal pattern of Pax-2 expression and pronephros formation. To determine whether paraxial mesoderm is sufficient for pronephros induction, stage 7 or earlier chick lateral plate mesoderm was cocultured with caudal stage 8 or 9 quail somites in collagen gels. Pax-2 was expressed in chick tissues in 21 of 25 embryos. Isochronic transplantation of stage 4 or 5 quail node into caudal chick primitive streak resulted in the generation of ectopic somites. These somites induced ectopic pronephroi in lateral plate mesoderm, and the IM that received signals from both native and ectopic somites formed enlarged pronephroi with increased Pax-2 expression. We conclude that signals from a localized region of the trunk paraxial mesoderm are both required and sufficient for the induction ...
Chronic liver disease mediated by activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and Kupffer cells (KCs) leads to liver fibrosis. Here, we aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism and define the cell type involved in mediating the sphingosine kinase (SphK)1‐dependent effect on liver fibrosis. The levels of expression and activity of SphK1 were significantly increased in fibrotic livers compared with the normal livers in human. SphK1 was coexpressed with a range of HSC/KC markers including desmin, α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) and F4/80 in fibrotic liver. Deficiency of SphK1 (SphK1−/−) resulted in a marked amelioration of hepatic injury, including transaminase activities, histology, collagen deposition, α‐SMA and inflammation, in CCl4 or bile duct ligation (BDL)‐induced mice. Likewise, treatment with a specific inhibitor of SphK1, 5C, also significantly prevented liver injury and fibrosis in mice induced by CCl4 or BDL. In cellular levels, inhibition of SphK1 significantly blocked the activation and migration of HSCs and KCs. Moreover, SphK1 knockout in KCs reduced the secretion of CCL2, and SphK1 knockout in HSCs reduced C‐C motif chemokine receptor 2 ([CCR2] CCL2 receptor) expression in HSCs. CCL2 in SphK1−/− mice was lower whereas microRNA‐19b‐3p in SphK1−/− mice was higher compared with wild‐type (WT) mice. Furthermore, microRNA‐19b‐3p downregulated CCR2 in HSCs. The functional effect of SphK1 in HSCs on liver fibrosis was further strengthened by the results of animal experiments using a bone marrow transplantation (BMT) method. Conclusion: SphK1 has distinct roles in the activation of KCs and HSCs in liver fibrosis. Mechanistically, SphK1 in KCs mediates CCL2 secretion, and SphK1 in HSCs upregulates CCR2 by downregulation of miR‐19b‐3p. (Hepatology 2018).
Cancer cells rely on aerobic glycolysis to maintain cell growth and proliferation via the Warburg effect. Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHDGH) catalyzes the first step of the serine biosynthetic pathway downstream of glycolysis, which is a metabolic gatekeeper both for macromolecular biosynthesis and serine-dependent DNA synthesis. Here, we report that PHDGH is overexpressed in many ER-negative human breast cancer cell lines. PHGDH knockdown in these cells leads to a reduction of serine synthesis and impairment of cancer cell proliferation. However, PHGDH knockdown does not affect tumor maintenance and growth in established breast cancer xenograft models, suggesting that PHGDH-dependent cancer cell growth may be context-dependent. Our findings suggest that other mechanisms or pathways may bypass exclusive dependence on PHGDH in established human breast cancer xenografts, indicating that PHGDH is dispensable for the growth and maintenance of tumors in vivo.
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