Lung cancer shows substantial genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity across individuals, driving a need for personalised medicine. Here, we report lung cancer organoids and normal bronchial organoids established from patient tissues comprising five histological subtypes of lung cancer and non-neoplastic bronchial mucosa as in vitro models representing individual patient. The lung cancer organoids recapitulate the tissue architecture of the primary lung tumours and maintain the genomic alterations of the original tumours during long-term expansion in vitro. The normal bronchial organoids maintain cellular components of normal bronchial mucosa. Lung cancer organoids respond to drugs based on their genomic alterations: a BRCA2-mutant organoid to olaparib, an EGFR-mutant organoid to erlotinib, and an EGFR-mutant/MET-amplified organoid to crizotinib. Considering the short length of time from organoid establishment to drug testing, our newly developed model may prove useful for predicting patient-specific drug responses through in vitro patient-specific drug trials.

Microfluidic devices as translational research tools offers opportunities to aid in reliable medical decision making and to develop customized patient care through predictive modeling of drug sensitivity in patient-derived cancer organoids.

Aberrant Wnt/β-catenin signalling is implicated in the progression of several human cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, mutations in Wnt/β-catenin pathway components are uncommon in NSCLC, and their epigenetic control remains unclear. Here, we show that KIF3A, a member of the kinesin-2 family, plays a role in suppressing Wnt/β-catenin signalling in NSCLC cells. KIF3A knockdown increases both β-catenin levels and transcriptional activity with concomitant promotion of malignant potential, such as increased proliferation and migration and upregulation of stemness markers. Because KIF3A binds β-arrestin, KIF3A depletion allows β-arrestin to form a complex with DVL2 and axin, stabilizing β-catenin. Although primary cilia, whose biogenesis requires KIF3A, are thought to restrain the Wnt response, pharmacological inhibition of ciliogenesis failed to increase β-catenin activity in NSCLC cells. A correlation between KIF3A loss and a poorer NSCLC prognosis as well as β-catenin and cyclin D1 upregulation further suggests that KIF3A suppresses Wnt/β-catenin signalling and tumourigenesis in NSCLC.

Background The intrinsic immuno-ge7nomic characteristics of colorectal cancer cells that affect tumor biology and shape the tumor immune microenvironment (TIM) are unclear. Methods We developed a patient-derived colorectal cancer organoid (CCO) model and performed pairwise analysis of 87 CCOs and their matched primary tumors. The TIM type of the primary tumor was classified as immuno-active, immuno-exhausted, or immuno-desert. Results The gene expression profiles, signaling pathways, major oncogenic mutations, and histology of the CCOs recapitulated those of the primary tumors, but not the TIM of primary tumors. Two distinct intrinsic molecular subgroups of highly proliferative and mesenchymal phenotypes with clinical significance were identified in CCOs with various cancer signaling pathways. CCOs showed variable expression of cancer-specific immune-related genes such as those encoding HLA-I and HLA-II, and molecules involved in immune checkpoint activation/inhibition. Among these genes, the expression of HLA-II in CCOs was associated with favorable patient survival. K-means clustering analysis based on HLA-II expression in CCOs revealed a subgroup of patients, in whom cancer cells exhibited Intrinsically Immunogenic Properties (Ca-IIP), and were characterized by high expression of signatures associated with HLA-I, HLA-II, antigen presentation, and immune stimulation. Patients with the Ca-IIP phenotype had an excellent prognosis, irrespective of age, disease stage, intrinsic molecular type, or TIM status. Ca-IIP was negatively correlated with intrinsic E2F/MYC signaling. Analysis of the correlation between CCO immuno-genotype and TIM phenotype revealed that the TIM phenotype was associated with microsatellite instability, Wnt/β-catenin signaling, APC/KRAS mutations, and the unfolded protein response pathway linked to the FBXW7 mutation in cancer cells. However, Ca-IIP was not associated with the TIM phenotype. Conclusions We identified a Ca-IIP phenotype from a large set of CCOs. Our findings may provide an unprecedented opportunity to develop new strategies for optimal patient stratification in this era of immunotherapy.

Scientific Reports 6: Article number: 32770; published online: 06 September 2016; updated: 25 April 2017 The Acknowledgments section of this Article contains a typographical error, where: “Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (MSIP) (#NRF-2011-0013927)” should read “Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (MSIP) (#NRF-2011-0030105)”.

Purpose Although epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-activating mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) usually show sensitivity to first-generation EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), most patients relapse because of drug resistance. Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) has been reported to be involved in the resistance of EGFR-TKIs, although the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here, we explore the mechanisms of HSP27-mediated EGFR TKI resistance and propose novel therapeutic strategies. Methods To determine the mechanism of HSP27 associated gefitinib resistance, differences were assessed using gefitinib-sensitive and -resistant NSCLC cell lines. In vivo xenograft experiments were conducted to elucidate the combinatorial effects of J2, a small molecule HSP27 inhibitor, and gefitinib. Analyses of human NSCLC tissues and PDX tissues were also used for comparison of HSP27 and phosphorylated AKT expression. Results Large-scale cohort analysis of NSCLC cases revealed that HSP27 expression correlated well with the incidence of EGFR mutations and affected patient survival. Increased pAKT and HSP27 was observed in gefitinib-resistant cells compared with gefitinib-sensitive cells. Moreover, increased phosphorylation of HSP27 by gefitinib augmented its protein stability and potentiated its binding activity with pAKT, which resulted in increased gefitinib resistance. However, in gefitinib-sensitive cells, stronger binding activity between EGFR and HSP27 was observed. Moreover, these phenomena occurred regardless of EGFR mutation including secondary mutations, such as T790M. AKT knockdown switched HSP27-pAKT binding to HSP27-EGFR, which promoted gefitinib sensitivity in gefitinib-resistant cells. Functional inhibition of HSP27 yielded sensitization to gefitinib in gefitinib-resistant cells by inhibiting the interaction between HSP27 and pAKT. Conclusions Our results indicate that combination of EGFR-TKIs with HSP27 inhibitors may represent a good strategy to overcome resistance to EGFR-TKIs, especially in cancers exhibiting AKT pathway activation.

Aberrant Wnt/β-catenin signaling is implicated in the progression of several human cancers, including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, mutations in Wnt/β-catenin pathway com-ponents are uncommon in NSCLC, and epigenetic mechanisms controlling the Wnt/β-catenin path-way remain unclear. Here, we show that KIF3A, a member of the kinesin-2 motor family, plays a key role in suppressing Wnt/β-catenin signaling in NSCLC cells. Knockdown of KIF3A increases both β-catenin levels and transcriptional activity, with a concomitant promotion of malignant phenotypes, such as enhanced proliferation and migration, and upregulation of stemness markers. KIF3A binds to β-arrestin, and KIF3A depletion allows β-arrestin to form a complex with DVL2 and AXIN, result-ing in β-catenin stabilization. Although primary cilia, of which the biogenesis requires KIF3A, are thought to restrain the Wnt response, pharmacological inhibition of ciliogenesis does not enhance β-catenin activity in NSCLC cells. A correlation between KIF3A loss and worse NSCLC prognosis as well as upregulation of β-catenin and Cyclin D1 further suggests that KIF3A is a suppressor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and tumorigenesis in NSCLC. Citation Format: Minsuh Kim, Yong-Ah Suh, Ju-hee Oh, Bo Ra Lee, Joon Kim, Se Jin Jang. The role of KIF3A in the suppression of canonical Wnt signaling through the KIF3A and β-arrestin complex, independent of the ciliary mechanism, in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1176.

Cancer model systems that maintain the genetic and phenotypic characteristics of human cancers are crucial for the study of precision cancer medicine. In this respect, patient-derived cancer organoids have been developed as preclinical models of various human cancers, with significant advantages over previous cancer models including patient-derived xenografts and cell lines. We recently reported a culture system of patient-derived lung cancer organoids (LCOs) that retain the characteristics of patients’ tumors. Here, we describe a detailed protocol for establishing LCOs from surgically resected tumor tissues and endoscopic biopsy samples. This method improves the efficiency of setting up LCOs composed of pure cancer cells and describes an additional procedure for reconstructing LCOs after cryopreservation. We confirmed that stored LCOs had the ability to self-organize and retain the morphological and genetic characteristics of their parental tissues. They also maintained their responsive properties to certain anticancer drugs after thawing. In conclusion, our method efficiently generates LCOs that enable anticancer drug screening at the individual patient level.