Breast and ovarian cancer patients harboring BRCA1/2 germline mutations have clinically benefitted from therapy with PARP inhibitor (PARPi) or platinum compounds, but acquired resistance limits clinical impact. In this study, we investigated the impact of mutations on BRCA1 isoform expression and therapeutic response. Cancer cell lines and tumors harboring mutations in exon 11 of BRCA1 express a BRCA1-Δ11q splice variant lacking the majority of exon 11. The introduction of frameshift mutations to exon 11 resulted in nonsense-mediated mRNA decay of full-length, but not the BRCA1-Δ11q isoform. CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing as well as overexpression experiments revealed that the BRCA1-Δ11q protein was capable of promoting partial PARPi and cisplatin resistance relative to full-length BRCA1, both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, spliceosome inhibitors reduced BRCA1-Δ11q levels and sensitized cells carrying exon 11 mutations to PARPi treatment. Taken together, our results provided evidence that cancer cells employ a strategy to remove deleterious germline BRCA1 mutations through alternative mRNA splicing, giving rise to isoforms that retain residual activity and contribute to therapeutic resistance.
SUMMARY Small molecule BET bromodomain inhibitors (BETi) are actively being pursued in clinical trials for the treatment of a variety of cancers, however, the mechanisms of resistance to BETi remain poorly understood. Using a mass spectrometry approach that globally measures kinase signaling at the proteomic level, we evaluated the response of the kinome to targeted BETi treatment in a panel of BRD4-dependent ovarian carcinoma (OC) cell lines. Despite initial inhibitory effects of BETi, OC cells acquired resistance following sustained treatment with the BETi, JQ1. Through application of Multiplexed Inhibitor Beads (MIBs) and mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that BETi resistance is mediated by adaptive kinome reprogramming, where activation of compensatory pro-survival kinase networks overcomes BET protein inhibition. Furthermore, drug combinations blocking these kinases may prevent or delay the development of drug resistance and enhance the efficacy of BETi therapy.
Purpose Define the safety and effectiveness of T-cells re-directed against Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Receptor (FSHR)-expressing ovarian cancer cells. Experimental Design FSHR expression was determined by Western-blot, immunohistochemistry and Q-PCR in 77 human ovarian cancer specimens from 6 different histological subtypes and 20 human healthy tissues. The effectiveness of human T-cells targeted with full-length FSH in vivo was determined against a panel of patient-derived xenografts. Safety and effectiveness were confirmed in immunocompetent tumor-bearing mice, using constructs targeting murine FSHR and syngeneic T-cells. Results FSHR is expressed in gynecologic malignancies of different histological types, but not in non-ovarian healthy tissues. Accordingly, T-cells expressing full-length FSHR-re-directed chimeric receptors mediate significant therapeutic effects (including tumor rejection) against a panel of patient-derived tumors in vivo. In immunocompetent mice growing syngeneic, orthotopic, and aggressive ovarian tumors, fully murine FSHR-targeted T-cells also increased survival without any measurable toxicity. Notably, chimeric receptors enhanced the ability of endogenous tumor-reactive T-cells to abrogate malignant progression upon adoptive transfer into naïve recipients subsequently challenged with the same tumor. Interestingly, FSHR-targeted T-cells persisted as memory lymphocytes without noticeable PD-1-dependent exhaustion during end-stage disease, in the absence of tumor cell immunoediting. However, exosomes in advanced tumor ascites diverted the effector activity of this and other chimeric receptor-transduced T-cells away from targeted tumor cells. Conclusions T-cells redirected against FSHR+ tumor cells with full-length FSH represent a promising therapeutic alternative against a broad range of ovarian malignancies, with negligible toxicity even in the presence of cognate targets in tumor-free ovaries.
Aurora kinase A (AURKA) localizes to centrosomes and mitotic spindles where it mediates mitotic progression and chromosomal stability. Overexpression of AURKA is common in cancer, resulting in acquisition of alternate non-mitotic functions. In the current study, we identified a novel role for AURKA in regulating ovarian cancer cell dissemination and evaluated the efficacy of an AURKA-selective small molecule inhibitor, alisertib (MLN8237), as a single agent and combined with paclitaxel using an orthotopic xenograft model of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Ovarian carcinoma cell lines were used to evaluate the effects of AURKA inhibition and overexpression on migration and adhesion. Pharmacologic or RNAi-mediated inhibition of AURKA significantly reduced ovarian carcinoma cell migration and adhesion and the activation-associated phosphorylation of the cytoskeletal regulatory protein SRC at tyrosine 416 (pSRCY416). Conversely, enforced expression of AURKA resulted in increased migration, adhesion and activation of SRC in cultured cells. In vivo tumor growth and dissemination were inhibited by alisertib treatment as a single agent. Moreover, combination of alisertib with paclitaxel, an agent commonly used in treatment of EOC, resulted in more potent inhibition of tumor growth and dissemination compared to either drug alone. Taken together, these findings support a role for AURKA in EOC dissemination by regulating migration and adhesion. They also point to the potential utility of combining AURKA inhibitors with taxanes as a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of EOC patients.
Ovarian carcinoma (OC) is the fifth leading cause of death among women in the United States. Persistent activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT3) is frequently detected in OC. STAT3 is activated by Janus family kinases (JAK) via cytokine receptors, growth factor receptor and non-growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases. Activation of STAT3 mediates tumor cell proliferation, survival, motility, invasion, and angiogenesis, and recent work demonstrates that STAT3 activation suppresses anti-tumor immune responses and supports tumor-promoting inflammation. We hypothesized that therapeutic targeting of the JAK/STAT3 pathway would inhibit tumor growth by direct effects on OC cells and by inhibition of cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME). To test this, we evaluated the effects of a small molecule JAK inhibitor, AZD1480, on cell viability, apoptosis, proliferation, migration and adhesion of OC cells in vitro. We then evaluated the effects of AZD1480 on in vivo tumor growth and progression, gene expression, tumor-associated matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and immune cell populations in a transgenic mouse model of OC. AZD1480-treatment inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation and DNA binding, and migration and adhesion of cultured OC cells and ovarian tumor growth rate, volume and ascites production in mice. In addition, drug treatment led to altered gene expression, decreased tumor-associated MMP activity, and fewer suppressor T cells in the peritoneal tumor microenvironment of tumor-bearing mice than control mice. Taken together, our results show pharmacological inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway leads to disruption of functions essential for ovarian tumor growth and progression and represents a promising therapeutic strategy.
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