Pancreatic cancers arise predominantly from ductal epithelial cells of the exocrine pancreas and are of the ductal adenocarcinoma histological subtype (PDAC). PDAC is an aggressive disease associated with a poor clinical prognosis, weakly effective therapeutic options, and a lack of early detection methods. Furthermore, the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of PDAC complicates efforts to identify universally efficacious therapies. PDACs commonly harbor activating mutations in the KRAS oncogene, which is a potent driver of tumor initiation and maintenance. Inactivating mutations in tumor suppressor genes such as CDKN2A/p16, TP53 and SMAD4 cooperate with KRAS mutations to cause aggressive PDAC tumor growth. PDAC can be classified into 3-4 molecular subtypes by global gene expression profiling. These subtypes can be distinguished by distinct molecular and phenotypic characteristics. This chapter will provide an overview of the current knowledge of PDAC pathogenesis at the genetic and molecular level as well as novel therapeutic opportunities to treat this highly aggressive disease.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide. Despite the prevalence of HCC, there is no effective, systemic treatment. The transcription factor LSF is a promising protein target for chemotherapy; it is highly expressed in HCC patient samples and cell lines, and promotes oncogenesis in rodent xenograft models of HCC. Here, we identify small molecules that effectively inhibit LSF cellular activity. The lead compound, factor quinolinone inhibitor 1 (FQI1), inhibits LSF DNA-binding activity both in vitro, as determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assays, and in cells, as determined by ChIP. Consistent with such inhibition, FQI1 eliminates transcriptional stimulation of LSF-dependent reporter constructs. FQI1 also exhibits antiproliferative activity in multiple cell lines. In LSF-overexpressing cells, including HCC cells, cell death is rapidly induced; however, primary or immortalized hepatocytes are unaffected by treatment with FQI1. The highly concordant structure–activity relationship of a panel of 23 quinolinones strongly suggests that the growth inhibitory activity is due to a single biological target or family. Coupled with the striking agreement between the concentrations required for antiproliferative activity (GI 50 s) and for inhibition of LSF transactivation (IC 50 s), we conclude that LSF is the specific biological target of FQIs. Based on these in vitro results, we tested the efficacy of FQI1 in inhibiting HCC tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model. As a single agent, tumor growth was dramatically inhibited with no observable general tissue cytotoxicity. These findings support the further development of LSF inhibitors for cancer chemotherapy.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) are highly aggressive malignancies, associated with poor clinical prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Oncogenic KRAS mutations are found in over 90% of PDACs, playing a central role in tumor progression. Global gene expression profiling of PDAC reveals 3-4 major molecular subtypes with distinct phenotypic traits and pharmacological vulnerabilities, including variations in oncogenic KRAS pathway dependencies. PDAC cell lines of the aberrantly differentiated endocrine exocrine (ADEX) subtype are robustly KRAS-dependent for survival. The KRAS gene is located on chromosome 12p11-12p12, a region amplified in 5-10% of primary PDACs. Within this amplicon, we identified co-amplification of KRAS with the STK38L gene in a subset of primary human PDACs and PDAC cell lines. Therefore, we determined whether PDAC cell lines are dependent on STK38L expression for proliferation and viability. STK38L encodes a serine/threonine kinase, which shares homology with Hippo pathway kinases LATS1/2. We show that STK38L expression is elevated in a subset of primary PDACs and PDAC cell lines displaying ADEX subtype characteristics, including overexpression of mutant KRAS. RNAi-mediated depletion of STK38L in a subset of ADEX subtype cell lines inhibits cellular proliferation and induces apoptosis. Concomitant with these effects, STK38L depletion causes increased expression of the LATS2 kinase and the cell cycle regulator p21. LATS2 depletion partially rescues the cytostatic and cytotoxic effects of STK38L depletion. Lastly, high STK38L mRNA expression is associated with decreased overall patient survival in PDACs. Collectively, our findings implicate STK38L as a candidate targetable vulnerability in a subset of molecularly-defined PDACs.
MEK inhibitors have limited efficacy in treating RAS-RAF-MEK pathway-dependent cancers due to feedback pathway compensation and dose-limiting toxicities. Combining MEK inhibitors with other targeted agents may enhance efficacy. Here, co-dependencies of MEK, TAK1 and KRAS in colon cancer were investigated. Combined inhibition of MEK and TAK1 potentiates apoptosis in KRAS-dependent cells. Pharmacological studies and cell cycle analyses on a large panel of colon cancer cell lines demonstrate that MEK/TAK1 inhibition induces cell death, as assessed by sub-G1 accumulation, in a distinct subset of cell lines. Furthermore, TAK1 inhibition causes G2/M cell cycle blockade and polyploidy in many of the cell lines. MEK plus TAK1 inhibition causes reduced G2/M/polyploid cell numbers and additive cytotoxic effects in KRAS/TAK1-dependent cell lines as well as a subset of BRAF-mutant cells. Mechanistically, sensitivity to MEK/TAK1 inhibition can be conferred by KRAS and BMP receptor activation, which promote expression of NFκB-dependent proinflammatory cytokines, driving tumor cell survival and proliferation. MEK/TAK1 inhibition causes reduced mTOR, Wnt and NFκB signaling in TAK1/MEK-dependent cell lines concomitant with apoptosis. A Wnt/NFκB transcriptional signature was derived that stratifies primary tumors into three major subtypes: Wnt-high/NFκB-low, Wnt-low/NFκB-high and Wnt-high/NFκB-high, designated W, N and WN, respectively. These subtypes have distinct characteristics, including enrichment for BRAF mutations with serrated carcinoma histology in the N subtype. Both N and WN subtypes bear molecular hallmarks of MEK and TAK1 dependency seen in cell lines. Therefore, N and WN subtype signatures could be utilized to identify tumors that are most sensitive to anti-MEK/TAK1 therapeutics.
<p>Synthetic lethality of TAK1 depletion in KRAS transformed cells.</p>
<p>KRAS and TAK1 dependency in human and mouse colon cancer.</p>
<p>Computational analysis of gene expression in primary colon tumor cohorts.</p>
huMNC2-CAR44 is a second generation CAR that recognizes the growth factor receptor form, MUC1*, does not bind to full-length MUC1, hits a wide range of cancers and shows to little or no binding to normal tissues and is the first therapeutic tested in humans targeting the MUC1 transmembrane cleavage product called MUC1*. A 1st-in-human clinical trial of huMNC2-CAR44, NCT04020575, for metastatic breast cancers is underway at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. MUC1 biology has historically been poorly understood. Several flawed reports are still widely cited in the literature. We will present data that de-bunks current MUC1 dogma. Namely, we will demonstrate that full-length MUC1 plays no role in tumorigenesis. The cleaved tandem repeat domain does not form a heterodimer with the remaining transmembrane portion. We demonstrate that elimination of full-length MUC1 greatly accelerates tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. MUC1* is a Class I growth factor receptor that is activated by ligand-induced dimerization of its truncated extra cellular domain, which activates the MAP kinase signaling pathway as well as survival pathways. Onco-embryonic growth factor NME7AB binds to an ectopic site on MUC1* that is only unmasked after MUC1 is cleaved and the tandem repeat domain is shed from the cell surface. NME7AB looks like a single chain dimer of pseudo-identical domains that each can bind to a MUC1* extra cellular domain. Because it can dimerize MUC1* as a monomer, it renders the MUC1* growth factor receptor constitutively active. Adult forms of NME7AB limit self-replication by changing multimerization state from the active dimer to the inactive hexamer. Antibodies such as 5E5 and SM3 bind to aberrant, trapped glycans on O-linked glycosylation sites that are only in the tandem repeat domain, which is shed from the tumor after MUC1 cleavage. Unlike full-length MUC1, MUC1* has no sites for O-linked glycosylation, so MUC1* is missed by antibodies that target aberrant glycans. Importantly, therapeutics that target full-length MUC1 could increase tumorigenesis by enriching for cells expressing the tumorigenic MUC1* growth factor receptor. Minerva’s anti-MUC1* antibody, huMNC2, binds to the conformational epitope that is unmasked when MUC1 is cleaved to MUC1*. MMP9, which has been linked to poor prognosis and metastasis, cleaves MUC1 to a tumor-associated growth factor receptor form of MUC1*. huMNC2 and onco-embryonic growth factor NME7AB compete for binding to the same conformational epitope created when MUC1 is cleaved to MUC1* by MMP9. Neither huMNC2 nor NME7AB binds to full-length MUC1. IHC studies of thousands of human tissues – both normal and cancerous – show that the tumor associated antigen is MUC1* and not full-length MUC1. Patient-match primary and metastases show that as cancer stage progresses the amount of MUC1* increases. huMNC2-scFv bound robustly to 95% of the breast cancers, 83% ovarian, 78% pancreatic and 71% of lung cancer tissues (specimens n>2,800). There was minimal staining of normal tissues, primarily on apical surfaces which are expected to be less accessible to immune cells. In vivo, huMNC2-CAR44 T cells inhibited or completely obliterated a variety of MUC1* positive solid tumors in NSG mice (n>500). Minerva has developed next-gen CARs designed to increase persistence, and intends to file for additional INDs. Conclusions: MUC1* is the predominant form of MUC1 on cancerous tissues. Antibodies that target a conformational epitope in the membrane-proximal MUC1* extra cellular domain are tumor selective. CAR T cells targeting MUC1* extra cellular domain are highly effective against solid tumors in animals. Robust staining of cancerous tissues and minimal staining of normal tissues predicts a promising therapeutic window for huMNC2-CAR44 T cell dosing. Citation Format: Cynthia Bamdad, Andrew K Stewart, Pengyu Huang, Benoit J Smagghe, Scott T Moe, Tyler E Swanson, Thomas G Jeon, Danica M Page, Trevor J Grant, Jennifer M Specht. First-in-human chimeric antigen receptor t cells target muc1 transmembrane cleavage product [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS11-36.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.