Combinatorial high throughput drug screening identifies a synergistic drug interaction that sensitizes mesenchymal pancreatic cancer to immune checkpoint blockade

ABSTRACT: KRAS-mutant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly immunosuppressive and resistant to targeted therapies, immune checkpoint blockade and engineered T cells. Here, we performed a systematic high throughput combinatorial drug screen and identified a synergistic interaction between the MEK inhibitor trametinib and the multi-kinase inhibitor nintedanib. This interaction targets KRAS-directed oncogenic signaling in the aggressive and therapy resistant non-glandular mesenchymal subtype of PDAC, driven by an allelic imbalance, increased gene-dosage and expression of oncogenic KRAS. Mechanistically, the combinatorial treatment induces cell cycle arrest and cell death and initiates an interferon response. Using single cell RNA sequencing and immunophenotyping, we show that the combination therapy reprograms the immunosuppressive microenvironment and primes cytotoxic and memory T cells to infiltrate the tumors, thereby sensitizing mesenchymal PDAC to PD-L1 inhibition. This work opens new avenues to target the therapy refractory mesenchymal PDAC subtype.

INSTRUMENT(S): Orbitrap Exploris 480

ORGANISM(S): Mus Musculus (mouse)

TISSUE(S): Epithelial Cell, Cell Culture

DISEASE(S): Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

SUBMITTER: Mario Oroshi  

LAB HEAD: Felix Meißner

PROVIDER: PXD027877 | Pride | 2022-02-11

REPOSITORIES: Pride