Project description:Targeted therapies have the potential to revolutionize cancer care by providing personalized treatment strategies that are less toxic and more effective but it is clear that for most solid tumors suppression of a single target is not sufficient to prevent development of resistance. A powerful method to identify mechanisms of resistance and targets for combination therapy is to use an in vivo genetic approach. We have developed a novel retroviral gene delivery mouse model of melanoma that permits control of gene expression post-delivery using the tetracycline (tet)-regulated system. In this study we used this melanoma model to select for resistant tumors following genetic inhibition of mutant NRAS. Analysis of tumors that became resistant to NRAS suppression revealed that the most common mechanism of resistance was overexpression of the Met receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK). Importantly, inhibition of Met overcomes NRAS resistance in this context. Analysis of NRAS mutant human melanoma cells revealed that inhibition of MEK is also associated with adaptive RTK signaling. Furthermore, co-inhibition of RTK signaling and MEK overcomes acquired MEK inhibitor resistance in NRAS mutant melanoma. These data suggest that combined inhibition of RTK and MEK signaling is a rational therapeutic strategy in mutant NRAS driven melanoma. Reversible NRAS Q61R expression in the melanocytes of DCT-TVA;Ink4a/Arf lox/lox mice (FVB/n) was achieved by transducing the animals with Tet-off and TRE-NRASQ61R-IRES-Cre avian leukosis viruses. After tumor initiation, the expression of NRAS Q61R was turned off by administrating doxycycline. Despite initial regression, tumors in 40% of mice developed resistance to NRAS Q61R withdraw. Seven resistant tumors and one control tumor where NRAS Q61R expression was not interrupted were subjected to genome-wide gene expression profiling.
Project description:Targeted therapies have the potential to revolutionize cancer care by providing personalized treatment strategies that are less toxic and more effective but it is clear that for most solid tumors suppression of a single target is not sufficient to prevent development of resistance. A powerful method to identify mechanisms of resistance and targets for combination therapy is to use an in vivo genetic approach. We have developed a novel retroviral gene delivery mouse model of melanoma that permits control of gene expression post-delivery using the tetracycline (tet)-regulated system. In this study we used this melanoma model to select for resistant tumors following genetic inhibition of mutant NRAS. Analysis of tumors that became resistant to NRAS suppression revealed that the most common mechanism of resistance was overexpression of the Met receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK). Importantly, inhibition of Met overcomes NRAS resistance in this context. Analysis of NRAS mutant human melanoma cells revealed that inhibition of MEK is also associated with adaptive RTK signaling. Furthermore, co-inhibition of RTK signaling and MEK overcomes acquired MEK inhibitor resistance in NRAS mutant melanoma. These data suggest that combined inhibition of RTK and MEK signaling is a rational therapeutic strategy in mutant NRAS driven melanoma.
Project description:Since direct pharmacological inhibition of RAS has thus far been unsuccessful, we explored system biology approaches to identify synergistic drug combination(s) that can mimic direct RAS inhibition. Leveraging an inducible mouse model of NRAS-mutant melanoma, we compare pharmacological MEK inhibition to complete NRAS-Q61K extinction in vivo. NRAS-Q61K extinction leads to a complete and durable tumor regression by enhancing both apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. By contrast, MEK inhibition only produces tumor stasis at best and we find that it robustly activates apoptosis but does not significantly impede proliferation. We used microarrays to determine which transcripts were affected by NRAS-Q61K extinction but insufficiently by MEK inhibition. We selected a single comparative timepoint, 4 days post-treatment. Downstream analyses included GSEA and TRAP algorithms, leading to the identification of a differentially affected CDK4-driven proliferation network. Immune genes were also identified as significant, but control experiments determined these to be largely the off-target effects of doxycycline and not of NRAS-Q61K extinction.
Project description:Since direct pharmacological inhibition of RAS has thus far been unsuccessful, we explored system biology approaches to identify synergistic drug combination(s) that can mimic direct RAS inhibition. Leveraging an inducible mouse model of NRAS-mutant melanoma, we compare pharmacological MEK inhibition to complete NRAS-Q61K extinction in vivo. NRAS-Q61K extinction leads to a complete and durable tumor regression by enhancing both apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. By contrast, MEK inhibition only produces tumor stasis at best and we find that it robustly activates apoptosis but does not significantly impede proliferation. We used microarrays to determine which transcripts were affected by NRAS-Q61K extinction but insufficiently by MEK inhibition. We selected a single comparative timepoint, 4 days post-treatment. Downstream analyses included GSEA and TRAP algorithms, leading to the identification of a differentially affected CDK4-driven proliferation network. Immune genes were also identified as significant, but control experiments determined these to be largely the off-target effects of doxycycline and not of NRAS-Q61K extinction. The iNRAS-475 mouse melanoma cell line was injected intradermally into nude mice which were fed 2mg/ml doxycycline water. Tumors were allowed to reach 200-500mm3 after 6 weeks. Mice were then treated with vehicle or 100mg/kg of the AZD6244 MEK inhibitor, or doxycyline was withdrawn from the diet. Each sample represents a distinct tumor and thus provide six biological, not technical replicates per cohort.
Project description:NRAS-mutant melanoma is currently a challenge to treat. This is due to an absence of inhibitors directed against NRAS, along with acquired and adaptive resistance of this tumor type to inhibitors in the MAPK pathway. Inhibitors to MEK (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase) have shown some promise for this tumor type. In this work we explored the use of MEK inhibitors for NRAS-mutant melanoma, and at the same time investigated the impact of the brain micro-environment, specifically astrocytes, on the response of a melanoma brain metastatic cell line to MEK inhibition. This led to the surprising finding that astrocytes enhance the sensitivity of melanoma tumors to MEK inhibitors (MEKi). We show that MEKi cause an upregulation of the transcription factor ID3, but this is blocked by conditioned media from astrocytes. We show that silencing ID3 enhances the sensitivity of melanoma to MEK inhibitors, thus mimicking the effect of the brain microenvironment. Moreover, we report that ID3 is a client protein of the chaperone HSP70, and that HSP70 inhibition causes ID3 to misfold and accumulate in a detergent-insoluble fraction in cells. We show that HSP70 inhibitors synergize with MEK inhibitors against NRAS-mutant melanoma, and that this combination significantly enhances the survival of mice in two different models of NRAS-mutant melanoma. These studies highlight ID3 as a mediator of adaptive resistance, and support the combined use of MEK and HSP70 inhibitors for the therapy of NRAS-mutant melanoma.
Project description:In the present work we propose a new therapy for NRAS mutant melanoma. Simultaneous inhibition of MEK and ROCK caused induction of BimEL , PARP, and Puma, and hence apoptosis. In vivo, MEK and ROCK inhibition suppressed growth of established tumors. Our findings warrant clinical investigation of the effectiveness of combinatorial targeting of MAPK/ERK and ROCK in NRAS mutant melanoma.
Project description:Nearly 30% of all malignant melanomas harbor somatic mutations in NRAS. However, there are currently no effective targeted therapies for this tumor type. The bromodomain and extra terminal domain (BET) family of proteins are transcriptional regulators that serve as scaffolds to facilitate gene transcription by binding to acetylated lysine residues in the N-terminal tail of histones. BET/BRD proteins have emerged as therapeutic targets in a broad range of tumors. We found that BET proteins are overexpressed in NRAS mutant melanoma, and that high levels of BET family member BRD4 are associated with poor patient survival, suggesting that BRD4 plays a key role in melanoma. Consequently, we hypothesized that these epigenetic regulators constitute potential vulnerabilities that can be exploited for melanoma treatment. We found that genetic or pharmacological inhibition of BET/BRD proteins decreases viability and inhibits proliferation of NRAS mutant melanoma cells, as well as BRAF/MEK-inhibitor resistant melanoma cells harboring concurrent BRAF/NRAS mutations. However, BET inhibitors when used as single agents were either cytostatic (in vitro) or ineffective (in vivo). We therefore evaluated combinations that could maximize the efficacy of BET inhibitors in NRAS mutant melanoma. Here we report that co-targeting BET and MEK synergistically restrained tumor growth and significantly prolonged the survival of NRAS-mutant tumor bearing mice. RNA-sequencing and RPPA analysis revealed that co-treatment with BETi/MEKi synergistically downregulated cell cycle regulators and activated caspase-7. This study demonstrates that combined BET and MEK inhibition elicits robust synergistic therapeutic effects and supports the clinical utility of this combination therapy for NRAS mutant melanoma patients.
Project description:Mutations in the NRAS oncogene are present in up to 20% of melanoma. Here, we show that interferon alpha-inducible protein 6 (IFI6) is necessary for NRASQ61K-induced transformation and melanoma growth. IFI6 was transcriptionally upregulated by NRASQ61K, and knockdown of IFI6 resulted in DNA replication stress due to dysregulated DNA replication via E2F2. This stress consequentially inhibited cellular transformation and melanoma growth via senescence or apoptosis induction depending on the RB and p53 pathway status of the cells. NRAS-mutant melanoma were significantly more resistant to the cytotoxic effects of DNA replication stress-inducing drugs, and knockdown of IFI6 increased sensitivity to these drugs. Pharmacological inhibition of IFI6 expression by the MEK inhibitor trametinib, when combined with DNA replication stress-inducing drugs, blocked NRAS-mutant melanoma growth. Collectively, we demonstrate that IFI6, via E2F2 regulates DNA replication and melanoma development and growth, and this pathway can be pharmacologically targeted to inhibit NRAS-mutant melanoma. YUGASP cells stably expressing a non-silencing shRNA or two individual shRNAs against IFI6 were used to prepare the total RNA, which was then used to analyze for gene expression using Illumina expression array.
Project description:Mutations in the NRAS oncogene are present in up to 20% of melanoma. Here, we show that interferon alpha-inducible protein 6 (IFI6) is necessary for NRASQ61K-induced transformation and melanoma growth. IFI6 was transcriptionally upregulated by NRASQ61K, and knockdown of IFI6 resulted in DNA replication stress due to dysregulated DNA replication via E2F2. This stress consequentially inhibited cellular transformation and melanoma growth via senescence or apoptosis induction depending on the RB and p53 pathway status of the cells. NRAS-mutant melanoma were significantly more resistant to the cytotoxic effects of DNA replication stress-inducing drugs, and knockdown of IFI6 increased sensitivity to these drugs. Pharmacological inhibition of IFI6 expression by the MEK inhibitor trametinib, when combined with DNA replication stress-inducing drugs, blocked NRAS-mutant melanoma growth. Collectively, we demonstrate that IFI6, via E2F2 regulates DNA replication and melanoma development and growth, and this pathway can be pharmacologically targeted to inhibit NRAS-mutant melanoma.
Project description:Continuous MEK and CDK4/6 inhibition is effective in pre-clinical models, nevertheless, some tumors acquire resistance that was associated with enhanced phospho S6. To characterize the mechanism mediating the upregulation of mTOR-S6 pathway in these tumors, we performed RNA sequencing and targeted panel sequencing on xenograft tumors that progressed on either MEK plus CDK4/6 inhibitors (ComboR) or control diet. Gene set variance analysis (GSVA) revealed distinct gene expression signatures between the two ComboR tumors indicating heterogeneity. However, one of the 44 shared pathways between ComboR1 and ComboR2 included upregulation of an AKT pathway gene signature. By targeted sequencing and RNA sequencing, we observed high copy number change of NRAS in ComboR1 and a third tumor sample isolated from a continuous MEK inhibitor-intermittent CDK4/6 inhibitor schedule. NRAS was confirmed to mediate increased mTOR-S6 pathway activation suggesting that while distinct mechanisms are employed by melanoma tumors to circumvent MEK plus CDK4/6 inhibition, those resistance pathways eventually converge upon phosphorylation of S6 protein.