Project description:Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway activation contributes to mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) pathogenesis and drug resistance. However, the use of mTOR inhibitors as single agents have shown limited clinical efficacy in relation with drug activation of feedback loops. Selective PI3K inhibition or dual PI3K/mTOR catalytic inhibition are different therapeutic approaches developed to achieve effective pathway blockage. Here, we evaluated the antitumor activity of a mTOR inhibitor, a pan-PI3K inhibitor and a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor in primary MCL cells. We found that dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor modulated angiogenesis, tumor invasiveness and cytokine signaling compared to a mTOR inhibitor and a pan-PI3K inhibitor in MCL. We used microarrays to compare the effect of these three compounds in MCL and identified distinct classes of down-regulated genes modulated by each compound. Global RNA expression in primary cells from two MCL patients treated with a mTOR inhibitor, a pan-PI3K inhibitor and a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor for 8 hours
Project description:Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway activation contributes to mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) pathogenesis and drug resistance. However, the use of mTOR inhibitors as single agents have shown limited clinical efficacy in relation with drug activation of feedback loops. Selective PI3K inhibition or dual PI3K/mTOR catalytic inhibition are different therapeutic approaches developed to achieve effective pathway blockage. Here, we evaluated the antitumor activity of a mTOR inhibitor, a pan-PI3K inhibitor and a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor in primary MCL cells. We found that dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor modulated angiogenesis, tumor invasiveness and cytokine signaling compared to a mTOR inhibitor and a pan-PI3K inhibitor in MCL. We used microarrays to compare the effect of these three compounds in MCL and identified distinct classes of down-regulated genes modulated by each compound.
Project description:We explored potential bypass mechanisms to PI3K/mTOR-directed therapy in KRAS mutant CRC models, utilizing genetically engineered mouse models (GEMM) to generate acquired resistance to the targeted dual PI3K/mTOR small molecule inhibitor PF-04691502. Transcriptomic analysis revealed a dynamic stem-like progenitor signature which was increased in the presence of drug pressure.
Project description:Analysis of the effects of a dual specificity PI3K/mTOR inhibitor on two human ovarian cell lines, OV2008 and MCAS. Results provide insight into the adaptive response to PI3K/mTOR inhibition in matrix attached ovarian cancer cells. The PI3K/mTOR-pathway is the most commonly deregulated pathway in epithelial cancers and thus represents an important target for cancer therapeutics. Here we show that dual inhibition of PI3K/mTOR in ovarian cancer 3D-spheroids leads to death of the inner matrix-deprived cells, whereas matrix-attached cells are resistant. Resistance is associated with up-regulation of a cellular survival program that involves both FOXO-regulated transcription and a novel translational resistance mechanism resulting in specific up-regulation of IRES-mediated, cap-independent translation. Inhibition of any of several up-regulated proteins, including Bcl-2, EGFR, or IGF1R, abrogates resistance to dual PI3K/mTOR inhibition. These results demonstrate that acute adaptive response to PI3K/mTOR inhibition resembles well-conserved adaptive response to nutrient and growth factor deprivation and how development of rational drug combinations can bypass resistance mechanisms. Total RNA was isolated 6h and 24h after treatment with 1 M-NM-<M NVP-BEZ235 or DMSO vehicle control from 3D grown structures
Project description:The mTOR-allosteric inhibitor, RAD001, in combination with a PI3K/mTOR ATP-site competitive inhibitor, BEZ235, causes gene reprogramming, autophagy and tumor regression, in a mouse model approximating human HCC with poor prognosis, leading to an investigator Phase 1B-2 clinical trial. Comparative study of total RNA obtained from normal and tumor liver tissue under RAD001, BEZ235, or RAD001 + BEZ235.
Project description:Analysis of the effects of a dual specificity PI3K/mTOR inhibitor on two human ovarian cell lines, OV2008 and MCAS. Results provide insight into the adaptive response to PI3K/mTOR inhibition in matrix attached ovarian cancer cells. The PI3K/mTOR-pathway is the most commonly deregulated pathway in epithelial cancers and thus represents an important target for cancer therapeutics. Here we show that dual inhibition of PI3K/mTOR in ovarian cancer 3D-spheroids leads to death of the inner matrix-deprived cells, whereas matrix-attached cells are resistant. Resistance is associated with up-regulation of a cellular survival program that involves both FOXO-regulated transcription and a novel translational resistance mechanism resulting in specific up-regulation of IRES-mediated, cap-independent translation. Inhibition of any of several up-regulated proteins, including Bcl-2, EGFR, or IGF1R, abrogates resistance to dual PI3K/mTOR inhibition. These results demonstrate that acute adaptive response to PI3K/mTOR inhibition resembles well-conserved adaptive response to nutrient and growth factor deprivation and how development of rational drug combinations can bypass resistance mechanisms.
Project description:Copy number profiling of 92 human lung tumors on Affymetrix 100K SNP arrays was conducted in order to assess the interaction of common genomic alterations with response to targeted anti-cancer therapeutics. Class 1 phosphatidylinositol 3' kinase (PI3K) plays a major role in cell proliferation and survival in a wide variety of human cancers. Here we investigate biomarker strategies for PI3K pathway inhibitors in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Molecular profiling of NSCLC tumor samples showed that copy number gains in PIK3CA and total loss of PTEN protein were common in squamous cell carcinoma samples, whereas LKB1 loss and mutations in KRAS and EGFR were common in adenocarcinomas. A panel of NSCLC cell lines characterized for alterations in the PI3K pathway was screened with PI3K and dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors to assess the preclinical predictive value of candidate biomarkers. Cell lines harboring pathway alterations (RTK activation, PI3K mutation or amplification, PTEN loss) were exquisitely sensitive to the PI3K inhibitor GDC-0941. A dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor had broader activity across the cell line panel and in tumor xenografts. The combination of GDC-0941 with paclitaxel, erlotinib, or a MEK inhibitor had greater effects on cell viability than PI3K inhibition alone. CONCLUSIONS: Candidate biomarkers for PI3K inhibitors have predictive value in preclinical models and show histology-specific alterations in primary tumors, suggesting that distinct biomarker strategies may be required in squamous compared with non-squamous NSCLC patient populations. Lung tumors were profiled on Affymetrix GeneChip Mapping 100K Set Arrays Tumor samples were profiled for copy number without any treatment of the tumor.
Project description:PIK3CA is the second most mutated gene in cancer leading to aberrant PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling and increased translation, proliferation, and survival. Some 4-25% of gastric cancers display activating PIK3CA mutations including 80% of EBV-associated GCs. Small molecules including pan-PI3K and dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors have shown moderate success clinically, due to broad on-target/off-tissue effects. Thus, isoform specific and mutant selective inhibitors have been of significant interest. However, drug resistance is a problem and has affected success of new drugs. There has been a concerted effort to define mechanisms of resistance and identify potent combinations in many tumor types, though gastric cancer is comparatively understudied. In this study we identified modulators of the response to the PI3Ka-specific inhibitor, BYL719, in PIK3CA mutant GCs. We found that loss of NEDD9 or inhibition of BCL-XL conferred hyper-sensitivity to BYL719, through increased cell cycle arrest and cell death, respectively. Additionally, we discovered that loss of CBFB conferred resistance to BYL719. CBFB loss led to up-regulation of the protein kinase PIM1, which can phosphorylate and activate several overlapping downstream substrates as AKT thereby maintaining pathway activity in the presence of PI3Ka inhibition. The addition of a pan-PIM inhibitor re-sensitized resistant cells to BYL719. Our data provide clear mechanistic insights into PI3Ka inhibitor response in PIK3CA mutant gastric tumors and can inform future work as mutant selective inhibitors are in development for diverse tumor types.