The AhR-SRC axis as a therapeutic vulnerability in BRAFi-resistant melanoma
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ABSTRACT:
PROVIDER: PRJNA701428 | ENA |
REPOSITORIES: ENA
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Project description:The use of BRAF inhibitors, specific of the BRAFV600E mutation, as a therapeutic strategy for melanoma has significantly improved patient survival. However, resistance mechanisms appear systematically and limit the benefit of treatment. Here we show that AhR transcription factor participates in BRAFi resistance and is associated with the acquisition of an invasive and a dedifferentiated melanoma phenotype by controlling the expression of specific genes. AhR also induces the activation of the c-Src pathway through its phosphorylation, associated with BRAFi resistance. The use of a specific inhibitor of c-Src such as Dasatinib makes it possible to sensitize resistant cells to BRAFi and to prevent the acquisition of an invasive melanoma phenotype by regulating the expression of the AhR-dependent genes.
2022-10-18 | GSE166617 | GEO
Project description:The nongenetic mechanisms required to control tumor phenotypic plasticity and shape drug-resistance remain unclear. We show here that the Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) transcription factor directly regulates the gene expression program associated with the acquisition of resistance to BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) in melanoma. In addition, we show in melanoma cells that canonical activation of AhR mediates the activation of the SRC pathway and promotes the acquisition of an invasive and aggressive resistant phenotype to front-line BRAFi treatment in melanoma. This nongenetic reprogramming identifies a clinically compatible approach to reverse BRAFi resistance in melanoma. Using a preclinical BRAFi-resistant PDX melanoma model, we demonstrate that SRC inhibition with dasatinib significantly re-sensitizes melanoma cells to BRAFi. Together we identify the AhR/SRC axis as a new therapeutic vulnerability to trigger resistance and warrant the introduction of SRC inhibitors during the course of the treatment in combination with front-line therapeutics to delay BRAFi resistance.
| S-EPMC9728058 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The nongenetic mechanisms required to control tumor phenotypic plasticity and shape drug-resistance remain unclear. We show here that the Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) transcription factor directly regulates the gene expression program associated with the acquisition of resistance to BRAFi in melanoma. In addition, we show in melanoma cells that canonical activation of AhR mediates the activation of the SRC pathway and promotes the acquisition of an invasive and aggressive resistant phenotype to front-line BRAF inhibitor treatment in melanoma. This nongenetic reprogramming identifies a clinically-compatible approach to reverse BRAFi resistance in melanoma. Using a preclinical BRAFi resistant PDX melanoma model, we demonstrate that SRC inhibition with dasatinib significantly re-sensitizes melanoma cells to BRAFi. Together we identify the AhR/SRC axis as a new therapeutic vulnerability to trigger resistance and warrant the introduction of SRC inhibitors during the course of the treatment in combination with front-line therapeutics to delay BRAFi-resistance.
| S-SCDT-10_15252-EMMM_202215677 | biostudies-other
Project description:BRAF oncogene is mutated in ~50% of human cutaneous melanomas. The BRAF V600E mutation leads to constitutive activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway fuelling cancer growth. The inhibitors of BRAF V600E (BRAFi), lead to massive and high response rate. However, BRAFi-resistant cells that operate as a cellular reservoir for relapses severely limits the duration of the clinical response. The recent depiction of these resistant cells did not identify druggable targets to ensure long-term survival under BRAFi. Here, we identify the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) as a target to eradicate resistant cells. We show that BRAFi bind to AhR on a new site, named beta-pocket, and reprogram gene expression independently of its partner ARNT. beta-pocket activation induces a pigmentation signature, which is associated to BRAFi-induced cell death of sensitive BRAF V600E melanoma cells and tumour shrinkage. Intriguingly, in resistant cells, BRAFi does not induced a pigmentation signature since these cells display another AhR program; AhR-ARNT dependant. By this way, AhR directs several key BRAFi-resistant genes. At single cell level, this constitutive activation of AhR-ARNT is identified in rare cells before BRAFi-treatment of melanoma tumours and an enrichment of these alpha-cells is observed under BRAFi. Our data strongly suggest that an endogenous AhR ligand activates AhR-ARNT via the canonical AhR pocket (alpha-pocket), thus favouring BRAFi-resistant gene expression. Importantly, we identify the clinically compatible AhR antagonist, the resveratrol (RSV), able to abrogate the deleterious constitutive activation of AhR and to reduce the cellular reservoir for the relapse. Taken together, this work reveals that constitutive AhR signalling drives BRAFi resistance and constitutes a therapeutic target to achieve long-term patient survival under BRAFi. More broadly, the constitutive activation of AhR by endogenous ligands is in line with the ability of UV radiations to generate potent AhR ligands and to favour melanoma onset.
2018-11-29 | GSE104869 | GEO
Project description:Most BRAF-mutant melanoma tumors respond initially to BRAFi/MEKi therapy, although few patients have durable long-term responses to these agents. The goal of this study was to utilize an unbiased computational approach to identify inhibitors which reverse an experimentally derived BRAFi resistance gene expression signature. Using this approach, we predicted that ibrutinib, a BTK inhibitor, effectively reverses this signature, and we demonstrate experimentally that ibrutinib re-sensitizes a subset of BRAFi-resistant melanoma cells to vemurafenib. Ibrutinib is used clinically as a BTK inhibitor; however, neither BTK deletion nor treatment with acalabrutinib, an analog of ibrutinib with reduced off-target activity, re-sensitized cells to vemurafenib. These data suggest that ibrutinib acts through a BTK-independent mechanism in vemurafenib re-sensitization. To better understand this mechanism, we analyzed the transcriptional profile of ibrutinib-treated BRAFi-resistant melanoma cells and found that the transcriptional profile of ibrutinib was highly similar to that of multiple SRC kinase inhibitors. Since ibrutinib, but not acalabrutinib, has significant off-target activity against multiple SRC family kinases, it suggests that ibrutinib may be acting through this mechanism. Furthermore, genes either upregulated or downregulated by ibrutinib treatment are enriched with YAP1 target genes and we experimentally demonstrate that ibrutinib, but not acalabrutinib, reduces YAP1 activity in BRAFi-resistant melanoma cells. Taken together, these data suggest that ibrutinib, or other SRC family kinase inhibitors, may be useful for treating some BRAFi/MEKi-refractory melanoma tumors.
2020-02-27 | GSE145990 | GEO
Project description:The majority of BRAFV600 mutant melanomas regress in response to BRAF/MEK inhibitors (BRAFi/MEKi). Yet nearly all relapse within the first two years. Most BRAFi/MEKi-resistant tumors are cross-resistant to immunotherapies, highlighting the need to prevent and circumvent resistance. We recently showed that androgen receptor (AR) activity is required for sustained melanoma cells proliferation and tumorigenesis. Here we find that AR expression is markedly increased in BRAFi resistant melanoma cells as well as in sensitive cells already at very early times of BRAFi exposure. Proliferation and tumorigenicity of BRAFi resistant melanoma cells are blunted by genetic or pharmacologic suppression of AR activity, while AR overexpression is by itself sufficient to rendersmelanoma cells BRAFi/MEKi-resistant. Increased AR elicits transcriptional changes linked with AXL-positive BRAFi resistant subpopulations and induces expression of PAI-1 and EGFR, two determinants of melanoma progression that associate with elevated AR expression in clinical cohorts. Our results point to increased AR signaling as a determinant of melanoma BRAFi resistance, which can be counteracted by AR as well as PAI-1 and EGFR inhibitors.
2023-08-03 | GSE199405 | GEO
Project description:The majority of BRAFV600 mutant melanomas regress in response to BRAF/MEK inhibitors (BRAFi/MEKi). Yet nearly all relapse within the first two years. Most BRAFi/MEKi-resistant tumors are cross-resistant to immunotherapies, highlighting the need to prevent and circumvent resistance. We recently showed that androgen receptor (AR) activity is required for sustained melanoma cells proliferation and tumorigenesis. Here we find that AR expression is markedly increased in BRAFi resistant melanoma cells as well as in sensitive cells already at very early times of BRAFi exposure. Proliferation and tumorigenicity of BRAFi resistant melanoma cells are blunted by genetic or pharmacologic suppression of AR activity, while AR overexpression is by itself sufficient to rendersmelanoma cells BRAFi/MEKi-resistant. Increased AR elicits transcriptional changes linked with AXL-positive BRAFi resistant subpopulations and induces expression of PAI-1 and EGFR, two determinants of melanoma progression that associate with elevated AR expression in clinical cohorts. Our results point to increased AR signaling as a determinant of melanoma BRAFi resistance, which can be counteracted by AR as well as PAI-1 and EGFR inhibitors.
2023-08-03 | GSE232693 | GEO
Project description:The majority of BRAFV600 mutant melanomas regress in response to BRAF/MEK inhibitors (BRAFi/MEKi). Yet nearly all relapse within the first two years. Most BRAFi/MEKi-resistant tumors are cross-resistant to immunotherapies, highlighting the need to prevent and circumvent resistance. We recently showed that androgen receptor (AR) activity is required for sustained melanoma cells proliferation and tumorigenesis. Here we find that AR expression is markedly increased in BRAFi resistant melanoma cells as well as in sensitive cells already at very early times of BRAFi exposure. Proliferation and tumorigenicity of BRAFi resistant melanoma cells are blunted by genetic or pharmacologic suppression of AR activity, while AR overexpression is by itself sufficient to rendersmelanoma cells BRAFi/MEKi-resistant. Increased AR elicits transcriptional changes linked with AXL-positive BRAFi resistant subpopulations and induces expression of PAI-1 and EGFR, two determinants of melanoma progression that associate with elevated AR expression in clinical cohorts. Our results point to increased AR signaling as a determinant of melanoma BRAFi resistance, which can be counteracted by AR as well as PAI-1 and EGFR inhibitors.
2023-08-03 | GSE232690 | GEO
Project description:Targeted therapies against mutant BRAF are effectively used in combination with MEK inhibitors (MEKi) to treat advanced melanoma. However, treatment success is affected by resistance and adverse events (AEs). Approved BRAF inhibitors (BRAFi) show high levels of target promiscuity, which can contribute to these effects. Blood vessels are in direct contact with high plasma concentrations of BRAFi, but effects of the inhibitors in this cell type are unknown. Hence, we aimed to characterize responses to clinically relevant BRAF kinase inhibitors in the vascular endothelium. A mass spectrometry-based analysis of the phosphoproteome of dermal microvascular endothelial cells revealed distinct sets of off-targets of the used BRAFi. Meanwhile, there were only negligible changes to the proteome after 1 h of treatment. Together with our published functional data, these findings provide insights on the surprisingly distinct side effects of BRAFi on endothelial signaling and functionality.
2024-06-01 | PXD052251 | Pride
Project description:Targeted therapies against mutant BRAF are effectively used in combination with MEK inhibitors (MEKi) to treat advanced melanoma. However, treatment success is affected by resistance and adverse events (AEs). Approved BRAF inhibitors (BRAFi) show high levels of target promiscuity, which can contribute to these effects. Blood vessels are in direct contact with high plasma concentrations of BRAFi, but effects of the inhibitors in this cell type are unknown. Hence, we aimed to characterize responses to clinically relevant BRAF kinase inhibitors in the vascular endothelium. A mass spectrometry-based analysis of the phosphoproteome of dermal microvascular endothelial cells revealed distinct sets of off-targets of the used BRAFi. Meanwhile, there were only negligible changes to the proteome after 1 h of treatment. Together with our published functional data, these findings provide insights on the surprisingly distinct side effects of BRAFi on endothelial signaling and functionality.
2024-06-01 | PXD052259 | Pride