Project description:Using a kinome-centred CRISPR/Cas9 genetic screen, we identify here that inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is synthetic lethal with lenvatinib in liver cancer cells. We found that the combination of the EGFR inhibitor gefitinib and lenvatinib displays potent anti-proliferative effect in HCC cell lines that express EGFR in vitro and of xenografted HCC cell lines or patient-derived HCC tumours in mice. Herre, we analyzed the different transcriptome profiling of HCC cells treated with DMSO, lenvatinib, gefitinib, and lenvatinib plus gefitinib by RNA-sequencing.
Project description:To determine the drug target of lenvatinib, RNAseq was used to evaluate the transcriptome differences between lenvatinib-treated MHCC-97H cells and their parental counterparts.Results show that SERPINE1 may be direct target of lenvatinib, and AKR1C1 have potential prognostic significance in the prediction of LR(lenvatinib-resistant) in HCC. AKR1C1 could be a promising therapeutic target for patients with LR-type liver cancer.
Project description:To investigate the mechanism of lenvatinib resistance, we established the lenvatinib resistant Huh7 (Huh7 LR) cells by continuous exposuring to lenvatinib (1–20 μM) for approximately 10 months. We then performed gene expression profiling analysis using data obtained from RNA-seq of Huh7 parental (Huh7 P) cells and the lenvatinib resistant Huh7 (Huh7 LR) cells.
Project description:Lenvatinib is a multiple receptor tyrosine kinases inhibitor (TKI) authorized for first-line treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, Lenvatinib resistance is common in HCC clinical treatment, highlighting the urgent need to understand mechanisms of resistance. Here, we identified Golgi membrane protein 1 (GOLM1), a type II transmembrane protein originally located in the Golgi apparatus, as a novel regulator of Lenvatinib resistance. We established Lenvatinib resistance in human HCC cell lines PLC/PRF/5. Through RNA-seq, we found that GOLM1 was significantly upregulated, which was further validated in patients derived tumor tissue and peripheral blood. GOLM1 overexpression contributes to Lenvatinib resistance and HCC progression in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, GOLM1 upregulates CSN5 expression through EGFR-STAT3 pathway. Reversely, CSN5 deubiquitinates and stabilizes GOLM1 protein by inhibiting ubiquitin-proteasome pathway of GOLM1. Collectively, our data demonstrate that GOLM1 is one of the key driver of Lenvatinib resistance in HCC and depicts a molecular network in Lenvatininb resistant HCC cells.
Project description:Single cell RNA sequencing of immune cells from lenvatinib-resistant mouse HCC model after lenvatinib or combined lenvatinib and CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib treatment
Project description:Lenvatinib is the FDA-approved targeted drug for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the efficacy is modest due to drug resistance. Tumor kinome re-wiring governs drug resistance in resistant cancer cells, which is an obstacle for efficient cancer therapy. Therefore, identification the kinases critical for this rewiring process in HCC is crucial.This study reveals the new role of CDK6 and its mechanistic insight in regulation of cancer stemness and drug resistance. These results support the combination treatment of lenvatinib with palbociclib for advanced HCC patients. Further studies will optimize patient target selection and identify the best treatment combinations.
Project description:We used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA seq) to elucidate the alterations of tumor microenvironment upon combined treatment of lenvatinib and palbociclib (combo).
Project description:Lenvatinib targets multiple oncogenic kinases including vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFRs) and showed longer median progression-free survival than sorafenib, the only approved treatment for >10 years. With the successful combination therapy of anti-PD-L1 pembrolizumab and anti-VEGF bevacizumab for advanced HCC as well as encouraging experimental findings, lenvatinib was also expected to enhance anti-tumor effects by combining anti-PD-1 pembrolizumab compared to lenvatinib alone; however, the phase III clinical trial failed to show their synergetic survival benefits, highlighting the need for elucidating its mode of action in human HCC specimens after lenvatinib treatment. We performed multi-layer transcriptome analyses of surgically resected human HCC samples after lenvatinib treatment as a neo-adjuvant therapy using RNA-sequencing. Molecular pathway analyses and immunohistochemistry revealed that VEGF-mediated aberrant vascularity and cytotoxic GZMK+CD8 T cells infiltration were significantly improved in lenvatinib-treated HCC; however, the majority of these cytotoxic T cells were trapped in the intratumor fibrotic stroma, suggesting that lenvatinib-treated HCC is in the so-called excluded condition. Excluded tumors are generally believed to be less responsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors, which might be the reason the combination therapy failed to show the additive benefits.
Project description:Abstract: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play an important role in the induction of chemo-resistance. The objectives of this study were to clarify the mechanism underlying CAF-mediated sorafenib/lenvatinib resistance and identify a novel therapeutic target to overcome resistance to sorafenib/lenvatinib in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Whole transcriptome sequencing (WTS) data of nine pairs of CAFs and para-cancer-associated fibroblasts (PAFs) were analyzed to identify key molecules that induce resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). In vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to validate selected targets and related mechanisms. Plasma secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) expression levels prior to sorafenib/lenvatinib treatment as well as progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of an advanced HCC cohort (n=42) were evaluated using Kaplan–Meier analysis. Results: Co-culturing CAFs and HCC cells significantly reduced the responsiveness of HCC cells to sorafenib/lenvatinib, in vitro and in vivo. Systematic integrative analysis of the WTS data of CAFs/PAFs and publicly available gene expression data indicated that CAF-derived SPP1 (CAF-SPP1) was suitable for use as a candidate molecule to induce sorafenib/lenvatinib resistance. An evaluation of the mechanisms involved indicated that CAF-SPP1 increased phosphorylation of PKCɑ, which then activated rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma (RAF)-extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and phosophoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT-mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase (mTOR) in HCC cells. SPP1 inhibitors reversed CAF-induced sorafenib/lenvatinib resistance in vitro and in vivo. Patients showing high plasma SPP1 prior to sorafenib/lenvatinib treatment exhibited significantly poor PFS (P=0.005) and OS (P=0.041). Conclusions: CAF-SPP1 enhances sorafenib/lenvatinib resistance in HCC by alternatively activating oncogenic pathways via PKCɑ phosphorylation. Inhibition of CAF-SPP1 may be utilized as a therapeutic strategy against TKI resistance in HCC. Plasma SPP1 level prior to TKI treatment shows potential as a promising biomarker for predicting sorafenib/lenvatinib response in advanced HCC patients.