RESUMEN
PURPOSE: The initiation, progression, and maintenance of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) results from the interplay of genetic and epigenetic events. While the genetic alterations of PDAC have been well characterized, epigenetic pathways regulating PDAC remain, for the most part, elusive. The goal of this study was to identify novel epigenetic regulators contributing to the biology of PDAC. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: In vivo pooled shRNA screens targeting 118 epigenetic proteins were performed in two orthotopic PDAC xenograft models. Candidate genes were characterized in 19 human PDAC cell lines, heterotopic xenograft tumor models, and a genetically engineered mouse (GEM) model of PDAC. Gene expression, IHC, and immunoprecipitation experiments were performed to analyze the pathways by which candidate genes contribute to PDAC. RESULTS: In vivo shRNA screens identified BRD2 and BRD3, members of the BET family of chromatin adaptors, as key regulators of PDAC tumor growth. Pharmacologic inhibition of BET bromodomains enhanced survival in a PDAC GEM model and inhibited growth of human-derived xenograft tumors. BET proteins contribute to PDAC cell growth through direct interaction with members of the GLI family of transcription factors and modulating their activity. Within cancer cells, BET bromodomain inhibition results in downregulation of SHH, a key mediator of the tumor microenvironment and canonical activator of GLI. Consistent with this, inhibition of BET bromodomains decreases cancer-associated fibroblast content of tumors in both GEM and xenograft tumor models. CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic inhibition of BET proteins offers a novel mechanism to target both the neoplastic and stromal components of PDAC. Clin Cancer Res; 22(16); 4259-70. ©2016 AACR.
Asunto(s)
Neoplasias Pancreáticas/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/patología , Proteínas de Unión al ARN/metabolismo , Microambiente Tumoral , Proteína con Dedos de Zinc GLI1/metabolismo , Animales , Antineoplásicos/farmacología , Carcinoma Ductal Pancreático/genética , Carcinoma Ductal Pancreático/metabolismo , Carcinoma Ductal Pancreático/patología , Línea Celular Tumoral , Proliferación Celular/efectos de los fármacos , Transformación Celular Neoplásica/genética , Transformación Celular Neoplásica/metabolismo , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Perfilación de la Expresión Génica , Genes myc , Proteínas Hedgehog/metabolismo , Xenoinjertos , Humanos , Ratones , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/genética , Unión Proteica , Dominios y Motivos de Interacción de Proteínas , Interferencia de ARN , Proteínas de Unión al ARN/antagonistas & inhibidores , Proteínas de Unión al ARN/química , Transducción de Señal , Carga Tumoral , Microambiente Tumoral/genéticaRESUMEN
Absorptive and secretory cells of the small intestine are derived from a single population of Lgr5-expressing stem cells. While key genetic pathways required for differentiation into specific lineages have been defined, epigenetic programs contributing to this process remain poorly characterized. Members of the BET family of chromatin adaptors contain tandem bromodomains that mediate binding to acetylated lysines on target proteins to regulate gene expression. In this study, we demonstrate that mice treated with a small molecule inhibitor of BET bromodomains, CPI203, exhibit greater than 90% decrease in tuft and enteroendocrine cells in both crypts and villi of the small intestine, with no changes observed in goblet or Paneth cells. BET bromodomain inhibition did not alter the abundance of Lgr5-expressing stem cells in crypts, but rather exerted its effects on intermediate progenitors, in part through regulation of Ngn3 expression. When BET bromodomain inhibition was combined with the chemotherapeutic gemcitabine, pervasive apoptosis was observed in intestinal crypts, revealing an important role for BET bromodomain activity in intestinal homeostasis. Pharmacological targeting of BET bromodomains defines a novel pathway required for tuft and enteroendocrine differentiation and provides an important tool to further dissect the progression from stem cell to terminally differentiated secretory cell.
