RESUMO
Neuroendocrine (NE) transformation is a mechanism of resistance to targeted therapy in lung and prostate adenocarcinomas leading to poor prognosis. Up to date, even if patients at high risk of transformation can be identified by the occurrence of Tumor Protein P53 (TP53) and Retinoblastoma Transcriptional Corepressor 1 (RB1) mutations in their tumors, no therapeutic strategies are available to prevent or delay histological transformation. Upregulation of the cell cycle kinase Cell Division Cycle 7 (CDC7) occurred in tumors during the initial steps of NE transformation, already after TP53/RB1 co-inactivation, leading to induced sensitivity to the CDC7 inhibitor simurosertib. CDC7 inhibition suppressed NE transdifferentiation and extended response to targeted therapy in in vivo models of NE transformation by inducing the proteasome-mediated degradation of the MYC Proto-Oncogen (MYC), implicated in stemness and histological transformation. Ectopic overexpression of a degradation-resistant MYC isoform reestablished the NE transformation phenotype observed on targeted therapy, even in the presence of simurosertib. CDC7 inhibition also markedly extended response to standard cytotoxics (cisplatin, irinotecan) in lung and prostate small cell carcinoma models. These results nominate CDC7 inhibition as a therapeutic strategy to constrain lineage plasticity, as well as to effectively treat NE tumors de novo or after transformation. As simurosertib clinical efficacy trials are ongoing, this concept could be readily translated for patients at risk of transformation.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Ciclo Celular , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Neoplasias da Próstata , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc , Humanos , Masculino , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/genética , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/metabolismo , Neoplasias da Próstata/genética , Neoplasias da Próstata/patologia , Neoplasias da Próstata/metabolismo , Neoplasias da Próstata/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/metabolismo , Transformação Celular Neoplásica/genética , Transformação Celular Neoplásica/metabolismo , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/genética , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/metabolismo , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/antagonistas & inibidores , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismo , Camundongos , Animais , Tumores Neuroendócrinos/genética , Tumores Neuroendócrinos/patologia , Tumores Neuroendócrinos/metabolismo , Tumores Neuroendócrinos/tratamento farmacológico , Proteólise/efeitos dos fármacos , Proteínas de Ligação a Retinoblastoma/genética , Proteínas de Ligação a Retinoblastoma/metabolismo , Ubiquitina-Proteína LigasesRESUMO
In lung and prostate adenocarcinomas, neuroendocrine (NE) transformation to an aggressive derivative resembling small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is associated with poor prognosis. We previously described dependency of SCLC on the nuclear transporter exportin 1. Here, we explored the role of exportin 1 in NE transformation. We observed up-regulated exportin 1 in lung and prostate pretransformation adenocarcinomas. Exportin 1 was up-regulated after genetic inactivation of TP53 and RB1 in lung and prostate adenocarcinoma cell lines, accompanied by increased sensitivity to the exportin 1 inhibitor selinexor in vitro. Exportin 1 inhibition prevented NE transformation in different TP53/RB1-inactivated prostate adenocarcinoma xenograft models that acquire NE features upon treatment with the aromatase inhibitor enzalutamide and extended response to the EGFR inhibitor osimertinib in a lung cancer transformation patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model exhibiting combined adenocarcinoma/SCLC histology. Ectopic SOX2 expression restored the enzalutamide-promoted NE phenotype on adenocarcinoma-to-NE transformation xenograft models despite selinexor treatment. Selinexor sensitized NE-transformed lung and prostate small cell carcinoma PDXs to standard cytotoxics. Together, these data nominate exportin 1 inhibition as a potential therapeutic target to constrain lineage plasticity and prevent or treat NE transformation in lung and prostate adenocarcinoma.