RAF-Mutant Melanomas Differentially Depend on ERK2 Over ERK1 to Support Aberrant MAPK Pathway Activation and Cell Proliferation.

Half of advanced human melanomas are driven by mutant BRAF and dependent on MAPK signaling. Interestingly, the results of three independent genetic screens highlight a dependency of BRAF-mutant melanoma cell lines on BRAF and ERK2, but not ERK1. ERK2 is expressed higher in melanoma compared with other cancer types and higher than ERK1 within melanoma. However, ERK1 and ERK2 are similarly required in primary human melanocytes transformed with mutant BRAF and are expressed at a similar, lower amount compared with established cancer cell lines. ERK1 can compensate for ERK2 loss as seen by expression of ERK1 rescuing the proliferation arrest mediated by ERK2 loss (both by shRNA or inhibition by an ERK inhibitor). ERK2 knockdown, as opposed to ERK1 knockdown, led to more robust suppression of MAPK signaling as seen by RNA-sequencing, qRT-PCR, and Western blot analysis. In addition, treatment with MAPK pathway inhibitors led to gene expression changes that closely resembled those seen upon knockdown of ERK2 but not ERK1. Together, these data demonstrate that ERK2 drives BRAF-mutant melanoma gene expression and proliferation as a function of its higher expression compared with ERK1. Selective inhibition of ERK2 for the treatment of melanomas may spare the toxicity associated with pan-ERK inhibition in normal tissues. IMPLICATIONS: BRAF-mutant melanomas overexpress and depend on ERK2 but not ERK1, suggesting that ERK2-selective inhibition may be toxicity sparing.

Hyperactivation of MAPK Signaling Is Deleterious to RAS/RAF-mutant Melanoma.

The most frequent genetic alterations in melanoma are gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in BRAF, which result in RAF-MEK-ERK signaling pathway addiction. Despite therapeutic success of RAF and MEK inhibitors in treating BRAFV600-mutant tumors, a major challenge is the inevitable emergence of drug resistance, which often involves reactivation of the MAPK pathway. Interestingly, resistant tumors are often sensitive to drug withdrawal, suggesting that hyperactivation of the MAPK pathway is not tolerated. To further characterize this phenomenon, isogenic models of inducible MAPK hyperactivation in BRAFV600E melanoma cells were generated by overexpression of ERK2. Using this model system, supraphysiologic levels of MAPK signaling led to cell death, which was reversed by MAPK inhibition. Furthermore, complete tumor regression was observed in an ERK2-overexpressing xenograft model. To identify mediators of MAPK hyperactivation-induced cell death, a large-scale pooled shRNA screen was conducted, which revealed that only shRNAs against BRAF and MAP2K1 rescued loss of cell viability. This suggested that no single downstream ERK2 effector was required, consistent with pleiotropic effects on multiple cellular stress pathways. Intriguingly, the detrimental effect of MAPK hyperactivation could be partially attributed to secreted factors, and more than 100 differentially secreted proteins were identified. The effect of ERK2 overexpression was highly context dependent, as RAS/RAF mutant but not RAS/RAF wild-type melanoma were sensitive to this perturbation. IMPLICATIONS: This vulnerability to MAPK hyperactivation raises the possibility of novel therapeutic approaches for RAS/RAF-mutant cancers.

BRAF-inhibitor Associated MEK Mutations Increase RAF-Dependent and -Independent Enzymatic Activity.

Alterations in MEK1/2 occur in cancers, both in the treatment-naïve state and following targeted therapies, most notably BRAF and MEK inhibitors in BRAF-V600E-mutant melanoma and colorectal cancer. Efforts were undertaken to understand the effects of these mutations, based upon protein structural location, and MEK1/2 activity. Two categories of MEK1/2 alterations were evaluated, those associated with either the allosteric pocket or helix-A. Clinically, MEK1/2 alterations of the allosteric pocket are rare and we demonstrate that they confer resistance to MEK inhibitors, while retaining sensitivity to BRAF inhibition. Most mutations described in patients fall within, or are associated with, helix-A. Mutations in this region reduce sensitivity to both BRAF and MEK inhibition and display elevated phospho-ERK1/2 levels, independent from increases in phospho-MEK1/2. Biochemical experiments with a representative helix-A variant, MEK1-Q56P, reveal both increased catalytic efficiency of the activated enzyme, and phosphorylation-independent activity relative to wild-type MEK1. Consistent with these findings, MEK1/2 alterations in helix A retain sensitivity to downstream antagonism via pharmacologic inhibition of ERK1/2. This work highlights the importance of classifying mutations based on structural and phenotypic consequences, both in terms of pathway signaling output and response to pharmacologic inhibition.Implications: This study suggests that alternate modes of target inhibition, such as ERK inhibition, will be required to effectively treat tumors harboring these MEK1/2-resistant alleles. Mol Cancer Res; 15(10); 1431-44. ©2017 AACR.

The importance of Raf dimerization in cell signaling.

The Raf family of protein kinases are key signaling intermediates, acting as a central link between the membrane-bound Ras GTPases and the downstream kinases MEK and ERK. Raf kinase regulation is well-known for its complexity but only recently has it been realized that many of the mechanisms involved in Raf regulation also modulate Raf dimerization, now acknowledged to be a required step for Raf signaling in multiple cellular contexts. Recent studies have shown that Raf dimerization is necessary for normal Ras-dependent Raf kinase activation and contributes to the pathogenic function of disease-associated mutant Raf proteins with all but high intrinsic kinase activity. Raf dimerization has also been found to alter therapeutic responses and disease progression in patients treated with ATP-competitive Raf inhibitors as well as certain other kinase-targeted drugs. This demonstration of clinical significance has stimulated the recent development of biosensor assays that can monitor inhibitor-induced Raf dimerization as well as studies demonstrating the therapeutic potential of blocking Raf dimerization.

Effects of Raf dimerization and its inhibition on normal and disease-associated Raf signaling.

Raf kinases are essential for normal Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK pathway signaling, and activating mutations in components of this pathway are associated with a variety of human cancers, as well as the related developmental disorders Noonan, LEOPARD, and cardiofaciocutaneous syndromes. Although the Raf kinases are known to dimerize during normal and disease-associated Raf signaling, the functional significance of Raf dimerization has not been fully elucidated. Here, using mutational analysis and a peptide inhibitor, we show that dimerization is required for normal Ras-dependent Raf activation and for the biological function of disease-associated Raf mutants with moderate, low, or impaired kinase activity. However, dimerization is not needed for the function of B-Raf mutants with high catalytic activity, such as V600E-B-Raf. Importantly, we find that a dimer interface peptide can effectively block Raf dimerization and inhibit Raf signaling when dimerization is required for Raf function, thus identifying the Raf dimer interface as a therapeutic target.

14-3-3 Proteins: diverse functions in cell proliferation and cancer progression.

The 14-3-3 proteins were the first phosphoserine/phosphothreonine-binding proteins to be discovered, a finding that provided the foundation for their prominent role in cell signaling. 14-3-3 family members interact with a wide spectrum of proteins including transcription factors, biosynthetic enzymes, cytoskeletal proteins, signaling molecules, apoptosis factors, and tumor suppressors. The interaction with 14-3-3 can have a profound effect on a target protein, altering its localization, stability, conformation, phosphorylation state, activity, and/or molecular interactions. Thus, by modulating the function of a diverse array of binding partners, 14-3-3 proteins have become key regulatory components in many vital cellular processes - processes that are crucial for normal growth and development and that often become dysregulated in human cancer. This review will examine the recent advances that further elucidate the role of 14-3-3 proteins in normal growth and cancer signaling with a particular emphasis on the signaling pathways that impact cell proliferation, cell migration, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Complexity in KSR function revealed by Raf inhibitor and KSR structure studies.

The Ras, Raf, MEK and ERK proteins form an essential signal transduction pathway that is aberrantly activated in many human cancers. Kinase suppressor of Ras (KSR) is a conserved positive modulator of this pathway, and since its discovery, there has been a concerted effort to elucidate KSR function in both normal and aberrant Ras/ERK signaling. The KSR proteins possess a C-terminal region that is closely related to the Raf family kinase domain; however, mammalian KSR proteins lack a key catalytic residue, suggesting a role as a pseudokinase. Like many other pseudokinases, KSR has scaffolding activities and interacts with Raf, MEK and ERK to provide spatio-temporal regulation of ERK activation. Recently, significant advances have been made that further our understanding of how KSR proteins function in normal and oncogenic signaling. The newly solved KSR2/MEK1 structure has revealed important mechanistic details for how KSR regulates MEK activation and has raised questions regarding KSR kinase activity. In addition, KSR expression levels have been found to alter the effects of Raf inhibitors on oncogenic Ras/ERK signaling. Specifically, KSR1 competes with C-Raf for inhibitor-induced binding to B-Raf and in doing so attenuates the paradoxical activating effect of these drugs on ERK signaling.

Phosphatases in the cellular response to DNA damage.

In the last fifteen years, rapid progress has been made in delineating the cellular response to DNA damage. The DNA damage response network is composed of a large number of proteins with different functions that detect and signal the presence of DNA damage in order to coordinate DNA repair with a variety of cellular processes, notably cell cycle progression. This signal, which radiates from the chromatin template, is driven primarily by phosphorylation events, mainly on serine and threonine residues. While we have accumulated detailed information about kinases and their substrates our understanding of the role of phosphatases in the DNA damage response is still preliminary. Identifying the phosphatases and their regulation will be instrumental to obtain a complete picture of the dynamics of the DNA damage response. Here we give an overview of the DNA damage response in mammalian cells and then review the data on the role of different phosphatases and discuss their biological relevance.

Negative regulation of CHK2 activity by protein phosphatase 2A is modulated by DNA damage.

Checkpoint kinase 2 (CHK2) is a major effector of the DNA damage response pathway and although its mechanism of activation has been well studied, the attenuation of its activity following DNA damage has not been explored. Here, we identify the B'alpha subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP 2A) as a CHK2 binding partner and show that their interaction is modulated by DNA damage. B'alpha binds to the SQ/TQ repeat region of CHK2, which is a target of ATM phosphorylation. The induction of DNA double-strand breaks by gamma irradiation as well as treatment with doxorubicin causes dissociation of the B'alpha and CHK2 proteins. This dissociation correlates with an increase in the ATM-dependent phosphorylation of CHK2 at serines 33 and 35 in the SQ/TQ region. Indeed, mutating these sites to mimic phosphorylation increases the dissociation after irradiation. PP 2A negatively regulates CHK2 phosphorylation at multiple sites, as well as its kinase activity. These data reveal a novel mechanism for PP 2A to keep CHK2 inactive under normal conditions while also allowing for a rapid release from this regulation immediately following DNA damage. This is followed by a subsequent reconstitution of the PP 2A/CHK2 complex in later time points after damage, which may help to attenuate the signal.