FOXM1 drives HPV+ HNSCC sensitivity to WEE1 inhibition.
Ahmed DiabHakan GemJherek SwangerHee Yeon KimKaleb SmithGrace ZouSharat RajuMichael KaoMatthew FitzgibbonKeith R LoebCristina P RodriguezEduardo MéndezDenise A GallowayJulia M SidorovaBruce E ClurmanPublished in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2020)
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) associated with high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is a growing clinical problem. The WEE1 kinase inhibitor AZD1775 (WEE1i) overrides cell cycle checkpoints and is being studied in HNSCC regimens. We show that the HPV16 E6/E7 oncoproteins sensitize HNSCC cells to single-agent WEE1i treatment through activation of a FOXM1-CDK1 circuit that drives mitotic gene expression and DNA damage. An isogenic cell system indicated that E6 largely accounts for these phenotypes in ways that extend beyond p53 inactivation. A targeted genomic analysis implicated FOXM1 signaling downstream of E6/E7 expression and analyses of primary tumors and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data revealed an activated FOXM1-directed promitotic transcriptional signature in HPV+ versus HPV- HNSCCs. Finally, we demonstrate the causality of FOXM1 in driving WEE1i sensitivity. These data suggest that elevated basal FOXM1 activity predisposes HPV+ HNSCC to WEE1i-induced toxicity and provide mechanistic insights into WEE1i and HPV+ HNSCC therapies.
Keyphrases
- cell cycle
- high grade
- gene expression
- dna damage
- cervical cancer screening
- single cell
- poor prognosis
- dna methylation
- oxidative stress
- emergency department
- induced apoptosis
- squamous cell carcinoma
- papillary thyroid
- transcription factor
- binding protein
- cell cycle arrest
- replacement therapy
- combination therapy
- solid state