Targeting PEA3 transcription factors to mitigate small cell lung cancer progression.
David W ShiaWooSuk ChoiPreethi VijayarajValarie VuongJenna M SandlinMichelle M LuAdam AzizCaliope MarinCody J ArosChandani SenAbdo DurraAndrew J LundArunima PurkayasthaTammy M RickabaughThomas Glen GraeberBrigitte N GompertsPublished in: Oncogene (2022)
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains a lethal disease with a dismal overall survival rate of 6% despite promising responses to upfront combination chemotherapy. The key drivers of such rapid mortality include early metastatic dissemination in the natural course of the disease and the near guaranteed emergence of chemoresistant disease. Here, we found that we could model the regression and relapse seen in clinical SCLC in vitro. We utilized time-course resolved RNA-sequencing to globally profile transcriptome changes as SCLC cells responded to a combination of cisplatin and etoposide-the standard-of-care in SCLC. Comparisons across time points demonstrated a distinct transient transcriptional state resembling embryonic diapause. Differential gene expression analysis revealed that expression of the PEA3 transcription factors ETV4 and ETV5 were transiently upregulated in the surviving fraction of cells which we determined to be necessary for efficient clonogenic expansion following chemotherapy. The FGFR-PEA3 signaling axis guided the identification of a pan-FGFR inhibitor demonstrating in vitro and in vivo efficacy in delaying progression following combination chemotherapy, observed inhibition of phosphorylation of the FGFR adaptor FRS2 and corresponding downstream MAPK and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. Taken together, these data nominate PEA3 transcription factors as key mediators of relapse progression in SCLC and identify a clinically actionable small molecule candidate for delaying relapse of SCLC.
Keyphrases
- pi k akt
- small cell lung cancer
- cell cycle arrest
- transcription factor
- signaling pathway
- induced apoptosis
- small molecule
- genome wide identification
- free survival
- single cell
- locally advanced
- cell death
- acute lymphoblastic leukemia
- cell proliferation
- squamous cell carcinoma
- gene expression
- poor prognosis
- genome wide
- brain metastases
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- cardiovascular disease
- machine learning
- electronic health record
- rectal cancer
- palliative care
- radiation therapy
- cardiovascular events
- blood brain barrier
- dna methylation
- coronary artery disease
- risk factors
- quality improvement
- protein kinase
- heat shock protein
- binding protein