Genotype-Tailored ERK/MAPK Pathway and HDAC Inhibition Rewires the Apoptotic Rheostat to Trigger Colorectal Cancer Cell Death
- Author(s)
- Jenkins, LJ; Luk, IY; Fairlie, WD; Lee, EF; Palmieri, M; Schoffer, KL; Tan, T; Ng, I; Vukelic, N; Tran, S; Tse, JWT; Nightingale, R; Alam, Z; Chionh, F; Iatropoulos, G; Ernst, M; Afshar-Sterle, S; Desai, J; Gibbs, P; Sieber, OM; Dhillon, AS; Tebbutt, NC; Mariadason, JM;
- Journal Title
- Molecular Cancer Therapeutics
- Publication Type
- Research article
- Abstract
- The EGFR/RAS/MEK/ERK signaling pathway (ERK/MAPK) is hyperactivated in most colorectal cancers. A current limitation of inhibitors of this pathway is that they primarily induce cytostatic effects in colorectal cancer cells. Nevertheless, these drugs do induce expression of proapoptotic factors, suggesting they may prime colorectal cancer cells to undergo apoptosis. As histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) induce expression of multiple proapoptotic proteins, we examined whether they could synergize with ERK/MAPK inhibitors to trigger colorectal cancer cell apoptosis. Combined MEK/ERK and HDAC inhibition synergistically induced apoptosis in colorectal cancer cell lines and patient-derived tumor organoids in vitro, and attenuated Apc-initiated adenoma formation in vivo. Mechanistically, combined MAPK/HDAC inhibition enhanced expression of the BH3-only proapoptotic proteins BIM and BMF, and their knockdown significantly attenuated MAPK/HDAC inhibitor-induced apoptosis. Importantly, we demonstrate that the paradigm of combined MAPK/HDAC inhibitor treatment to induce apoptosis can be tailored to specific MAPK genotypes in colorectal cancers, by combining an HDAC inhibitor with either an EGFR, KRASG12C or BRAFV600 inhibitor in KRAS/BRAFWT; KRASG12C, BRAFV600E colorectal cancer cell lines, respectively. These findings identify a series of ERK/MAPK genotype-tailored treatment strategies that can readily undergo clinical testing for the treatment of colorectal cancer.
- Publisher
- American Association for Cancer Research
- Keywords
- Humans; Apoptosis; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; Cell Death; Cell Line, Tumor; *Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy/genetics/metabolism; ErbB Receptors; *Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors/pharmacology; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; MAP Kinase Signaling System
- Department(s)
- Medical Oncology
- PubMed ID
- 36343387
- Publisher's Version
- https://doi.org/10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-22-0101
- Open Access at Publisher's Site
https://doi.org/10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-22-0101- Terms of Use/Rights Notice
- Refer to copyright notice on published article.
Creation Date: 2023-05-30 07:27:50
Last Modified: 2023-05-30 07:28:52