James T. Platt

Melanoma × macrophage hybrids with enhanced metastatic potential

Studies were conducted on the hypothesis that melanoma metastasis might be initiated through the gener-ation of hybrids comprised of cells of the primary tumor and tumor-infiltrating leukocytes. Fusion hybrids were generated in vitro between weakly metastatic Cloudman S91 mouse melanoma cells and normal mouse or human macrophages. Hybrids were implanted s.c. in the tail and mice were monitored for metastases. Controls included parental S91 cells, autologous S91 × S91 hybrids, and B16F10 melanoma cells. Of 35 hybrids tested, most were more aggressive than the parental melanoma cells, producing metastases sooner and in more mice. A striking characteristic was heterogeneity amongst hybrids, with some lines producing no metastases and others producing metastases in up to 80% of mice. With few exceptions, hybrids with the highest metastatic potential also had the highest basal melanin content whereas those with the lowest metastatic potential were basally amelanotic, as were t he parental melanoma cells. A spontaneous in vivo supermelanotic hybrid between an S91 tumor cell and DBA/2J host cell was one of the most metastatic lines. Hybrids with the highest metastatic potential also exhibited markedly higher chemotaxis to fibroblast-conditioned media. Histologically, the metastatic hybrids demonstrated vascular invasion and spread to distant organs similar to that of metastatic melanomas in mice and humans. Thus previous findings of enhanced metastasis in leukocyte × lymphoma hybrids can now be extended to include leukocyte × melanoma hybrids. Whether such hybridization is a natural cause of metastasis in vivo remains to be determined; however the fusion hybrids with genetically-matched parents described herein so closely resembled naturally- occurring metastatic melanoma cells that they could serve as useful new models for studies of this complex and deadly phenomenon.

Genotype-Selective Combination Therapies for Melanoma Identified by High-Throughput Drug Screening

UNLABELLED Resistance and partial responses to targeted monotherapy are major obstacles in cancer treatment. Systematic approaches to identify efficacious drug combinations for cancer are not well established, especially in the context of genotype. To address this, we have tested pairwise combinations of an array of small-molecule inhibitors on early-passage melanoma cultures using combinatorial drug screening. Results reveal several inhibitor combinations effective for melanomas with activating RAS or BRAF mutations, including mutant BRAF melanomas with intrinsic or acquired resistance to vemurafenib. Inhibition of both EGF receptor and AKT sensitized treatment-resistant BRAF mutant melanoma cultures to vemurafenib. Melanomas with RAS mutations were more resistant to combination therapies relative to BRAF mutants, but were sensitive to combinations of statins and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors in vitro and in vivo. These results show the use of combinatorial drug screening for discovering unique treatment regimens that overcome resistance phenotypes of mutant BRAF- and RAS-driven melanomas. SIGNIFICANCE We have used drug combinatorial screening to identify effective combinations for mutant BRAF melanomas, including those resistant to vemurafenib, and mutant RAS melanomas that are resistant to many therapies. Mechanisms governing the interactions of the drug combinations are proposed, and in vivo xenografts show the enhanced benefit and tolerability of a mutant RAS -selective combination, which is currently lacking in the clinic.

Antitumour effects of genetically engineered Salmonella in combination with radiation.

The antitumour efficacy of lipid A mutant Salmonella was evaluated alone and in combination with X-rays in mice bearing B16F10 or Cloudman S91 melanomas. Each treatment alone slowed tumour growth and prolonged survival, and the combined treatments produced supra-additive antitumour effects. That is, in dose-response studies with single doses of Salmonella and increasing doses of radiation, the two agents together caused suppression of tumour growth that was greater than that calculated for additivity. The results suggest that the combination of these genetically engineered Salmonella with radiotherapy could be a new and beneficial treatment for solid tumours.

mTORC1 Activation Blocks BrafV600E-Induced Growth Arrest but Is Insufficient for Melanoma Formation

Braf(V600E) induces benign, growth-arrested melanocytic nevus development, but also drives melanoma formation. Cdkn2a loss in Braf(V600E) melanocytes in mice results in rare progression to melanoma, but only after stable growth arrest as nevi. Immediate progression to melanoma is prevented by upregulation of miR-99/100, which downregulates mTOR and IGF1R signaling. mTORC1 activation through Stk11 (Lkb1) loss abrogates growth arrest of Braf(V600E) melanocytic nevi, but is insufficient for complete progression to melanoma. Cdkn2a loss is associated with mTORC2 and Akt activation in human and murine melanocytic neoplasms. Simultaneous Cdkn2a and Lkb1 inactivation in Braf(V600E) melanocytes results in activation of both mTORC1 and mTORC2/Akt, inducing rapid melanoma formation in mice. In this model, activation of both mTORC1/2 is required for Braf-induced melanomagenesis.

Salmonella pathogenicity island-2 and anticancer activity in mice

Salmonella enterica servovar Typhimurium is capable of targeting, colonizing, and eliciting growth suppression of tumors in mice. We examined the effects of mutations on this anticancer phenotype in two Salmonella virulence gene clusters. Salmonella pathogenicity island (SPI)-1 genes promote systemic invasion from the intestine, whereas SPI-2 genes support systemic survival within macrophages and other cells. Disabling SPI-1 (prgH−) strongly reduced invasion in vitro, but had no effect on tumor growth suppression in vivo. However, disabling SPI-2 (ssaT−) ablated tumor growth suppression. In addition to ssaT−, mutations in SPI-2 genes sseA, sseB, sseC, sscA, and ssrA also eliminated antitumor activity, whereas mutations in sseF or sseG yielded partial loss of function. Impaired tumor amplification was seen in three SPI-2 mutants tested after intravenous or intratumoral injection. A SPI-2− strain was unable to suppress tumor growth in CD18-deficient mice with defective macrophages and neutrophils, suggesting that loss of tumor growth suppression in wild-type mice by SPI-2 mutants was not solely a function of increased susceptibility to immune attack. Thus, SPI-2 is essential for the Salmonella antitumor effects, perhaps by aiding bacterial amplification within tumors, and is the first identified genetic system for this Salmonella phenotype.

Mutational landscape of EGFR-, MYC-, and Kras-driven genetically engineered mouse models of lung adenocarcinoma.

Significance Knowledge of oncogenic alterations that drive lung adenocarcinoma formation has enabled the development of genetically engineered mouse models that are increasingly being used to study the biology and therapeutic vulnerabilities of this disease. Given the importance of genomic alterations in these processes in human lung cancer, information on the mutational landscape of the mouse tumors is valuable for the design and interpretation of these experiments. In this study, we compared whole-exome sequencing data from lung adenocarcinomas induced by different lung adenocarcinoma-associated drivers. In contrast to their human counterparts, oncogene-driven lung adenocarcinomas in genetically engineered mouse models harbor few somatic mutations. These results have important implications for the use of these models to study tumor progression and response and resistance to therapy. Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) of cancer are increasingly being used to assess putative driver mutations identified by large-scale sequencing of human cancer genomes. To accurately interpret experiments that introduce additional mutations, an understanding of the somatic genetic profile and evolution of GEMM tumors is necessary. Here, we performed whole-exome sequencing of tumors from three GEMMs of lung adenocarcinoma driven by mutant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), mutant Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (Kras), or overexpression of MYC proto-oncogene. Tumors from EGFR- and Kras-driven models exhibited, respectively, 0.02 and 0.07 nonsynonymous mutations per megabase, a dramatically lower average mutational frequency than observed in human lung adenocarcinomas. Tumors from models driven by strong cancer drivers (mutant EGFR and Kras) harbored few mutations in known cancer genes, whereas tumors driven by MYC, a weaker initiating oncogene in the murine lung, acquired recurrent clonal oncogenic Kras mutations. In addition, although EGFR- and Kras-driven models both exhibited recurrent whole-chromosome DNA copy number alterations, the specific chromosomes altered by gain or loss were different in each model. These data demonstrate that GEMM tumors exhibit relatively simple somatic genotypes compared with human cancers of a similar type, making these autochthonous model systems useful for additive engineering approaches to assess the potential of novel mutations on tumorigenesis, cancer progression, and drug sensitivity.

PDK1 and SGK3 contribute to the growth of BRAF mutant melanomas and are potential therapeutic targets

Melanoma development involves members of the AGC kinase family, including AKT, PKC, and, most recently, PDK1, as elucidated recently in studies of Braf::Pten mutant melanomas. Here, we report that PDK1 contributes functionally to skin pigmentation and to the development of melanomas harboring a wild-type PTEN genotype, which occurs in about 70% of human melanomas. The PDK1 substrate SGK3 was determined to be an important mediator of PDK1 activities in melanoma cells. Genetic or pharmacologic inhibition of PDK1 and SGK3 attenuated melanoma growth by inducing G1 phase cell-cycle arrest. In a synthetic lethal screen, pan-PI3K inhibition synergized with PDK1 inhibition to suppress melanoma growth, suggesting that focused blockade of PDK1/PI3K signaling might offer a new therapeutic modality for wild-type PTEN tumors. We also noted that responsiveness to PDK1 inhibition associated with decreased expression of pigmentation genes and increased expression of cytokines and inflammatory genes, suggesting a method to stratify patients with melanoma for PDK1-based therapies. Overall, our work highlights the potential significance of PDK1 as a therapeutic target to improve melanoma treatment.

The Hematopoietic Stem Cell Regulatory Gene Latexin Has Tumor-Suppressive Properties in Malignant Melanoma

Despite recent advancements in therapy, melanoma still remains a highly lethal skin cancer. A better understanding of the genetic and epigenetic changes responsible for melanoma formation and progression could result in development of more effective treatments. Advanced melanomas are known to exhibit widespread promoter region CpG island methylation leading to inactivation of key tumor suppressor genes. Meta-analyses of relevant microarray data sets revealed the hematopoietic stem cell regulator gene Latexin (LXN) to be commonly down regulated in approximately 50% of melanomas. The CpG island in the promoter region of LXN was almost universally hypermethylated in melanoma cell lines and tumors and treatment of the cell lines with the demethylating drug, 5-Aza-2-deoxycytidine, resulted in increased LXN expression. In this paper, we demonstrate that exogenous expression of LXN in melanoma cell lines results in a significant inhibition of tumor cell proliferation. In addition, we show that the increased expression of LXN in these lines correlates with reduction in expression levels of stem cell transcription factors OCT4, NANOG, SOX2, KLF4 and MYCN indicating that LXN may exert its tumor suppressive function by altering the stem cell like properties of melanoma cells.

MERTK controls melanoma cell migration and survival and differentially regulates cell behavior relative to AXL.

The receptor tyrosine kinase AXL regulates melanoma cell proliferation and migration. We now demonstrate that AXL and the related kinase MERTK are alternately expressed in melanoma and are associated with different transcriptional signatures. MERTK‐positive melanoma cells are more proliferative and less migratory than AXL‐positive melanoma cells and overexpression of AXL increases cell motility relative to MERTK. MERTK is expressed in up to 50% of melanoma cells and shRNA‐mediated knockdown of MERTK reduces colony formation and cell migration in a CDC42‐dependent fashion. Targeting MERTK also decreases cell survival and proliferation in an AKT‐dependent manner. Finally, we identify a novel mutation in the kinase domain of MERTK, MERTKP802S, that increases the motility of melanoma cells relative to wild‐type MERTK. Together, these data demonstrate that MERTK is a possible therapeutic target in melanoma, that AXL and MERTK are associated with differential cell behaviors, and that mutations in MERTK may contribute to melanoma pathogenesis.

E2F8 as a Novel Therapeutic Target for Lung Cancer

BACKGROUND The E2F members have been divided into transcription activators (E2F1-E2F3) and repressors (E2F4-E2F8). E2F8 with E2F7 has been known to play an important physiologic role in embryonic development and cell cycle regulation by repressing E2F1. However, the function of E2F8 in cancer cells is unknown. METHODS E2F8 expression was assessed by immunoblotting or immunofluorescence staining in human lung cancer (LC) cells and tissues from LC patients (n = 45). Cell proliferation, colony formation, and invasion analysis were performed to evaluate the role of E2F8 in LC. Microarray analysis was used to determine the target genes of E2F8. The regulation of E2F8 on the expression of ubiquitin-like PHD and RING domain-containing 1 (UHRF1), one of E2F8 target genes, was determined using chromatin immunoprecipitation and promoter activity assays. Human LC xenograft models were used to determine the effects of inhibiting E2F8 by siRNAs (n = 7 per group) or antisense morpholino (n = 8 per group) on tumor growth. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and group differences by the Students t test. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS LC tumors overexpressed E2F8 compared with normal lung tissues. Depletion of E2F8 inhibited cell proliferation and tumor growth. E2F8 knockdown statistically significantly reduced the expression of UHRF1 (~60%-70%, P < .001), and the direct binding of E2F8 on the promoter of UHRF1 was identified. Kaplan-Meier analysis with a public database showed prognostic significance of aberrant E2F8 expression in LC (HR = 1.91 95% CI = 1.21 to 3.01 in chemo-naïve patients, P = .0047). CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated that E2F8 is overexpressed in LC and is required for the growth of LC cells. These findings implicate E2F8 as a novel therapeutic target for LC treatment.