ABSTRACT: Transcription profiling by array of mammospheres derived from tumors of mice harboring Wnt/Met signaling mutations treated Wnt and MET pathway inhibitors
Project description:The combined activation of Wnt/ß-catenin and MET/HGF is required for mammary cancer stem cell (MaCSC) maintenance. We generated mammospheres derived from tumors of mice harboring Wnt/Met signaling mutations on which we performed microarray analysis to evaluate gene expression signatures controlled by Wnt and MET pathways. We used the gene expression profiles to dissect the role and the functions of these pathways in MaCSCs. We treated mammospheres with Wnt and MET pathway inhibitors (ICG-001 and PHA665752 respectively) alone or in combination. Samples treated with DMSO were used as vehicle control.
Project description:Strong activation of the oncogenic Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is a main mechanism of resistance to FOXO3a-induced apoptosis promoted by PI3K and AKT inhibitors in colorectal cancer (CRC). Reducing Wnt/beta-catenin activity would sensitize colorectal tumors to these inhibitors. However, no Wnt/beta-catenin signaling inhibitor has proven clinical potential yet. Recently, inhibitors that block tankyrases were shown to reduce colon cancer cell proliferation by decreasing nuclear beta-catenin. We aim to identify determinants of response to these novel Wnt-inhibitors. Therefore, we treated in vivo three different patient-derived xenograft models (PDX; P2, P5 and P30) growing subcutaneously in NOD SCID mice with the novel tankyrase inhibitor NVP-TNKS656.
Project description:The combined activation of Wnt/ß-catenin and MET/HGF is required for mammary cancer stem cell (MaCSC) maintenance. We generated mammospheres derived from tumors of mice harboring Wnt/Met signaling mutations on which we performed microarray analysis to evaluate gene expression signatures controlled by Wnt and MET pathways. We used the gene expression profiles to dissect the role and the functions of these pathways in MaCSCs.
Project description:Primary objectives: Phase Ib: To estimate the MTD(s) and/or RP2D(s) of the triple combination of WNT974, LGX818 and cetuximab in patients with BRAFV600-mutant CRC harboring upstream Wnt pathway mutations.
Phase II: To estimate the preliminary anti-tumor activity of the RP2D(s) of WNT974 in combination with LGX818 and cetuximab in patients with BRAFV600-mutant CRC harboring upstream Wnt pathway mutations
Note:
Further enrollment to the study has been discontinued as of 21 March 2016. Therefore, references to phase II study design and objectives are no longer relevant.
Primary endpoints: 1. Phase Ib: To estimate the MTD(s)/RP2D(s) of the triple combination of WNT974, LGX818 and cetuximab in patients with BRAFV600-mutant, KRAS wild-type (WT) mCRC harboring upstream Wnt pathway mutations, as measured by incidence of dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) and exposure to WNT974 and LGX818 as measured by PK parameters.
2. Phase II: To estimate the preliminary anti-tumor activity at the RP2D(s) of the combination of WNT974, LGX818 and cetuximab, in patients with BRAFV600-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer harboring upstream Wnt pathway mutations, based on the Overall Response Rate (ORR).
Note: Further enrollment to the study has been discontinued as of 21 March 2016. Therefore, references to phase II study design and objectives are no longer relevant.
Project description:The first step in the development of human colorectal cancer is the aberrant hyperactivation of the Wnt signaling pathway, predominantly caused by inactivating mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (Apc) gene encoding an essential tumor suppressor. The gene encoding transcriptional factor msh homeobox 1 (Msx1) displayed robust upregulation upon Apc inactivation in intestinal epithelium isolated in mice harboring the conditional allele of the Apc gene. To identify the gene signature in the small intestine upon Msx1 depletion, small intestinal epithelium from mice harboring conditional alleles of Apc and Msx1 was isolated and the gene expression profile was compared with control mice harboring the conditional allele of Apc only.
Project description:The first step in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) is the aberrant hyperactivation of the Wnt signaling pathway, predominantly caused by inactivating mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene encoding an essential tumor suppressor. In order to identify genes affected by Apc loss, expression profiling of intestinal epithelium isolated from mice harboring the conditional allele of the gene was performed.
Project description:Selective RAF inhibitors including vemurafenib (PLX4032) have demonstrated clinical efficacy in mutant BRAF driven metastatic melanoma. The clinical effectiveness of RAF inhibitors depends on near complete abolition of the MAPK pathway output in tumors harboring BRAF mutations. However these compounds paradoxically activate the MAPK pathway in cells bearing oncogenic RAS or elevated upstream receptor signaling. This paradox can promote cellular proliferation and can manifest clinically with progression of secondary malignancies such as cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cuSCC). We have identified next generation RAF inhibitors (“paradox breakers”, e.g. PLX7904) that inhibit mutant BRAF cells without activating the MAPK pathway in cells bearing upstream activation. In murine cuSCC B9 cells that express the same HRAS mutation prevalent in squamous tumors from patients treated with RAF inhibitors, the first-generation RAF PLX4032 stimulated in vitro and in vivo growth; by contrast the paradox breaker PLX7904 had no effect. Here we compared the gene expression changes in B9 cells treated overnight with PLX4032 and PLX7904.
Project description:The first step in the development of human colorectal cancer (CRC) is the aberrant hyperactivation of the Wnt signaling pathway, predominantly caused by inactivating mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene which encodes an essential tumor suppressor. In order to identify genes affected by Apc loss, expression profiling of intestinal epithelium isolated from mice harboring the conditional allele of the gene was performed. The gene encoding transcriptional factor msh homeobox 1 (Msx1) displayed robust upregulation upon Apc inactivation. To characterize the gene signature in colon upon Msx1 depletion, colonic epithelium from mice harboring conditional alleles of Apc and Msx1 was isolated and the gene expression profile was compared with control mice harboring the conditional allele of Apc only.
Project description:WNT signaling promotes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) through diverse effects on proliferation, differentiation, survival, and stemness. A subset of PDAC with inactivating mutations in ring finger protein 43 (RNF43) have growth dependency on autocrine WNT ligand signaling, which renders them susceptible to porcupine inhibitors (PORCNi) that block WNT ligand acylation and secretion. For this study, non-targeted metabolomic analyses were performed to explore the therapeutic response of RNF43-mutant PDAC to the PORCNi LGK974. AsPC-1 (RNF43-mutant) PDAC cells were treated with 25 nM LGK974 to explore stable isotope-resolved metabolomics with uniform 1, D-glucose [U13-C6] labeling.
Project description:PD-1 blockade therapy exerts antitumor effects by restoring the infiltration of tumor antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. While neoantigens arising from gene alterations in cancer cells comprise critical tumor antigens in antitumor immunity, a subset of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) harboring substantial tumor mutation burden (TMB) lack CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME), resulting in resistance to PD-1 blockade therapy. This resistance is an urgent issue, so the mechanism(s) mediating impaired antitumor immunity in highly mutated NSCLCs need to be explored. Here, we show that activation of the WNT/b-catenin signaling pathway contributes to the development of a noninflamed TME in tumors with high TMB. NSCLCs that lack immune cell infiltration into the TME despite high TMB preferentially upregulate the WNT/b-catenin pathway. Immunological assays revealed that those patients harbored neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells in the peripheral blood but not in the TME, suggesting impaired T cell infiltration into the TME due to the activation of WNT/b-catenin signaling. In our animal model, the accumulation of gene mutations in cancer cells increased CD8+ T cell infiltration into the TME, slowing tumor growth. However, further accumulation of gene mutations blunted antitumor immunity by excluding CD8+ T cells from tumors in a WNT/b-catenin signaling-dependent manner. Combined treatment with PD-1 blockade and WNT/b-catenin signaling inhibitors induced far stronger antitumor immunity than either treatment alone. We propose a mechanism-oriented combination therapy concept in the cancer immunotherapy field, i.e., the combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors with drugs that target specific molecules in cancer cell-intrinsic oncogenic signaling pathways involved in immune escape.