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Reprogramming of Cellular Plasticity via ETS and MYC Core-regulatory circuits During Response to MAPK Inhibition in BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer

ABSTRACT: Background: Aberrant enhancer dynamics play a critical role in the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). BRAFV600E-mutated metastatic CRC may be a unique subtype, exhibiting a strong epigenetic phenotype. Interestingly, bromodomain 2, a reader protein for H3K27ac-marked enhancers, was found to be synthetically lethal in CRC with BRAF + EGFR inhibition. Design: We evaluated the effectiveness of targeting aberrant enhancers with bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) + MAPK pathway inhibitors in patient-derived xenograft models of metastatic CRC, followed by comprehensive profiling of transcriptomic and chromatin dynamics upon BET inhibitor combination treatment. Results: The combination of BET and standard MAPK inhibitors has demonstrated improved efficacy against BRAFV600E CRC and selective improvements against RAS-mutant CRC in vivo. We showed that BET + MAPK inhibition induced a profound downregulation of the MAPK signaling pathway compared to MAPK inhibition alone. The loss of activation signal on enhancers, as determined by H3K27ac, led to dysregulation of core-regulatory circuitries of CRC, especially loss of the auto-regulatory mechanism of the MAPK downstream E26 transformation–specific transcription factor family. Single nucleus multiome (RNA + ATAC) sequencing further distinguished differential transcriptomic and chromatin dynamics at cell type levels. Profound downregulation of well-differentiated cell types confirmed deep inhibition of MAPK signaling and downstream transcription factors. On the other hand, dedifferentiated cell populations were abundant after MAPK or combination inhibition, suggesting therapy-induced cell state switching and adaptation. Conclusion: We are evaluating BET + BRAF + EGFR inhibition in patients with treatment-refractory BRAFV600E metastatic CRC. ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT06102902.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE280280 | GEO | 2026/04/24

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Dysregulated kinase activity drives oncogenic signalling, perturbs cellular homeostasis, and promotes tumour progression. Despite major success in targeting kinases therapeutically, the downstream consequences of kinase inhibition and the mechanisms underlying drug resistance remain incompletely understood. One of the most frequent oncogenic kinase mutations, BRAFV600E, constitutively activates the MAPK pathway and represents a major therapeutic target in melanoma and other cancers. However, the functional relevance of most phosphorylation events downstream of BRAF signalling is unknown, limiting mechanistic interpretation and rational therapeutic design. Here, we established a global, multi-omic model of BRAF inhibition response in BRAFV600E-mutant melanoma cells by integrating time-resolved phosphoproteomics, biophysical PTM-proteomics, transcriptomics, and thermal proteome profiling. Our ultradeep phosphoproteomic analysis revealed widespread phosphorylation changes upon Dabrafenib treatment, while biophysical phosphoproteomics uncovered phosphorylation events associated with altered solubility and subcellular localisation, indicative of biomolecular condensation and nuclear reorganisation. Integration of these modalities into a network-based mechanistic model enabled the prioritisation of functionally relevant phosphorylation sites and kinases. Experimental validation confirmed CDK9, CLK3, and TNIK as key regulators of BRAFV600E signalling and as candidate targets for combinatorial inhibition strategies capable of re-sensitising resistant melanoma cells in a synthetic lethal manner. The transcription factor ETV3 emerged from the network as a previously unrecognised effector of oncogenic BRAF signalling. Using phosphosite-specific biophysical data, imaging, and FRAP experiments, we demonstrated that ETV3 phosphorylation controls its DNA-binding kinetics. Functional assays combining ETV3 knockdown, metabolomics, and drug screening revealed that ETV3 modulates transcriptional and metabolic responses to BRAF inhibition, linking oncogenic signalling to metabolic rewiring. Together, this study provides a comprehensive systems-level framework that connects phosphorylation dynamics to protein function and cellular phenotype, highlights ETV3 as a novel signalling node, and illustrates how multi-omic, site-resolved network models can reveal actionable mechanisms of kinase-driven oncogenesis.

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Reprogramming of Cellular Plasticity via ETS and MYC Core-regulatory circuits During Response to MAPK Inhibition in BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer

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