Project description:Most human epithelial tumors harbor numerous alterations, making it difficult to predict which genes are required for tumor survival. To systematically identify cancer dependencies, we analyzed 501 genome-scale loss-of-function screens performed in diverse human cancer cell lines. We developed DEMETER, an analytical framework that segregates on- from off-target effects of RNAi. 769 genes were differentially required in subsets of these cell lines at a threshold of six SDs from the mean. We found predictive models for 426 dependencies (55%) by nonlinear regression modeling considering 66,646 molecular features. Many dependencies fall into a limited number of classes, and unexpectedly, in 82% of models, the top biomarkers were expression based. We demonstrated the basis behind one such predictive model linking hypermethylation of the UBB ubiquitin gene to a dependency on UBC. Together, these observations provide a foundation for a cancer dependency map that facilitates the prioritization of therapeutic targets.
Project description:Exciting therapeutic targets are emerging from CRISPR-based screens of high mutational-burden adult cancers. A key question, however, is whether functional genomic approaches will yield new targets in pediatric cancers, known for remarkably few mutations, which often encode proteins considered challenging drug targets. To address this, we created a first-generation pediatric cancer dependency map representing 13 pediatric solid and brain tumor types. Eighty-two pediatric cancer cell lines were subjected to genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 loss-of-function screening to identify genes required for cell survival. In contrast to the finding that pediatric cancers harbor fewer somatic mutations, we found a similar complexity of genetic dependencies in pediatric cancer cell lines compared to that in adult models. Findings from the pediatric cancer dependency map provide preclinical support for ongoing precision medicine clinical trials. The vulnerabilities observed in pediatric cancers were often distinct from those in adult cancer, indicating that repurposing adult oncology drugs will be insufficient to address childhood cancers.
Project description:Chemical probes are lacking for most human proteins. Covalent chemistry represents an attractive strategy for expanding the ligandability of the proteome, and chemical proteomics has revealed numerous electrophile-reactive cysteines on diverse proteins. Determining which of these covalent binding events impact protein function, however, remains challenging. Here, we describe a base-editing strategy to infer the functionality of cysteines by quantifying the impact of their missense mutation on cell proliferation. We show that the resulting atlas, which covers >13,800 cysteines on >1,750 cancer dependency proteins, correctly predicts the essentiality of cysteines targeted by cancer therapeutics and, when integrated with chemical proteomic data, identifies essential, ligandable cysteines on >110 cancer dependency proteins. We finally demonstrate how measurements of reactivity in native versus denatured proteomes can further discriminate essential cysteines amendable to chemical modification from those buried in protein structures, providing a valuable resource to prioritize the pursuit of small-molecule probes with high function-perturbing potential.
Project description:Chemical probes are lacking for most human proteins. Covalent chemistry represents an attractive strategy for expanding the ligandability of the proteome, and chemical proteomics has revealed numerous electrophile-reactive cysteines on diverse proteins. Determining which of these covalent binding events impact protein function, however, remains challenging. Here, we describe a base-editing strategy to infer the functionality of cysteines by quantifying the impact of their missense mutation on cell proliferation. We show that the resulting atlas, which covers >13,800 cysteines on >1,750 cancer dependency proteins, correctly predicts the essentiality of cysteines targeted by cancer therapeutics and, when integrated with chemical proteomic data, identifies essential, ligandable cysteines on >110 cancer dependency proteins. We finally demonstrate how measurements of reactivity in native versus denatured proteomes can further discriminate essential cysteines amendable to chemical modification from those buried in protein structures, providing a valuable resource to prioritize the pursuit of small-molecule probes with high function-perturbing potential.
Project description: Covalent chemistry represents an attractive strategy for expanding the ligandability of the proteome, and chemical proteomics has revealed numerous electrophile-reactive cysteines on diverse human proteins. Determining which of these covalent binding events impact protein function, however, remains challenging. Here, we describe a base-editing strategy to infer the functionality of cysteines by quantifying the impact of their missense mutation on cancer cell proliferation. The resulting atlas, which covers >13,800 cysteines on >1,750 cancer dependency proteins, confirms the essentiality of cysteines targeted by covalent drugs and, when integrated with chemical proteomic data, identifies essential, ligandable cysteines in >110 cancer dependency proteins. We further show that a stereoselective and site-specific ligand targeting an essential cysteine in TOE1 inhibits the nuclease activity of this protein through an apparent allosteric mechanism. Our findings thus describe a versatile method and valuable resource to prioritize the pursuit of small-molecule probes with high function-perturbing potential.
Project description:Paralogs often exhibit functional redundancy, allowing them to effectively compensate for each other's loss. However, this buffering mechanism is frequently disrupted in cancer, exposing unique paralog-specific vulnerabilities. Here, we identify a selective dependency on the splicing factor TRA2A. We find that TRA2A and its paralog TRA2B are synthetic lethal partners that function as widespread and largely redundant activators of both alternative and constitutive splicing. While loss of TRA2A alone is typically neutral due to compensation by TRA2B, we discover that a subset of cancer cell lines are highly TRA2A-dependent. Upon TRA2A depletion, these cell lines exhibit a lack of paralog buffering specifically on shared splicing targets, leading to defects in mitosis and cell death. Notably, TRA2B overexpression rescues both the aberrant splicing and lethality associated with TRA2A loss, indicating that paralog compensation is dosage-sensitive. Together, these findings reveal a complex dosage-dependent relationship between paralogous splicing factors, and highlight how dysfunctional paralog buffering can create a selective dependency in cancer.