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Korovina I, Elser M, Borodins O, Seifert M, Willers H, Cordes N. β1 integrin mediates unresponsiveness to PI3Kα inhibition for radiochemosensitization of 3D HNSCC models. Biomed Pharmacother 2024; 171:116217. [PMID: 38286037 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-α represents a key intracellular signal transducer involved in the regulation of key cell functions such as cell survival and proliferation. Excessive activation of PI3Kα is considered one of the major determinants of cancer therapy resistance. Despite preclinical and clinical evaluation of PI3Kα inhibitors in various tumor entities, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), it remains elusive how conventional radiochemotherapy can be enhanced by concurrent PI3K inhibitors and how PI3K deactivation mechanistically exerts its effects. Here, we investigated the radiochemosensitizing potential and adaptation mechanisms of four PI3K inhibitors, Alpelisib, Copanlisib, AZD8186, and Idelalisib in eight HNSCC models grown under physiological, three-dimensional matrix conditions. We demonstrate that Alpelisib, Copanlisib and AZD8186 but not Idelalisib enhance radio- and radiochemosensitivity in the majority of HNSCC cell models (= responders) in a manner independent of PIK3CA mutation status. However, Alpelisib promotes MAPK signaling in non-responders compared to responders without profound impact on Akt, NFκB, TGFβ, JAK/STAT signaling and DNA repair. Bioinformatic analyses identified unique gene mutations associated with extracellular matrix to be more frequent in non-responder cell models than in responders. Finally, we demonstrate that targeting of the cell adhesion molecule β1 integrin on top of Alpelisib sensitizes non-responders to radiochemotherapy. Taken together, our study demonstrates the sensitizing potential of Alpelisib and other PI3K inhibitors in HNSCC models and uncovers a novel β1 integrin-dependent mechanism that may prove useful in overcoming resistance to PI3K inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irina Korovina
- OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Institute of Radiooncology - OncoRay, Dresden, Germany
| | - Marc Elser
- OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Olegs Borodins
- OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Institute of Radiooncology - OncoRay, Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael Seifert
- Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry (IMB), Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Partner Site Dresden, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Henning Willers
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nils Cordes
- OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Institute of Radiooncology - OncoRay, Dresden, Germany; National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Partner Site Dresden, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Dresden, and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
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Borodins O, Broghammer F, Seifert M, Cordes N. Meta-analysis of expression and the targeting of cell adhesion associated genes in nine cancer types - A one research lab re-evaluation. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:2824-2836. [PMID: 37206618 PMCID: PMC10189096 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.04.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer presents as a highly heterogeneous disease with partly overlapping and partly distinct (epi)genetic characteristics. These characteristics determine inherent and acquired resistance, which need to be overcome for improving patient survival. In line with the global efforts in identifying druggable resistance factors, extensive preclinical research of the Cordes lab and others designated the cancer adhesome as a critical and general therapy resistance mechanism with multiple druggable cancer targets. In our study, we addressed pancancer cell adhesion mechanisms by connecting the preclinical datasets generated in the Cordes lab with publicly available transcriptomic and patient survival data. We identified similarly changed differentially expressed genes (scDEGs) in nine cancers and their corresponding cell models relative to normal tissues. Those scDEGs interconnected with 212 molecular targets from Cordes lab datasets generated during two decades of research on adhesome and radiobiology. Intriguingly, integrative analysis of adhesion associated scDEGs, TCGA patient survival and protein-protein network reconstruction revealed a set of overexpressed genes adversely affecting overall cancer patient survival and specifically the survival in radiotherapy-treated cohorts. This pancancer gene set includes key integrins (e.g. ITGA6, ITGB1, ITGB4) and their interconnectors (e.g. SPP1, TGFBI), affirming their critical role in the cancer adhesion resistome. In summary, this meta-analysis demonstrates the importance of the adhesome in general, and integrins together with their interconnectors in particular, as potentially conserved determinants and therapeutic targets in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olegs Borodins
- OncoRay—National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Felix Broghammer
- OncoRay—National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael Seifert
- Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry (IMB), Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Partner Site Dresden, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69192 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nils Cordes
- OncoRay—National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Partner Site Dresden, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69192 Heidelberg, Germany
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden—Rossendorf (HZDR), Institute of Radiooncology—OncoRay, 01328 Dresden, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium, Partner Site Dresden: German Cancer Research Center, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
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