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Pucci P, Lee LC, Han M, Matthews JD, Jahangiri L, Schlederer M, Manners E, Sorby-Adams A, Kaggie J, Trigg RM, Steel C, Hare L, James ER, Prokoph N, Ducray SP, Merkel O, Rifatbegovic F, Luo J, Taschner-Mandl S, Kenner L, Burke GAA, Turner SD. Targeting NRAS via miR-1304-5p or farnesyltransferase inhibition confers sensitivity to ALK inhibitors in ALK-mutant neuroblastoma. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3422. [PMID: 38653965 PMCID: PMC11039739 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47771-x] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Targeting Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a promising therapeutic strategy for aberrant ALK-expressing malignancies including neuroblastoma, but resistance to ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors (ALK TKI) is a distinct possibility necessitating drug combination therapeutic approaches. Using high-throughput, genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screens, we identify miR-1304-5p loss as a desensitizer to ALK TKIs in aberrant ALK-expressing neuroblastoma; inhibition of miR-1304-5p decreases, while mimics of this miRNA increase the sensitivity of neuroblastoma cells to ALK TKIs. We show that miR-1304-5p targets NRAS, decreasing cell viability via induction of apoptosis. It follows that the farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI) lonafarnib in addition to ALK TKIs act synergistically in neuroblastoma, inducing apoptosis in vitro. In particular, on combined treatment of neuroblastoma patient derived xenografts with an FTI and an ALK TKI complete regression of tumour growth is observed although tumours rapidly regrow on cessation of therapy. Overall, our data suggests that combined use of ALK TKIs and FTIs, constitutes a therapeutic approach to treat high risk neuroblastoma although prolonged therapy is likely required to prevent relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Perla Pucci
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
| | - Liam C Lee
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
- Merck & Co, 2000 Galloping Hill Rd, Kenilworth, NJ, 07033, USA
| | - Miaojun Han
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
- OncoSec, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - Jamie D Matthews
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
| | - Leila Jahangiri
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK
- Nottingham Trent University, School of Science & Technology, Clifton Lane, Nottingham, NG11 8NS, UK
| | - Michaela Schlederer
- Department of Pathology, Division of Experimental and Translational Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Eleanor Manners
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
- Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, London, SW10 9NH, UK
| | - Annabel Sorby-Adams
- MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, University of Cambridge, The Keith Peters Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 0XY, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrookes Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Joshua Kaggie
- Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Ricky M Trigg
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
- Functional Genomics, GlaxoSmithKline, Stevenage, SG1 2NY, UK
| | - Christopher Steel
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
| | - Lucy Hare
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
- Department of Paediatric Haematology, Oncology and Palliative Care, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Emily R James
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
| | - Nina Prokoph
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
| | - Stephen P Ducray
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK
| | - Olaf Merkel
- Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
- European Research Initiative for ALK related malignancies (ERIA), Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Firkret Rifatbegovic
- St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, CCRI, Zimmermannplatz 10, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ji Luo
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA
| | - Sabine Taschner-Mandl
- St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, CCRI, Zimmermannplatz 10, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lukas Kenner
- Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
- European Research Initiative for ALK related malignancies (ERIA), Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Unit of Laboratory Animal Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Center for Biomarker Research in Medicine (CBmed), Graz, Austria
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Applied Metabolomics (CDL-AM), Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - G A Amos Burke
- Department of Paediatric Haematology, Oncology and Palliative Care, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Suzanne D Turner
- Department of Pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB20QQ, UK.
- European Research Initiative for ALK related malignancies (ERIA), Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.
- Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
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Garland GD, Ducray SP, Jahangiri L, Pucci P, Amos Burke GA, Monahan J, Lai R, Merkel O, Schiefer AI, Kenner L, Bannister AJ, Turner SD. BRG1 and NPM-ALK Are Co-Regulated in Anaplastic Large-Cell Lymphoma; BRG1 Is a Potential Therapeutic Target in ALCL. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 14:151. [PMID: 35008316 PMCID: PMC8750310 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14010151] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a T-cell malignancy driven in many cases by the product of a chromosomal translocation, nucleophosmin-anaplastic lymphoma kinase (NPM-ALK). NPM-ALK activates a plethora of pathways that drive the hallmarks of cancer, largely signalling pathways normally associated with cytokine and/or T-cell receptor-induced signalling. However, NPM-ALK is also located in the nucleus and its functions in this cellular compartment for the most part remain to be determined. We show that ALCL cell lines and primary patient tumours express the transcriptional activator BRG1 in a NPM-ALK-dependent manner. NPM-ALK regulates expression of BRG1 by post-translational mechanisms dependent on its kinase activity, protecting it from proteasomal degradation. Furthermore, we show that BRG1 drives a transcriptional programme associated with cell cycle progression. In turn, inhibition of BRG1 expression with specific shRNA decreases cell viability, suggesting that it may represent a key therapeutic target for the treatment of ALCL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin D. Garland
- Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; (G.D.G.); (S.P.D.); (L.J.); (P.P.)
| | - Stephen P. Ducray
- Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; (G.D.G.); (S.P.D.); (L.J.); (P.P.)
| | - Leila Jahangiri
- Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; (G.D.G.); (S.P.D.); (L.J.); (P.P.)
- Department of Life Sciences, Birmingham City University, Birmingham B15 3TN, UK
| | - Perla Pucci
- Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; (G.D.G.); (S.P.D.); (L.J.); (P.P.)
| | - G. A. Amos Burke
- Department of Paediatric Oncology, Cambridge University Hospital NHS Trust, Cambridge CB5 8PD, UK;
| | - Jack Monahan
- The European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK;
| | - Raymond Lai
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada;
| | - Olaf Merkel
- Department of Pathology, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria; (O.M.); (A.-I.S.); (L.K.)
| | - Ana-Iris Schiefer
- Department of Pathology, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria; (O.M.); (A.-I.S.); (L.K.)
| | - Lukas Kenner
- Department of Pathology, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria; (O.M.); (A.-I.S.); (L.K.)
- Unit of Pathology of Laboratory Animals, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
- CBMed, 8010 Graz, Austria
- Christian Doppler Laboratory of Applied Metabolomics (CDL-AM), Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Suzanne D. Turner
- Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK; (G.D.G.); (S.P.D.); (L.J.); (P.P.)
- Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Masaryk University, 601 77 Brno, Czech Republic
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Larose H, Prokoph N, Matthews JD, Schlederer M, Högler S, Alsulami AF, Ducray SP, Nuglozeh E, Fazaludeen MF, Elmouna A, Ceccon M, Mologni L, Gambacorti-Passerini C, Hoefler G, Lobello C, Pospisilova S, Janikova A, Woessmann W, Welk CD, Zimmermann MT, Fedorova A, Malone A, Smith O, Wasik M, Inghirami G, Lamant L, Blundell TL, Klapper W, Merkel O, Burke GAA, Mian S, Ashankyty I, Kenner L, Turner SD. Whole Exome Sequencing reveals NOTCH1 mutations in anaplastic large cell lymphoma and points to Notch both as a key pathway and a potential therapeutic target. Haematologica 2021; 106:1693-1704. [PMID: 32327503 PMCID: PMC8168516 DOI: 10.3324/haematol.2019.238766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients diagnosed with Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL) are still treated with toxic multi-agent chemotherapy and as many as 25-50% of patients relapse. To understand disease pathology and to uncover novel targets for therapy, Whole-Exome Sequencing (WES) of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK)+ ALCL was performed as well as Gene-Set Enrichment Analysis. This revealed that the T-cell receptor (TCR) and Notch pathways were the most enriched in mutations. In particular, variant T349P of NOTCH1, which confers a growth advantage to cells in which it is expressed, was detected in 12% of ALK+ and ALK- ALCL patient samples. Furthermore, we demonstrate that NPM-ALK promotes NOTCH1 expression through binding of STAT3 upstream of NOTCH1. Moreover, inhibition of NOTCH1 with γ-secretase inhibitors (GSIs) or silencing by shRNA leads to apoptosis; co-treatment in vitro with the ALK inhibitor Crizotinib led to additive/synergistic anti-tumour activity suggesting this may be an appropriate combination therapy for future use in the circumvention of ALK inhibitor resistance. Indeed, Crizotinib-resistant and sensitive ALCL were equally sensitive to GSIs. In conclusion, we show a variant in the extracellular domain of NOTCH1 that provides a growth advantage to cells and confirm the suitability of the Notch pathway as a second-line druggable target in ALK+ ALCL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Larose
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
| | - Nina Prokoph
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
| | | | | | - Sandra Högler
- Unit of Laborator y Animal Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ali F. Alsulami
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, UK
| | - Stephen P. Ducray
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
| | - Edem Nuglozeh
- Molecular Diagnostics and Personalised Therapeutics Unit, Colleges of Medicine and Applied Medical Sciences, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammad Feroze Fazaludeen
- Neuroinflammation Research Group, Depar tment of Neurobiology, A.I Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
| | - Ahmed Elmouna
- Molecular Diagnostics and Personalised Therapeutics Unit, Colleges of Medicine and Applied Medical Sciences, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
| | - Monica Ceccon
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy
| | - Luca Mologni
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy
| | - Carlo Gambacorti-Passerini
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy
| | - Gerald Hoefler
- Diagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Cosimo Lobello
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- Center of Molecular Medicine, CEITEC, Masar yk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Sarka Pospisilova
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- Center of Molecular Medicine, CEITEC, Masar yk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Internal Medicine – Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Andrea Janikova
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- Department of Internal Medicine – Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Wilhelm Woessmann
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendor f, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christine Damm- Welk
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendor f, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Mar tin Zimmermann
- Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Blood Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Alina Fedorova
- Belarusian Center for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology, Minsk, Belarus
| | | | - Owen Smith
- Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, Ireland
| | - Mariusz Wasik
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Giorgio Inghirami
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY USA
| | - Laurence Lamant
- Institut Universitaire du Cancer Toulouse, Oncopole et Universite Paul-Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Tom L. Blundell
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, UK
| | - Wolfram Klapper
- Department of Pathology, Hematopathology Section, UKSH Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Olaf Merkel
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - G. A. Amos Burke
- Department of Paediatric Oncology, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK
| | - Shahid Mian
- Molecular Diagnostics and Personalised Therapeutics Unit, Colleges of Medicine and Applied Medical Sciences, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ibraheem Ashankyty
- Department of Medical Technology Laboratory, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Lukas Kenner
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Ludwig-Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research, Vienna, Austria
| | - Suzanne D. Turner
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- European Research Initiative for ALK Related Malignancies (ERIA; www.ERIALCL.net)
- Center of Molecular Medicine, CEITEC, Masar yk University, Brno, Czech Republic
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Ducray SP, Natarajan K, Garland GD, Turner SD, Egger G. The Transcriptional Roles of ALK Fusion Proteins in Tumorigenesis. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11081074. [PMID: 31366041 PMCID: PMC6721376 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11081074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a tyrosine kinase involved in neuronal and gut development. Initially discovered in T cell lymphoma, ALK is frequently affected in diverse cancers by oncogenic translocations. These translocations involve different fusion partners that facilitate multimerisation and autophosphorylation of ALK, resulting in a constitutively active tyrosine kinase with oncogenic potential. ALK fusion proteins are involved in diverse cellular signalling pathways, such as Ras/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and Janus protein tyrosine kinase (JAK)/STAT. Furthermore, ALK is implicated in epigenetic regulation, including DNA methylation and miRNA expression, and an interaction with nuclear proteins has been described. Through these mechanisms, ALK fusion proteins enable a transcriptional programme that drives the pathogenesis of a range of ALK-related malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen P Ducray
- Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB20QQ, UK
| | | | - Gavin D Garland
- Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB20QQ, UK
| | - Suzanne D Turner
- Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB20QQ, UK.
| | - Gerda Egger
- Department of Pathology, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute Applied Diagnostics, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
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