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Two ways cancer resists treatment are actually connected, with one activating the other

Study identifies chain reaction in cells that helps cancer survive treatments that target BRAF mutations

Date:
December 18, 2018
Source:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Summary:
Researcher shows the two most common means of resistance to BRAF and MEK inhibitors are actually connected processes and can be targeted by other therapies.
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FULL STORY

Drugs that target BRAF and MEK in cancer have shown promise in treating a subset of melanoma that carries a mutation in the BRAF gene, but drug resistance usually emerges, reversing the benefit of these drugs and limiting the survival of patients. Research has shown tumors have two common ways of resisting this approach.

Until now, those resistance mechanisms were thought to be separate, but a new study from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania is the first to show they're actually connected by a newly-identified process called ER translocation -- where the first mechanism leads to a chain reaction that activates the second. Further, since drugs already exist that can block some of the steps of ER translocation, this finding potentially opens the door for new approaches to overcome resistance to treatment. Researchers published their findings inCancer Discoverytoday.

BRAF mutations occur in a genetic pathway known as MAPK, and they are known to drive tumor growth in melanoma. This mutation is commonly targeted with a combination of BRAF inhibitors, as well as drugs called MEK inhibitors. These block ERK, which is an important protein in the MAPK pathway. The combination has led to higher response rates in melanoma, but resistance is common. The first common mechanism of resistance is that ERK finds a way to reactivate itself, getting around the intended impact of the inhibitor. The second common resistance mechanism is called autophagy -- a process by which cancer cells recycle their own parts to survive.

"In this study, we not only identified how ERK reactivates, but also that it's this reactivation which actually increases autophagy," said the study's senior author Ravi K. Amaravadi, MD, an associate professor of Hematology-Oncology in Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and co-leader of the Cancer Therapeutics Program in the Abramson Cancer Center.

Researchers found that when melanoma cells are exposed to BRAF and MEK inhibitors, proteins in the MAPK pathway -- including ERK -- move from a part of the cell called the cytoplasm to another called the endosplasmic reticulum (ER). The researchers call this movement, "ER translocation," and they found that it was required for ERK reactivation, which then increases autophagy. This work therefore ties together the two most common mechanisms of resistance to these treatments, ERK reactivation and autophagy, into one unified pathway controlled by ER translocation.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time anyone has shown that ER translocation of the MAPK proteins is a regulated process that leads to drug resistance, which is a major conceptual advance for the field," said the study's lead author Rani Ojha, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Amaravadi's lab.

研究人员指出,因为其他目标apies already exist to inhibit individual elements of that regulated process that controls ER translocation, it may be possible to develop a combination therapy capable of blocking both ERK reactivation and autophagy, thereby benefiting more patients.

Constantinos Koumenis, PhD, the Richard H. Chamberlain Professor of Oncology Research and associate director of Translation Research in the Abramson Cancer Center, and his lab contributed significantly to this work.

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01CA169134, P01 CA114046, P01 CA165997, P30 CA016520, SPORE P50 CA174523, R01CA198015).

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Materialsprovided byUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.注意:内容可能被编辑风格d length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Rani Ojha, Nektaria M Leli, Angelique Onorati, Shengfu Piao, Ioannis I Verginadis, Feven Tameire, Vito W Rebecca, Cynthia I Chude, Sengottuvelan Murugan, Colin Fennelly, Estela Noguera-Ortega, Shujing Liu, Xiaowei Xu, Clemens Krepler, Min Xiao, Wei Xu, Zhi Wei, Dennie T Frederick, Genevieve Boland, Tara C Mitchell, Giorgos C Karakousis, Lynn M. Schuchter, Keith T Flaherty, Gao Zhang, Meenhard Herlyn, Constantinos Koumenis, Ravi K. Amaravadi.ER translocation of the MAPK pathway drives therapy resistance in BRAF mutant melanoma.Cancer Discovery, 2018; CD-18-0348 DOI:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-18-0348

Cite This Page:

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "Two ways cancer resists treatment are actually connected, with one activating the other: Study identifies chain reaction in cells that helps cancer survive treatments that target BRAF mutations." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 December 2018. /releases/2018/12/181218115126. htm>.
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. (2018, December 18). Two ways cancer resists treatment are actually connected, with one activating the other: Study identifies chain reaction in cells that helps cancer survive treatments that target BRAF mutations.ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 21, 2023 from www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/12/181218115126. htm
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "Two ways cancer resists treatment are actually connected, with one activating the other: Study identifies chain reaction in cells that helps cancer survive treatments that target BRAF mutations." ScienceDaily. www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/12/181218115126. htm (accessed August 21, 2023).

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