Yixuan Ma

Preclinical studies rarely test the efficacy of therapies in both sexes. The field of oncology is no exception in this regard. In a model of syngeneic, orthotopic, metastasized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma we evaluated the impact of sex on pathological features of this disease as well as on the efficacy and possible adverse side effects of a novel, small molecule-based therapy inhibiting KRAS:SOS1, MEK1/2 and PI3K signaling in male and female C57BL/6J mice. Male mice had less tumor infiltration of CD8-positive cells, developed bigger tumors, had more lung metastasis and a lower probability of survival compared to female mice. These more severe pathological features in male animals were accompanied by higher distress at the end of the experiment. The evaluated inhibitors BI-3406, trametinib and BKM120 showed synergistic effects in vitro. This combinatorial therapy reduced tumor weight more efficiently in male animals, although the drug concentrations were similar in the tumors of both sexes. These results underline the importance of sex-specific preclinical research and at the same time provide a solid basis for future studies with the tested compounds.

Kirsten rat sarcoma virus (KRAS) mutations are widespread in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and contribute significantly to tumor initiation, progression, tumor relapse/resistance, and prognosis of patients. Although inhibitors against KRAS mutations have been developed, this therapeutic approach is not routinely used in PDAC patients. We investigated the anti-tumor efficacy of two KRAS inhibitors BI-3406 (KRAS::SOS1 inhibitor) and sotorasib (KRAS G12C inhibitor) alone or in combination with MEK1/2 inhibitor trametinib and/or PI3K inhibitor buparlisib in seven PDAC cell lines. Whole transcriptomic analysis of combined inhibition and control groups were comparatively analyzed to explore the corresponding mechanisms of inhibitor combination. Both KRAS inhibitors and corresponding combinations exhibited cytotoxicity against specific PDAC cell lines. BI-3406 enhance the efficacy of trametinib and buparlisib in BXPC-3, ASPC-1 and MIA PACA-2, but not in CAPAN-1, while sotorasib enhances the efficacy of trametinib and buparlisib only in MIA PACA-2. The whole transcriptomic analysis demonstrates that the two triple-inhibitor combinations exert antitumor effects by affecting related cell functions, such as affecting the immune system, cell adhesion, cell migration, and cytokine binding. As well as directly involved in RAF/MEK/ERK pathway and PI3K/AKT pathway affect cell survival. Our current study confirmed inhibition of KRAS and its downstream pathways as a potential novel therapy for PDAC and provides fundamental data for in vivo evaluations.

Casein kinase II (CK2) and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) frequently interact within multiple pathways in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Application of CK2- and CDK-inhibitors have been considered as a therapeutic option, but are currently not part of routine chemotherapy regimens. We investigated ten PDAC cell lines exposed to increasing concentrations of silmitasertib and dinaciclib. Cell proliferation, metabolic activity, biomass, and apoptosis/necrosis were evaluated, and bioinformatic clustering was used to classify cell lines into sensitive groups based on their response to inhibitors. Furthermore, whole exome sequencing (WES) and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was conducted to assess recurrent mutations and the expression profile of inhibitor targets and genes frequently mutated in PDAC, respectively. Dinaciclib and silmitasertib demonstrated pronounced and limited cell line specific effects in cell death induction, respectively. WES revealed no genomic variants causing changes in the primary structure of the corresponding inhibitor target proteins. RNA-Seq demonstrated that the expression of all inhibitor target genes was higher in the PDAC cell lines compared to non-neoplastic pancreatic tissue. The observed differences in PDAC cell line sensitivity to silmitasertib or dinaciclib did not depend on target gene expression or the identified gene variants. For the PDAC hotspot genes kirsten rat sarcoma virus (KRAS) and tumor protein p53 (TP53), three and eight variants were identified, respectively. In conclusion, both inhibitors demonstrated in vitro efficacy on the PDAC cell lines. However, aberrations and expression of inhibitor target genes did not appear to affect the efficacy of the corresponding inhibitors. In addition, specific aberrations in TP53 and KRAS affected the efficacy of both inhibitors.

The aberrant activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/ protein kinase B (AKT) pathway is common in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC). The application of inhibitors against PI3K and AKT has been considered as a therapeutic option. We investigated PDAC cell lines exposed to increasing concentrations of MK-2206 (an AKT1/2/3 inhibitor) and Buparlisib (a pan-PI3K inhibitor). Cell proliferation, metabolic activity, biomass, and apoptosis/necrosis were evaluated. Further, whole-exome sequencing (WES) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) were performed to analyze the recurrent aberrations and expression profiles of the inhibitor target genes and the genes frequently mutated in PDAC (Kirsten rat sarcoma virus (KRAS), Tumor protein p53 (TP53)). MK-2206 and Buparlisib demonstrated pronounced cytotoxic effects and limited cell-line-specific effects in cell death induction. WES revealed two sequence variants within the direct target genes (PIK3CA c.1143C > G in Colo357 and PIK3CD c.2480C > G in Capan-1), but a direct link to the Buparlisib response was not observed. RNA-seq demonstrated that the expression level of the inhibitor target genes did not affect the efficacy of the corresponding inhibitors. Moreover, increased resistance to MK-2206 was observed in the analyzed cell lines carrying a KRAS variant. Further, increased resistance to both inhibitors was observed in SU.86.86 carrying two TP53 missense variants. Additionally, the presence of the PIK3CA c.1143C > G in KRAS-variant-carrying cell lines was observed to correlate with increased sensitivity to Buparlisib. In conclusion, the present study reveals the distinct antitumor effects of PI3K/AKT pathway inhibitors against PDAC cell lines. Aberrations in specific target genes, as well as KRAS and TP53, individually or together, affect the efficacy of the two PI3K/AKT pathway inhibitors.

Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) in the B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling pathway are considered potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas, among which, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type. Herein, we comparatively evaluated the single and combined application of the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib and the selective PI3Kγ inhibitor AS-605240 in the canine DLBCL cell line CLBL-1. For further comparison, key findings were additionally analyzed in canine B-cell leukemia GL-1 and human DLBCL cell line SU-DHL-4. While ibrutinib alone induced significant anti-proliferative effects on all cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, AS-605240 only induced anti-proliferative effects at high concentrations. Interestingly, ibrutinib and AS-605240 acted synergistically, reducing cell proliferation and increasing apoptosis/necrosis in all cell lines and inducing morphological changes in CLBL-1. Moreover, the combined application of ibrutinib and AS-605240 reduced relative phosphorylation and, in some instances, the levels of the BTK, AKT, GSK3β, and ERK proteins. Comparative variant analysis of RNA-seq data among canine B- and T-lymphoid cell lines and primary B-cell lymphoma samples revealed potentially high-impact somatic variants in the genes that encode PI3K, which may explain why AS-605240 does not singly inhibit the proliferation of cell lines. The combination of ibrutinib and AS-605240 represents a promising approach that warrants further in vivo evaluation in dogs, potentially bearing significant value for the treatment of human DLBCL.