Mechanisms Of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Research Articles

Abstract 1125: Elucidating the transcriptomic response to EGFR-targeted therapy in EGFR-driven glioblastoma

Abstract Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant brain tumor in adults with a dismal 15-month median survival. Standard therapy consisting of surgical resection, radiation, and temozolomide has been unsuccessful in meaningfully extending survival and preventing recurrence; thus, novel therapeutics are urgently needed. One proposed targeted treatment strategy for GBM involves using small molecule inhibitors against common genetic mutations. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is the most commonly overexpressed oncogene in GBM (~56%). While EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) have shown promise in other cancers, GBM clinical trials with EGFR TKI have failed. One reason for this failure is the development of adaptive therapeutic resistance. Understanding the mechanisms behind drug resistance is essential for the development of novel, effective therapeutics for GBM. To better understand adaptive resistance in GBM, we utilized two genetically engineered mouse astrocyte lines harboring common GBM mutations: Cdkn2a-/-, EGFRvIII (CEv3) and Cdkn2a-/-, Pten-/-, EGFRvIII (CEV3P). CDKN2A and PTEN are commonly deleted or otherwise inactivated tumor suppressor genes in GBM while the vIII variant of EGFR is the single most common oncogene mutation, making it an attractive therapeutic target. Cell lines CEv3 and CEv3P are both sensitive to neratinib, an irreversible second-generation EGFR TKI, at IC50 of 0.24μM and 0.13µM, respectively. To better understand adaptive response to neratinib treatment, we profiled the transcriptome with RNA sequencing at 0, 4, 24, and 48 hours. Our data shows that kinome rewiring is detectable after just 4 hours of treatment and sustained through 48 hours, with differential expression of 70% or more of the expressed kinome. We propose that differentially expressed kinases in response to neratinib can potentially activate alternative signaling pathways that bypass EGFR inhibition, which ultimately confers resistance to EGFR targeted therapy. Furthermore, we hypothesize that the epigenome is directly responsible for this adaptive kinome response through BRD4 dependent enhancer remodeling. Because dual therapy against EGFR and BRD4 has shown promising results in other cancers, targeting the epigenome through BRD4 represents a potential combination therapy with EGFR TKI in GBM. To profile BRD4-associated epigenomic changes, we used Cleavage Under Targets and Release Using Nuclease (CUT&RUN) to interrogate several regulatory marks (H3K4me1, K3K4me3, H3K27ac) in addition to BRD4. We seek to integrate RNA sequencing and CUT&RUN data to determine if kinases differentially expressed following neratinib treatment correlate with epigenetic marks for their respective enhancer(s). This work will provide insight into the adaptive resistance mechanism of EGFR driven GBM. Citation Format: Benjamin Lin, Julia Ziebro, Kasey R. Skinner, Abigail Shelton, Erin Smithberger, Ryan Bash, Frank B. Furnari, Ryan Miller. Elucidating the transcriptomic response to EGFR-targeted therapy in EGFR-driven glioblastoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1125.

Abstract 3028: STAT3 represses miR-145-5p to exacerbate HER3 expression for surviving EGFR-TKIs in lung cancers

Abstract HER3 exerts resistance against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), resulting in tumor relapse in lung cancers. Previously, we have demonstrated that EGFR induces HER3 overexpression and that contributes to the formation of cancer stem-like tumorspheres. However, the cellular mechanism of EGFR in regulating HER3 expression was obscure. We hypothesized that EGFR-downstream STAT3 participates in HER3 expression since STAT3 contributes to cancer stemness and surviving EGFR-TKIs. First, RNAseq was used to uncover the potential genes involving in formation of lung cancer HCC827-derived stem-like tumorspheres. EGFR-positive lung cancer cell lines (HCC827, A549, H1975) were individually treated with a panel containing 172 compounds which targeting to stem cell-associated genes in order to searching potential agents against EGFR-positive lung cancers. In addition, gene knockdown and RNAseq were used for investigating the molecular mechanism of STAT3 on regulating tumor progression and survival of lung cancers. We found that BBI608, a STAT3 inhibitor, was a potential therapeutic agent specifically reducing the cell viability of EGFR-positive lung cancers. Interestingly, the inhibitory effects caused by BBI608 were similar with that derived from YM155, an ILF3 inhibitor, both compounds reduced G9a-mediated HER3 expression. We, furthermore, demonstrated that STAT3 upregulated G9a to silence miR-145-5p for exacerbating HER3 expression in this study. In conclusion, this study figured out the potential cellular function of STAT3 in EGFR-positive lung cancers. We also evaluated that BBI608 was potential to eradicate EGFR-positive lung cancers and demonstrated that STAT3 regulated expression of HER3, indicating that STAT3 was a reliable therapeutic target against EGFR-TKI-resistant lung cancers. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Chun-Chia Cheng, Ya-Wen Chiang, Ken-Hong Lim, Jungshan Chang, Ai-Sheng Ho, Yi-Fang Chang. STAT3 represses miR-145-5p to exacerbate HER3 expression for surviving EGFR-TKIs in lung cancers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3028.

The mechanisms of EGFR in the regulation of axon regeneration

To understand the relationship between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and axon regeneration and the mechanisms of how EGFR regulates the neuronal intrinsic regenerative ability, we evaluated the levels of mRNA and protein of EGFR、total mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), p-mTOR(Ser2448) , total Akt and p-Akt(Ser473) in rats of different developmental stage by using Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Axon protein tau and neuron proteins β-tubulin/neurofilament (NF) were assessed to evaluate the extent of the axon regeneration in cultured neuron cells. Expressions of EGFR、total mTOR, p-mTOR(Ser2448) , total Akt and p-Akt(Ser473) in cultured neuron cells were also detected using Western blot analysis. Our results showed that the expressions of EGFR and mTOR dropped off with the ageing of the rats, and Ser473 phosphorylation of Akt and Ser2448 phosphorylation of mTOR were highly expressed in foetal and newborn rats but decreased obviously in adult rats. tau, β-tubulin and NF were upregulated when EGFR was overexpressed and down-regulated after EGFR was blocked. The phosphorylation of mTOR and Akt was apparently elevated when EGFR was overexpressed and decreased when EGFR was blocked, which suggested that EGFR has the potential to regulate the neuronal intrinsic regeneration and mTOR and PI3K/Akt pathway activation may have an important role in it.

Suppression of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibits Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition in Human Pancreatic Cancer PANC-1 Cells

Aberrant expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been detected in pancreatic cancer; however, the mechanisms of EGFR in inducing pancreatic cancer development have not been adequately elucidated. The objective of this study was to determine the role of EGFR in mediating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in pancreatic cancer cells. Pancreatic cancer cell line PANC-1 was transfected with small interfering RNA of EGFR by use of a lentiviral expression vector to establish an EGFR-knockdown cell line (si-PANC-1). PANC-1 cells transfected with lentiviral vector expressing negative control sequence were used as negative control (NC-PANC-1). Scratch assay and transwell study were used to analyze cell migration and invasion. Real-time PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the expression of EMT markers E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin, and fibronectin and transcription factors snail, slug, twist1, and sip1 in PANC-1, NC-PANC-1, and si-PANC-1 cells. Immunofluorescent staining with these antibodies and confocal microscopy were used to observe their cellular location and morphologic changes. After RNA interference of EGFR, the migration and invasion ability of si-PANC-1 cells decreased significantly. The expression of epithelial phenotype marker E-cadherin increased and the expression of mesenchymal phenotype markers N-cadherin, vimentin, and fibronectin decreased, indicating reversion of EMT. We also observed intracellular translocation of E-cadherin. Expression of transcription factors snail and slug in si-PANC-1 cells decreased significantly. Suppression of EGFR expression can significantly inhibit EMT of pancreatic cancer PANC-1 cells. The mechanism may be related with the down-regulation of the expression of transcription factors snail and slug.

Study and application of epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway in tamoxifen resistance of breast cancer

In clinical it has been demonstrated that a lot of malignant tumors exist over-expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) , and the phenomena in the breast cancer which is resistante to Tamoxifen(TAM-R) is associated with poor survival. It is very important to understand the underlying mechanisms of EGFR in the TAM-R breast cancer, and major efforts are now being made to overcome the condition.In some preclinical trials,it has been proved that mechanisms of tamoxifen resistance to endocrine therapy is associated with EGFR signaling activity in hormone-dependent breast cancer cells. There have been reports of the inhibitors to prevent EGFR signaling to treatment of the TAM-R breast cancer in clinical. However, the clinical data demonstrated that not all patients responded to the inhibitor therapy, indicating the existence of an intrinsic or de novo resistance to the drug, which is a new problem. Key words: Receptor,epidermal growth factor ; Estrogen receptor alpha ; Tamoxifen ; Trug resistance,neoplasm ; Protein-tyrosine kinases ;