Systems analysis of apoptotic priming in ovarian cancer identifies vulnerabilities and predictors of drug response

Nat Commun. 2017 Aug 28;8(1):365. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00263-7.

Abstract

The lack of effective chemotherapies for high-grade serous ovarian cancers (HGS-OvCa) has motivated a search for alternative treatment strategies. Here, we present an unbiased systems-approach to interrogate a panel of 14 well-annotated HGS-OvCa patient-derived xenografts for sensitivity to PI3K and PI3K/mTOR inhibitors and uncover cell death vulnerabilities. Proteomic analysis reveals that PI3K/mTOR inhibition in HGS-OvCa patient-derived xenografts induces both pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic signaling responses that limit cell killing, but also primes cells for inhibitors of anti-apoptotic proteins. In-depth quantitative analysis of BCL-2 family proteins and other apoptotic regulators, together with computational modeling and selective anti-apoptotic protein inhibitors, uncovers new mechanistic details about apoptotic regulators that are predictive of drug sensitivity (BIM, caspase-3, BCL-XL) and resistance (MCL-1, XIAP). Our systems-approach presents a strategy for systematic analysis of the mechanisms that limit effective tumor cell killing and the identification of apoptotic vulnerabilities to overcome drug resistance in ovarian and other cancers.High-grade serous ovarian cancers (HGS-OvCa) frequently develop chemotherapy resistance. Here, the authors through a systematic analysis of proteomic and drug response data of 14 HGS-OvCa PDXs demonstrate that targeting apoptosis regulators can improve response of these tumors to inhibitors of the PI3K/mTOR pathway.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Apoptosis*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / metabolism
  • Systems Biology
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism
  • X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein / antagonists & inhibitors

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • MCL1 protein, human
  • Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein
  • X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein
  • XIAP protein, human
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases