Cotargeting a MYC/eIF4A-survival axis improves the efficacy of KRAS inhibitors in lung cancer

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Abstract

Despite the success of KRAS G12C inhibitors in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), more effective treatments are needed. One preclinical strategy has been to cotarget RAS and mTOR pathways; however, toxicity due to broad mTOR inhibition has limited its utility. Therefore, we sought to develop a more refined means of targeting cap-dependent translation and identifying the most therapeutically important eukaryotic initiation factor 4F complex–translated (eIF4F-translated) targets. Here, we show that an eIF4A inhibitor, which targets a component of eIF4F, dramatically enhances the effects of KRAS G12C inhibitors in NSCLCs and together these agents induce potent tumor regression in vivo. By screening a broad panel of eIF4F targets, we show that this cooperativity is driven by effects on BCL-2 family proteins. Moreover, because multiple BCL-2 family members are concomitantly suppressed, these agents are broadly efficacious in NSCLCs, irrespective of their dependency on MCL1, BCL-xL, or BCL-2, which is known to be heterogeneous. Finally, we show that MYC overexpression confers sensitivity to this combination because it creates a dependency on eIF4A for BCL-2 family protein expression. Together, these studies identify a promising therapeutic strategy for KRAS-mutant NSCLCs, demonstrate that BCL-2 proteins are the key mediators of the therapeutic response in this tumor type, and uncover a predictive biomarker of sensitivity.

Authors

Francesca Nardi, Naiara Perurena, Amy E. Schade, Ze-Hua Li, Kenneth Ngo, Elena V. Ivanova, Aisha Saldanha, Chendi Li, Prafulla C. Gokhale, Aaron N. Hata, David A. Barbie, Cloud P. Paweletz, Pasi A. Jänne, Karen Cichowski