Open AccessFibroblast Growth Factor 2 lethally sensitizes cancer cells to stress‐targeted therapeutic inhibitors
Author(s) -
Dias Matheus H.,
Fonseca Cecília S.,
Zeidler Julianna D.,
Albuquerque Layra L.,
Silva Marcelo S.,
CararoLopes Eduardo,
Reis Marcelo S.,
Noël Vincent,
Santos Edmilson O.,
Prior Ian A.,
Armelin Hugo A.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
molecular oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.332
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1878-0261
pISSN - 1574-7891
DOI - 10.1002/1878-0261.12402
Subject(s) - cancer research , cancer cell , biology , proteasome inhibitor , proteasome , bortezomib , cell growth , dna damage , cancer , mapk/erk pathway , synthetic lethality , programmed cell death , microbiology and biotechnology , signal transduction , immunology , dna repair , apoptosis , dna , biochemistry , genetics , multiple myeloma , gene
In malignant transformation, cellular stress‐response pathways are dynamically mobilized to counterbalance oncogenic activity, keeping cancer cells viable. Therapeutic disruption of this vulnerable homeostasis might change the outcome of many human cancers, particularly those for which no effective therapy is available. Here, we report the use of fibroblast growth factor 2 ( FGF 2) to demonstrate that further mitogenic activation disrupts cellular homeostasis and strongly sensitizes cancer cells to stress‐targeted therapeutic inhibitors. We show that FGF 2 enhanced replication and proteotoxic stresses in a K‐Ras‐driven murine cancer cell model, and combinations of FGF 2 and proteasome or DNA damage response‐checkpoint inhibitors triggered cell death. CRISPR /Cas9‐mediated K‐Ras depletion suppressed the malignant phenotype and prevented these synergic toxicities in these murine cells. Moreover, in a panel of human Ewing's sarcoma family tumor cells, sublethal concentrations of bortezomib (proteasome inhibitor) or VE ‐821 (ATR inhibitor) induced cell death when combined with FGF 2. Sustained MAPK ‐ ERK 1/2 overactivation induced by FGF 2 appears to underlie these synthetic lethalities, as late pharmacological inhibition of this pathway restored cell homeostasis and prevented these described synergies. Our results highlight how mitotic signaling pathways which are frequently overridden in malignant transformation might be exploited to disrupt the robustness of cancer cells, ultimately sensitizing them to stress‐targeted therapies. This approach provides a new therapeutic rationale for human cancers, with important implications for tumors still lacking effective treatment, and for those that frequently relapse after treatment with available therapies.