Identification of DHODH as a therapeutic target in small cell lung cancer
Authors list
Leanne Li Sheng Rong Ng Caterina I Colón Benjamin J Drapkin Peggy P Hsu Zhaoqi Li Christopher S Nabel Caroline A Lewis Rodrigo Romero Kim L Mercer Arjun Bhutkar Sarah Phat David T Myers Mandar Deepak Muzumdar Peter MK Westcott Mary Clare Beytagh Anna F Farago Matthew G Vander Heiden Nicholas J Dyson Tyler JacksAbstract
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive lung cancer subtype with extremely poor prognosis. No targetable genetic driver events have been identified, and the treatment landscape for this disease has remained nearly unchanged for over 30 years. Here, we have taken a CRISPR-based screening approach to identify genetic vulnerabilities in SCLC that may serve as potential therapeutic targets. We used a single-guide RNA (sgRNA) library targeting ~5000 genes deemed to encode "druggable" proteins to perform loss-of-function genetic screens in a panel of cell lines derived from autochthonous genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) of SCLC, lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Cross-cancer analyses allowed us to identify SCLC-selective vulnerabilities. In particular, we observed enhanced sensitivity of SCLC cells toward disruption of the pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway. Pharmacological inhibition of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), a key enzyme in this pathway, reduced the viability of SCLC cells in vitro and strongly suppressed SCLC tumor growth in human patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models and in an autochthonous mouse model. These results indicate that DHODH inhibition may be an approach to treat SCLC.
Journal details
Journal
Science Translational Medicine
Volume
11
Issue number
517
Pages
eaaw7852
Publication date
Full text links
Publisher website (DOI)
10.1126/scitranslmed.aaw7852
Europe PubMed Central
31694929
Pubmed
31694929
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