Identification of CDC25 as a Common Therapeutic Target for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Publication date: 3 April 2018
Source:Cell Reports, Volume 23, Issue 1
Author(s): Jeff C. Liu, Letizia Granieri, Mariusz Shrestha, Dong-Yu Wang, Ioulia Vorobieva, Elizabeth A. Rubie, Rob Jones, YoungJun Ju, Giovanna Pellecchia, Zhe Jiang, Carlo A. Palmerini, Yaacov Ben-David, Sean E. Egan, James R. Woodgett, Gary D. Bader, Alessandro Datti, Eldad Zacksenhaus
CDK4/6 inhibitors are effective against cancer cells expressing the tumor suppressor RB1, but not RB1-deficient cells, posing the challenge of how to target RB1 loss. In triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), RB1 and PTEN are frequently inactivated together with TP53. We performed kinome/phosphatase inhibitor screens on primary mouse Rb/p53-, Pten/p53-, and human RB1/PTEN/TP53-deficient TNBC cell lines and identified CDC25 phosphatase as a common target. Pharmacological or genetic inhibition of CDC25 suppressed growth of RB1-deficient TNBC cells that are resistant to combined CDK4/6 plus CDK2 inhibition. Minimal cooperation was observed in vitro between CDC25 antagonists and CDK1, CDK2, or CDK4/6 inhibitors, but strong synergy with WEE1 inhibition was apparent. In accordance with increased PI3K signaling following long-term CDC25 inhibition, CDC25 and PI3K inhibitors effectively synergized to suppress TNBC growth both in vitro and in xenotransplantation models. These results provide a rationale for the development of CDC25-based therapies for diverse RB1/PTEN/TP53-deficient and -proficient TNBCs.

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Teaser

Liu et al. report that inhibition of the protein phosphatase CDC25 kills diverse triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. Moreover, CDC25 antagonists cooperate with other drugs, such as PI3K inhibitors, to efficiently suppress growth of human TNBC engrafted into mice.


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