Biology subjects

Brun, S. N.

Publications and source records attributed to Brun, S. N..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

ULK1/2 Inhibitors that Degrade ATG13 Effectively Target KRAS-Mutant Cancers

KRAS mutations drive tumorigenesis in multiple cancer types, including lung and pancreatic cancer. Autophagy is a cell survival pathway that supports tumor growth under metabolic stress and has been proposed to be a potential therapeutic avenue specifically in KRAS mutant cancers. The Unc-51-like ATG-activating kinases 1 and 2 (ULK) initiate the earliest regulated steps of autophagy and are the only protein kinases in the canonical autophagy pathway, thus making them attractive therapeutic targets for KRAS mutant tumors. We show here that genetic depletion of ULK1 or ATG13, core components of the ULK1 complex, in KRAS mutant lung and pancreatic cancer cell lines results in growth inhibition. Previously, we developed small molecule ULK1 inhibitors that not only inhibit ULK kinase activity but also induced the degradation of other core members of the ULK complex including ATG101 and ATG13. Therefore, we developed a high-throughput screening (HTS) assay in which ATG13 was HiBiT-tagged in KRAS mutant lung cancer cells to evaluate ULK inhibitors for ATG13 degradation. Using this approach, we discovered a lead ULK inhibitor, SBP-1750, that potently inhibited ULK activity, promoted robust ATG13 degradation, impaired ATG, and induced KRAS mutant cancer cell death. Studies in a KRAS-mutant orthotopic syngeneic pancreatic cancer model show that oral treatment with SBP-1750 significantly reduced tumor growth. Pharmacokinetic analysis of SBP-1750 indicates favorable drug exposure and pharmacodynamic analysis confirms ATG13 degradation in vivo, mirroring in vitro results. Finally, immunohistochemical staining of orthotopic pancreatic tumors reveals a significant increase in CD4 and CD8 T cell infiltration upon treatment, suggesting that SBP-1750 enhances anti-tumor immunity. These findings support further development of SBP-1750 as a novel ATG-targeting cancer therapy.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Synthesis and Characterization of ULK1/2 Kinase Inhibitors that Inhibit Autophagy and Upregulate Expression of Major Histocompatibility Complex I for the Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Autophagy inhibition represents a promising therapeutic approach for the management of various cancers including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We previously reported SBP-7455, a dual inhibitor of unc-51-like kinase 1 (ULK1) and its homologue ULK2, and described its effects on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. Herein we report the design, synthesis, and characterization of SBP-5147 and SBP-7501, two new dual ULK1/2 inhibitors that are cytotoxic against NSCLC cells, inhibit autophagic flux in A549 cells, and present greater oral exposure than SBP-7455 at a lower dose. In addition, SBP-5147 effectively modulates autophagy and increases the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I in NSCLC cells, which may support the rationale for ULK1/2 inhibition as a strategy to overcome resistance to immunotherapy. Together these data support the use of ULK inhibitors as part of a cancer treatment strategy, both as a single agent as well as in combination with current therapies.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2021

The autophagy initiating kinase ULK1 is required for pancreatic cancer cell growth and survival

Amongst cancer subtypes, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) has been demonstrated to be most sensitive to autophagy inhibition, which may be due to unique metabolic rewiring in these cells. The serine/threonine kinase ULK1 forms the catalytic center of a complex mediating the first biochemical step of autophagy. ULK1 directly recieves signals from mTORC1 and AMPK to trigger autophagy under stress and nutrient poor conditions. Studies in genetic engineered mouse models of cancer have revealed that deletion of core downstream autophagy genes (ATG5, ATG7) at the time of tumor iniation leads to a profound block in tumor progression leading to the development of autophagy inhibitors as cancer therapeutics. However, most preclinical studies and all clinical studies have relied on non-specific lysomotropic agents such as chloroquine and its derivatives, whose toxicity and off-target issues preclude further clinical development and which do not represent the impact of solely biochemically disrupting the autophagy pathway. Furthermore, druggable targets in the core autophagy pathway are quite limited, with ULK1 and ULK2 representing the only protein kinases in the pathway. Here we explore the genetic requirement for ULK1 and ULK2 in human PDA cancer cell lines and xenografts, and take advantage of new small molecule ULK1 inhibitors to demonstrate that ULK inhibition can overcome autophagy induction triggered by PDA therapeutics including chemotherapy and MEK inhibition. Finally we show that ULK inhibitors increase MHC Class I in PDA cells, suggestion a potential therapeutic avenue for such agents in combination with checkpoint immunotherapy.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2020

HDAC3 regulates senescence and lineage-specific transcriptional programs in non-small cell lung cancer

Transcriptional deregulation is a common feature of many cancers, which is often accompanied by changes in epigenetic controls. These findings have led to the development of therapeutic agents aimed at broad modulation and reprogramming of transcription in a variety of cancers. Histone Deacetylase 3, HDAC3, is one of the main targets of HDAC inhibitors currently in clinical development as cancer therapies, yet the in vivo role of HDAC3 in solid tumors is unknown. Here, we define the role of HDAC3 in two genetic engineered models of the most common subtypes of Kras-driven Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), KrasG12D, STK11-/- (KL) and KrasG12D, p53-/- (KP), where we found that HDAC3 is strongly required for tumor growth of both genotypes in vivo. Transcriptional profiling and mechanistic studies revealed that HDAC3 represses p65 NF-{kappa}B-mediated induction of the Senescence Associated Secretory Program (SASP) and HDAC3 binds directly at the promoters of SASP CXC chemokines. Additionally, HDAC3 was found to cooperate with the lung cancer lineage transcription factor NKX2-1 to mediate expression of a common set of target genes. Leveraging observations about one HDAC3/NKX2-1 common target, FGFR1, we identified that an HDAC3-dependent transcriptional cassette becomes hyperactivated as Kras mutant cancer cells develop resistance to the MEK inhibitor Trametinib, and this can be rescued by treatment with the Class I HDAC inhibitor Entinostat. These unexpected findings reveal new roles for HDAC3 in proliferation control in tumors in vivo and identify specific therapeutic contexts for the utilization of HDAC3 inhibitors, whose ability to mechanistically induce SASP may be harnessed therapeutically.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Inhibition of CAMKK2 impairs autophagy and castration-resistant prostate cancer via suppression of AMPK-ULK1 signaling

Previous work has suggested androgen receptor (AR) signaling mediates cancer progression in part through the modulation of autophagy. Accordingly, we demonstrate that chloroquine, an inhibitor of autophagy, can inhibit tumor growth in preclinical mouse models of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). However, clinical trials testing chloroquine derivatives in men with CRPC have yet to yield promising results, potentially due to side effects. We hypothesized that identification of the upstream activators of autophagy in prostate cancer could highlight alternative, context-dependent targets for blocking this important cellular process during disease progression. Here, we used molecular (inducible overexpression and shRNA-mediated knockdown), genetic (CRISPR/Cas9), and pharmacological approaches to elucidate an AR-mediated autophagy cascade involving Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase 2 (CAMKK2; a kinase with a restricted expression profile), 5-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and Unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1 (ULK1). These findings are consistent with data indicating CAMKK2-AMPK-ULK1 signaling correlates with disease progression in genetic mouse models and patient tumor samples. Importantly, CAMKK2 disruption impaired tumor growth and prolonged survival in multiple CRPC preclinical mouse models. Finally, we demonstrate that, similar to CAMKK2 inhibition, a recently described inhibitor of AMPK-ULK1 signaling blocked autophagy, cell growth and colony formation in prostate cancer cells. Taken together, our findings converge to demonstrate that AR signaling can co-opt the CAMKK2-AMPK-ULK1 signaling cascade to promote prostate cancer by increasing autophagy. Further, we propose that an inhibitor of this signaling cascade could serve as an alternative, more specific therapeutic compared to existing inhibitors of autophagy that, to date, have demonstrated limited efficacy in clinical trials due to their toxicity and poor pharmacokinetics.

cancer biology↗