Momcilovic, O. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2020

Oncogene Regulated Release of Extracellular Vesicles

Oncogenes can alter cellular structure, function, development and metabolism including changing the balance between anabolic and catabolic processes. However, how oncogenes regulate tumor cell biomass remains poorly understood. Using isogenic mammary breast epithelial cells transformed with a panel of ten oncogenes found commonly mutated, amplified or overexpressed in multiple cancers, we show that specific oncogenes reduce the biomass of cancer cells by promoting extracellular vesicle release. While MYC and AURKB elicited the highest number of EVs, each oncogene tested selectively altered the protein composition of released EVs. Likewise, miRNAs were differentially sorted into EVs in an oncogene-specific manner. MYC overexpressing cells require ceramide, while AURKB require ESCRT to release high levels of EVs. Finally, lysosome-associated genes are broadly downregulated in the context of MYC and AURKB, suggesting that cellular contents instead of being degraded, were released via EVs. Thus, oncogene mediated biomass regulation via differential EV release is a new metabolic phenotype which may have implications for cellular signaling and homeostasis.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2017

Kinome rewiring reveals AURKA is a molecular barrier to the efficacy of PI3K/mTOR-pathway inhibitors in breast cancer

Dysregulation of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling network is a prominent feature of breast cancers. However, clinical responses to drugs targeting this pathway have been modest. We hypothesized that dynamic changes in signaling, including adaptation and feedback, limit drug efficacy. Using a quantitative chemoproteomics approach we mapped dynamic changes in the kinome in response to various agents and identified signaling changes that correlate with drug sensitivity. Measurement of dynamics across a panel of breast cancer cell lines identified that maintenance of CDK4 and AURKA activity was associated with drug resistance. We tested whether incomplete inhibition of CDK4 or AURKA was a source of therapy failure and found that inhibition of either was sufficient to sensitize most breast cancer cells to PI3K, AKT, and mTOR inhibitors. In particular, drug combinations including the AURKA inhibitor MLN8237 were highly synergistic and induced apoptosis through enhanced suppression of mTOR signaling to S6 and 4E-BP1 leading to tumor regression in vivo. This signaling map identifies survival factors whose presence limits the efficacy of target therapy and indicates that Aurora kinase co-inhibition could unlock the full potential of PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway inhibitors in breast cancer.

cancer biology↗