RESUMO
Drug-tolerance has emerged as one of the major non-genetic adaptive processes driving resistance to targeted therapy (TT) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the kinetics and sequence of molecular events governing this adaptive response remain poorly understood. Here, we combine real-time monitoring of the cell-cycle dynamics and single-cell RNA sequencing in a broad panel of oncogenic addiction such as EGFR-, ALK-, BRAF- and KRAS-mutant NSCLC, treated with their corresponding TT. We identify a common path of drug adaptation, which invariably involves alveolar type 1 (AT1) differentiation and Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK)-mediated cytoskeletal remodeling. We also isolate and characterize a rare population of early escapers, which represent the earliest resistance-initiating cells that emerge in the first hours of treatment from the AT1-like population. A phenotypic drug screen identify farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTI) such as tipifarnib as the most effective drugs in preventing relapse to TT in vitro and in vivo in several models of oncogenic addiction, which is confirmed by genetic depletion of the farnesyltransferase. These findings pave the way for the development of treatments combining TT and FTI to effectively prevent tumor relapse in oncogene-addicted NSCLC patients.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos , Farnesiltranstransferase , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/genética , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/tratamento farmacológico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , Humanos , Farnesiltranstransferase/antagonistas & inibidores , Farnesiltranstransferase/metabolismo , Farnesiltranstransferase/genética , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos/genética , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Animais , Camundongos , Vício Oncogênico/genética , Terapia de Alvo Molecular , Inibidores Enzimáticos/farmacologia , Inibidores Enzimáticos/uso terapêutico , Feminino , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de Xenoenxerto , Oncogenes/genética , Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , QuinolonasRESUMO
Liquid biopsy is a rapidly emerging field due to an increasing number of oncogenic drivers and a better understanding of resistance mechanisms to targeted therapies in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The sensitivity of the most widely used blood-based assays is, however, limited in particular in cases of low tumor volume where shed of tumor-derived material can be limited. A negative result thus requires biopsy confirmation using minimally invasive sampling procedures that can result in small specimens, which are often not suitable for genotyping. Liquid biopsy is not limited to plasma, and tumor DNA circulating in other body fluids such as urine, pleural fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, or cytology specimen-derived supernatant can be exploited. In comparison to cell blocks, these fluids in close contact to the tumor may contain a more abundant and less analytically demanding tumor DNA. In this review, we discuss the potential applications of circulating tumor DNA derived from cytology samples in NSCLC, from early stage (screening, nodule characterization) to metastatic disease.
