Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
College of Community Health Sciences, Alabama Life Research Institute, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
Oncogene. 2021 Sep;40(38):5691-5704. doi: 10.1038/s41388-021-01951-x. Epub 2021 Jul 30.
Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains a major cause of cancer-related deaths primarily due to its inherent potential of therapy resistance. Checkpoint inhibitors have emerged as promising anti-cancer agents when used in combination with conventional anti-cancer therapies. Recent studies have highlighted a critical role of the Greatwall kinase (microtubule-associated serine/threonine-protein kinase-like (MASTL)) in promoting oncogenic malignancy and resistance to anti-cancer therapies; however, its role in PC remains unknown. Based on a comprehensive investigation involving PC patient samples, murine models of PC progression (Kras;PdxCre-KC and Kras;p53;PdxCre-KPC), and loss and gain of function studies, we report a previously undescribed critical role of MASTL in promoting cancer malignancy and therapy resistance. Mechanistically, MASTL promotes PC by modulating the epidermal growth factor receptor protein stability and, thereupon, kinase signaling. We further demonstrate that combinatorial therapy targeting MASTL promotes the efficacy of the cell-killing effects of Gemcitabine using both genetic and pharmacological inhibitions. Taken together, this study identifies a key role of MASTL in promoting PC progression and its utility as a novel target in promoting sensitivity to the anti-PC therapies.
胰腺癌(PC)仍然是癌症相关死亡的主要原因,主要是由于其固有的治疗抵抗潜力。当与传统抗癌疗法联合使用时,检查点抑制剂已成为有前途的抗癌药物。最近的研究强调了壁激酶(微管相关丝氨酸/苏氨酸蛋白激酶样(MASTL))在促进致癌恶性肿瘤和对癌症疗法的耐药性方面的关键作用;然而,其在 PC 中的作用尚不清楚。基于涉及 PC 患者样本的全面调查、PC 进展的小鼠模型(Kras;PdxCre-KC 和 Kras;p53;PdxCre-KPC)以及功能丧失和获得研究,我们报告了 MASTL 在促进癌症恶性肿瘤和治疗耐药性方面的先前未描述的关键作用。从机制上讲,MASTL 通过调节表皮生长因子受体蛋白稳定性并由此调节激酶信号来促进 PC 的发生。我们进一步证明,针对 MASTL 的联合治疗通过遗传和药理学抑制作用促进了吉西他滨的细胞杀伤作用的疗效。总之,这项研究确定了 MASTL 在促进 PC 进展中的关键作用及其作为促进对 PC 治疗敏感性的新型靶标的效用。