Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related fatalities. Recent success developing genotypically-targeted therapies, with potency only in well-defined subpopulations of tumors, suggests a path to improving patient survival. We utilized a library of oligonucleotide inhibitors to microRNAs, a class of post-transcriptional gene regulators, to identify novel synthetic lethal interactions between miRNA inhibition and molecular mechanisms in NSCLC. Two inhibitors, those for miR-92a and miR-1226*, produced a toxicity distribution across a panel of 27 cell lines that correlated with loss of p53 protein expression. Notably, depletion of p53 was sufficient to confer sensitivity to otherwise resistant telomerase-immortalized bronchial epithelial cells. We found that both miR inhibitors cause sequence-specific down-regulation of the miR-17~92 polycistron, and this down-regulation was toxic only in the context of p53 loss. Mechanistic studies indicated the selective toxicity of miR-17~92 polycistron inactivation was the consequence of derepression of vitamin D signaling via suppression of CYP24A1; a rate limiting enzyme in the 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 metabolic pathway. Of note, high CYP24A1 expression significantly correlated with poor patient outcome in multiple lung cancer cohorts. Our results indicate that the screening approach utilized in this study can identify clinically relevant synthetic lethal interactions, and that vitamin D receptor agonists may show enhanced efficacy in p53-negative lung cancer patients.

Host responses are increasingly considered important for the efficacious response to experimental cancer therapies that employ viral vectors, but little is known about the specific nature of host responses required. In this study, we investigated the role of host type I interferons (IFN-I) in the efficacy of virally delivered therapeutic genes. Specifically, we used a Semliki Forest virus encoding IL12 (SFV-IL12) based on its promise as an RNA viral vector for cancer treatment. Intratumoral injection of SFV-IL12 induced production of IFN-I as detected in serum. IFN-I production was abolished in mice deficient for the IFNβ transcriptional regulator IPS-1 and partially attenuated in mice deficient for the IFNβ signaling protein TRIF. Use of bone marrow chimeric hosts established that both hematopoietic and stromal cells were involved in IFN-I production. Macrophages, plasmacytoid, and conventional dendritic cells were each implicated based on cell depletion experiments. Further, mice deficient in the IFN-I receptor (IFNAR) abolished the therapeutic activity of SFV-IL12, as did a specific antibody-mediated blockade of IFNAR signaling. Reduced efficacy was not caused by an impairment in IL12 expression, because IFNAR-deficient mice expressed the viral IL12 transgene even more strongly than wild-type (WT) hosts. Chimeric host analysis for the IFNAR involvement established a strict requirement in hematopoietic cells. Notably, although tumor-specific CD8 T lymphocytes expanded robustly after intratumoral injection of WT mice with SFV-IL12, this did not occur in mice where IFNAR was inactivated genetically or pharmacologically. Overall, our results argued that the antitumor efficacy of a virally based transgene therapeutic relied strongly on a vector-induced IFN-I response, revealing an unexpected mechanism of action that is relevant to a broad array of current translational products in cancer research. Cancer Res; 75(3); 1–11. ©2014 AACR.

Host responses are increasingly considered important for the efficacious response to experimental cancer therapies that employ viral vectors, but little is known about the specific nature of host responses required. In this study, we investigated the role of host type I interferons (IFN-I) in the efficacy of virally delivered therapeutic genes. Specifically, we used a Semliki Forest virus encoding interleukin-12 (SFV-IL-12) based on its promise as an RNA viral vector for cancer treatment. Intratumoral injection of SFV-IL-12 induced production of IFN-I as detected in serum. IFN-I production was abolished in mice deficient for the IFN-β transcriptional regulator IPS-1 and partially attenuated in mice deficient for the IFN-β signaling protein TRIF. Use of bone marrow chimeric hosts established that both hematopoietic and stromal cells were involved in IFN-I production. Macrophages, plasmacytoid and conventional dendritic cells were each implicated based on cell depletion experiments. Further, mice deficient in the IFN-I receptor abolished the therapeutic activity of SFV-IL-12, as did a specific antibody-mediated blockade of IFNAR signaling. Reduced efficacy was not caused by an impairment in IL-12 expression, because IFNAR-deficient mice expressed the viral IL-12 transgene even more strongly than wild-type hosts. Chimeric host analysis for the IFNAR involvement established a strict requirement in hematopoietic cells. Notably, while tumor-specific CD8 T lymphocytes expanded robustly after intratumoral injection of WT mice with SFV-IL-12, this did not occur in mice where IFNAR was inactivated genetically or pharmacologically. Overall, our results argued that the antitumor efficacy of a virally based transgene therapeutic relied strongly on a vector-induced IFN-I response, revealing an unexpected mechanism of action that is relevant to a broad array of current translational products in cancer research.

Translation initiation factor eIF4E mediates normal cell proliferation, yet induces tumorigenesis when overexpressed. The mechanisms by which eIF4E directs such distinct biologic outputs remain unknown. We found that mouse mammary morphogenesis during pregnancy and lactation is accompanied by increased cap-binding capability of eIF4E and activation of the eIF4E-dependent translational apparatus, but only subtle oscillations in eIF4E abundance. Using a transgenic mouse model engineered so that lactogenic hormones stimulate a sustained increase in eIF4E abundance in stem/progenitor cells of lactogenic mammary epithelium during successive pregnancy/lactation cycles, eIF4E overexpression increased self-renewal, triggered DNA replication stress, and induced formation of premalignant and malignant lesions. Using complementary in vivo and ex vivo approaches, we found that increasing eIF4E levels rescued cells harboring oncogenic c-Myc or H-RasV12 from DNA replication stress and oncogene-induced replication catastrophe. Our findings indicate that distinct threshold levels of eIF4E govern its biologic output in lactating mammary glands and that eIF4E overexpression in the context of stem/progenitor cell population expansion can initiate malignant transformation by enabling cells to evade DNA damage checkpoints activated by oncogenic stimuli. Maintaining eIF4E levels below its proneoplastic threshold is an important anticancer defense in normal cells, with important implications for understanding pregnancy-associated breast cancer. Cancer Res; 75(4); 1–11. ©2014 AACR.

Carcinoma cells can transition from an epithelial-to-mesenchymal differentiation state through a process known as epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). The process of EMT is characterized by alterations in the pattern of gene expression and is associated with a loss of cell polarity, an increase in invasiveness, and an increase in cells expressing cancer stem cell (CSC) markers. The reverse process of mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) can also occur, though the transitions characterizing EMT and MET can be incomplete. A growing number of transcription factors have been identified that influence the EMT/MET processes. Interestingly, SUMOylation regulates the functional activity of many of the transcription factors governing transitions between epithelial and mesenchymal states. In some cases, the transcription factor is a small ubiquitin-like modifier conjugated directly, thus altering its transcriptional activity or cell trafficking. In other cases, SUMOylation alters transcriptional mechanisms through secondary effects. This review explores the role of SUMOylation in controlling transcriptional mechanisms that regulate EMT/MET in cancer. Developing new drugs that specifically target SUMOylation offers a novel therapeutic approach to block tumor growth and metastasis. Cancer Res; 75(1); 1–5. ©2014 AACR.