A Targetable EGFR-Dependent Tumor-Initiating Program in Breast Cancer

Autor: Paul Savage, Alexis Blanchet-Cohen, Timothée Revil, Dunarel Badescu, Sadiq M.I. Saleh, Yu-Chang Wang, Dongmei Zuo, Leah Liu, Nicholas R. Bertos, Valentina Munoz-Ramos, Mark Basik, Kevin Petrecca, Jamil Asselah, Sarkis Meterissian, Marie-Christine Guiot, Atilla Omeroglu, Claudia L. Kleinman, Morag Park, Jiannis Ragoussis
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: Cell Reports, Vol 21, Iss 5, Pp 1140-1149 (2017)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2211-1247
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.10.015
Popis: Summary: Therapies targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have variable and unpredictable responses in breast cancer. Screening triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), we identify a subset responsive to EGFR inhibition by gefitinib, which displays heterogeneous expression of wild-type EGFR. Deep single-cell RNA sequencing of 3,500 cells from an exceptional responder identified subpopulations displaying distinct biological features, where elevated EGFR expression was significantly enriched in a mesenchymal/stem-like cellular cluster. Sorted EGFRhi subpopulations exhibited enhanced stem-like features, including ALDH activity, sphere-forming efficiency, and tumorigenic and metastatic potential. EGFRhi cells gave rise to EGFRhi and EGFRlo cells in primary and metastatic tumors, demonstrating an EGFR-dependent expansion and hierarchical state transition. Similar tumorigenic EGFRhi subpopulations were identified in independent PDXs, where heterogeneous EGFR expression correlated with gefitinib sensitivity. This provides new understanding for an EGFR-dependent hierarchy in TNBC and for patient stratification for therapeutic intervention. : Savage et al. demonstrate that sensitivity to EGFR inhibitor, gefitinib, in triple-negative breast cancer is paradoxically associated with EGFR heterogeneity. Using single-cell RNA sequencing in conjunction with functional assays, they identify TNBC tumors in which EGFR expression identifies cells with tumor-initiating capacity whose proliferative expansion is sensitive to EGFR inhibition. Keywords: breast cancer, tumor heterogeneity, patient-derived xenograft, single-cell RNA sequencing, EGFR inhibition, therapeutic response, tumor-initiating cell, cell hierarchy, BRCA1 mutation
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals