TY - JOUR
T1 - Inhibiting nuclear phospho-progesterone receptor enhances antitumor activity of onapristone in uterine cancer
AU - Huang, Yan
AU - Hu, Wei
AU - Huang, Jie
AU - Shen, Fangrong
AU - Sun, Yunjie
AU - Ivan, Cristina
AU - Pradeep, Sunila
AU - Dood, Robert
AU - Haemmerle, Monika
AU - Jiang, Dahai
AU - Mangala, Lingegowda S.
AU - Noh, Kyunghee
AU - Hansen, Jean M.
AU - Dalton, Heather J.
AU - Previs, Rebecca A.
AU - Nagaraja, Archana S.
AU - McGuire, Michael
AU - Jennings, Nicholas B.
AU - Broaddus, Russell
AU - Coleman, Robert L.
AU - Sood, Anil K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 AACR.
PY - 2018/2
Y1 - 2018/2
N2 - Although progesterone receptor (PR)-targeted therapies aremodestly active in patients with uterine cancer, their underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood. The clinical use of such therapies is limited because of the lack of biomarkers that predict response to PR agonists (progestins) or PR antagonists (onapristone). Thus, understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms of action will provide an advance in developing novel combination therapies for cancer patients. Nuclear translocation of PR has been reported to be ligand-dependent or -independent. Here, we identified that onapristone, a PR antagonist, inhibited nuclear translocation of ligand-dependent or -independent (EGF) phospho-PR (S294), whereas trametinib inhibited nuclear translocation of EGF-induced phospho-PR (S294). Using orthotopicmousemodels of uterine cancer, we demonstrated that the combination of onapristone and trametinib results in superior antitumor effects in uterine cancer models compared with either monotherapy. These synergistic effects are, in part, mediated through inhibiting the nuclear translocationofEGF-inducedPRphosphorylation inuterine cancer cells. Targeting MAPK-dependent PR activation with onapristone and trametinib significantly inhibited tumor growth in preclinical uterine cancer models and is worthy of further clinical investigation.
AB - Although progesterone receptor (PR)-targeted therapies aremodestly active in patients with uterine cancer, their underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood. The clinical use of such therapies is limited because of the lack of biomarkers that predict response to PR agonists (progestins) or PR antagonists (onapristone). Thus, understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms of action will provide an advance in developing novel combination therapies for cancer patients. Nuclear translocation of PR has been reported to be ligand-dependent or -independent. Here, we identified that onapristone, a PR antagonist, inhibited nuclear translocation of ligand-dependent or -independent (EGF) phospho-PR (S294), whereas trametinib inhibited nuclear translocation of EGF-induced phospho-PR (S294). Using orthotopicmousemodels of uterine cancer, we demonstrated that the combination of onapristone and trametinib results in superior antitumor effects in uterine cancer models compared with either monotherapy. These synergistic effects are, in part, mediated through inhibiting the nuclear translocationofEGF-inducedPRphosphorylation inuterine cancer cells. Targeting MAPK-dependent PR activation with onapristone and trametinib significantly inhibited tumor growth in preclinical uterine cancer models and is worthy of further clinical investigation.
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U2 - 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-17-0006
DO - 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-17-0006
M3 - Article
C2 - 29237804
AN - SCOPUS:85041463891
SN - 1535-7163
VL - 17
SP - 464
EP - 473
JO - Molecular cancer therapeutics
JF - Molecular cancer therapeutics
IS - 2
ER -