Comprehensive molecular characterization of lung tumors implicates AKT and MYC signaling in adenocarcinoma to squamous cell transdifferentiation

TL;DR

This study identifies molecular pathways involved in lung cancer transdifferentiation, offering potential targets to prevent treatment resistance.

Contribution

First comprehensive molecular characterization of LUAD-to-LUSC transdifferentiation and identification of therapeutic targets.

Findings

LUSC transdifferentiation is driven by transcriptional reprogramming, not mutations.

PI3K/AKT and MYC pathways are consistently upregulated during transdifferentiation.

EZH1/2 inhibition combined with osimertinib prevents relapse in preclinical models.

Abstract

Lineage plasticity, the ability to transdifferentiate among distinct phenotypic identities, facilitates therapeutic resistance in cancer. In lung adenocarcinomas (LUADs), this phenomenon includes small cell and squamous cell (LUSC) histologic transformation in the context of acquired resistance to targeted inhibition of driver mutations. LUAD-to-LUSC transdifferentiation, occurring in up to 9% of EGFR-mutant patients relapsed on osimertinib, is associated with notably poor prognosis. We hypothesized that multi-parameter profiling of the components of mixed histology (LUAD/LUSC) tumors could provide insight into factors licensing lineage plasticity between these histologies.

We performed genomic, epigenomics, transcriptomics and protein analyses of microdissected LUAD and LUSC components from mixed histology tumors, pre-/post-transformation tumors and reference non-transformed LUAD and LUSC samples. We validated our findings through genetic manipulation of preclinical models in vitro and in vivo and performed patient-derived xenograft (PDX) treatments to validate potential therapeutic targets in a LUAD PDX model acquiring LUSC features after osimertinib treatment.

Our data suggest that LUSC transdifferentiation is primarily driven by transcriptional reprogramming rather than mutational events. We observed consistent relative upregulation of PI3K/AKT, MYC and PRC2 pathway genes. Concurrent activation of PI3K/AKT and MYC induced squamous features in EGFR-mutant LUAD preclinical models. Pharmacologic inhibition of EZH1/2 in combination with osimertinib prevented relapse with squamous-features in an EGFR-mutant patient-derived xenograft model, and inhibition of EZH1/2 or PI3K/AKT signaling re-sensitized resistant squamous-like tumors to osimertinib.

Our findings provide the first comprehensive molecular characterization of LUSC transdifferentiation, suggesting putative drivers and potential therapeutic targets to constrain or prevent lineage plasticity.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13045-021-01186-z.

Figures