Abstract IA-06: Elucidation of metabolic resistance mechanisms to RAS inhibition
Authors: DeLiberty Jonathan M. , Robb Ryan , Roach Mallory K. , Ackermann Sarah E. , Yang Runying , Pieper Noah L. , Taylor Khalilah E. , Bang Scott , Baldelli Elisa , Petricoin Emanuel F. , Morris John P. , Stalnecker Clint A. , Bryant Kirsten L. 
Published: September 2024

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by KRAS- and autophagy-dependent growth. We previously determined that concurrent inhibition of autophagy, using the lysosomal inhibitor chloroquine (CQ), and of ERK, using a small molecule ERK inhibitor (ERKi), synergistically suppressed the growth of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cell lines and patient xenograft-derived (PDX) organoids in vitro and PDX tumors in vivo. Our findings provided the rationale for our initiation of Phase I and Phase I/II clinical trials evaluating the combination of MEKi (binimetinib; NCT04132505) or ERKi (LY3214996; NCT04386057) with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in PDAC. We have extended these findings and determined that the combined inhibition of KRASG12C or KRASG12D and autophagy was effective in KRAS-mutant cancers. Our ongoing studies are centered on developing additional combinations for targeting metabolic resistance mechanisms to KRAS or ERK MAPK targeted therapies. First, we performed a CRISPR/Cas-9 mediated genetic loss-of-function screen in the presence of CQ to determine additional sensitizers to autophagy inhibition. Top sensitizers included multiple facilitators of the DNA damage response, mTOR pathway components, and genes involved in the upstream regulation of the autophagy pathway. Additionally, we identified PIKfyve, a lipid kinase critical for the recycling dynamics of lysosomes, as an essential autophagy-related gene in PDAC cells. PIKfyve inhibition with apilimod resulted in a potent reduction of autophagic flux and growth. Importantly, PIKfyve inhibition blocked the compensatory increases in autophagic flux associated both with MEK inhibition and with direct RAS inhibition. Accordingly, combined inhibition of PIKfyve and either the RAS ERK-MAPK pathway or RAS itself showed robust growth suppression across a panel of KRAS-mutant PDAC models. Growth suppression was due, in part, to potentiated cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis following loss of IAP proteins. We conclude that concurrent inhibition of RAS and PIKfyve is a synergistic, cytotoxic combination that may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for PDAC. In a parallel line of investigation, we determined that autophagic signaling is temporally regulated following RAS pathway inhibition, peaking at 48-72 hours, and returning to basal levels by 7 days. Interestingly, we found that as autophagic upregulation subsides, another nutrient scavenging pathway, macropinocytosis, increases. We hypothesize that further dissection of the dynamic regulation of autophagy and macropinocytosis will improve current anti-nutrient scavenging treatment strategies. We conclude that concurrent suppression of multiple metabolic processes, to block compensatory rebound activities, will be needed for effective PDAC treatment.

Citation Format: Jonathan M. DeLiberty, Ryan Robb, Mallory K. Roach, Sarah E. Ackermann, Runying Yang, Noah L. Pieper, Khalilah E. Taylor, Scott Bang, Elisa Baldelli, Emanuel F. Petricoin III, John P. Morris IV, Clint A. Stalnecker, Kirsten L. Bryant. Elucidation of metabolic resistance mechanisms to RAS inhibition [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Advances in Pancreatic Cancer Research; 2024 Sep 15-18; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(17 Suppl_2):Abstract nr IA-06.