Abstract 4990: High-throughput drug combination screening in tumor spheroids identifies context-dependent synthetic lethalities
Authors: Senkowski Wojciech , Nazir Madiha , Jarvius Malin , Rubin Jenny , Lengqvist Johan , Gustafsson Mats G. , Nygren Peter , Kultima Kim , Larsson Rolf , Fryknäs Mårten 
Published: July 2017

Monolayer, two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures have been a predominant in vitro model in anticancer drug discovery and high-throughput screening (HTS). However, 2D cultures of cancer cells lack numerous properties of in vivo tumors, such as tissue-like structure, cell-cell interactions and nutrient/oxygen gradients. Thus, in recent years there has been an increased interest in 3D cell cultures, such as multicellular tumors spheroids (MCTS), to address some of these limitations. Recently, we and others have applied MCTS for HTS and identified oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) as a selective vulnerability of quiescent cancer cells persisting in hypoxic and nutrient-deprived milieu. However, prolonged continuous exposure to OXPHOS inhibitors is necessary for the cytotoxic effect. Thus, there is a need to identify processes that could be co-targeted for enhanced anticancer activity. Here, we present two distinct HTS approaches to identify combination partner molecules for OXPHOS inhibitors. Since we were interested in targeting non-dividing nutrient-deprived cancer cells, we used quiescent MCTS (Q-MCTS), as an in vitro model. Cells in Q-MCTS experience glucose concentrations and pH similar to those observed in deep tumor parenchyma in vivo. In our first screening approach, we have applied high-throughput gene-expression profiling to study drug effects in MCTS at a large scale. Using L1000 Gene Expression Profiling method, we generated a dataset of over 1000 drug-induced gene-expression profiles and found that co-targeting of OXPHOS and the mevalonate pathway results in selective synergistic toxicity in quiescent cancer cells. In the other approach, we screened a library of 1650 biologically active compounds, with or without addition of the FDA-approved anthelmintic agent nitazoxanide (an OXPHOS inhibitor with high drug repurposing potential). After the screen, we selected molecules that demonstrated pronounced synergy when combined with nitazoxanide, but not when used alone. Then, we validated the hits in an extensive dose-response combination experiments in Q-MCTS and chose 14 compounds that demonstrated strong synergistic interaction with nitazoxanide at broad range of concentrations. These included antifungal agents, kinase inhibitors and others. In summary, we here report on novel approaches, utilizing 3D cell cultures, to identify drug combinations targeting quiescent cancer cells. By high-throughput gene-expression profiling and large-scale combinatorial drug screens, we were able to identify drug combinations preferentially toxic to quiescent cells. This work also demonstrates how 3D cell cultures yield functional insights that are not accessible through standard 2D cultures.

Citation Format: Wojciech Senkowski, Madiha Nazir, Malin Jarvius, Jenny Rubin, Johan Lengqvist, Mats G. Gustafsson, Peter Nygren, Kim Kultima, Rolf Larsson, Mårten Fryknäs. High-throughput drug combination screening in tumor spheroids identifies context-dependent synthetic lethalities [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4990. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4990