Abstract 3337: Inhibition of KIF18A leads to mitotic arrest and robust anti-tumor activity in chromosomally instable tumors
Authors: Lynes Maureen S. , Khan Sanjoy , Hotz Taylor , Sparling Brian A. , Zablocki Mary-Margaret , Gotur Deepali , Boriack-Sjodin P Ann , Duncan Kenneth W. , Blakemore Stephen J. , Silver Serena J. , Copeland Robert A. 
Published: March 2024

KIF18A is a plus-end directed kinesin known to play a role in mitosis by facilitating chromosome alignment and spindle microtubule dynamics. Knockdown or knockout of KIF18A has been shown to inhibit proliferation in cells with whole genome doubling or aneuploidy, cellular states characterized by chromosomal rearrangements. These alterations render cells particularly vulnerable to disrupted mitosis upon KIF18A loss. As such, KIF18A is a compelling target in a subset of tumors with chromosomal instability (CIN), which have ongoing chromosomal segregation defects. We have identified potent and selective small molecule inhibitors of KIF18A. A proprietary tool compound, ATX-21020, inhibits KIF18A ATPase activity with an IC50 of 14.5 nM; KIF18A is selectively inhibited over other kinesins including CENPE (IC50 &gt; 10 µM) and EG5 (IC50 5.87 µM). ATX-21020 exhibits robust cellular activity, with anti-proliferative activity observed in chromosomally instable ovarian cancer cell lines such as OVCAR-3 (IC50 53.3 nM) and OVCAR-8 (IC50 0.54 µM). Upon treatment with ATX-21020, Annexin V is robustly induced in sensitive cell lines, demonstrating that KIF18A-dependent cell lines undergo apoptosis upon KIF18A inhibition. In KIF18Ai sensitive cells, a dose-dependent upregulation of phospho-Histone H3 and gamma-H2AX is observed upon ATX-21020 treatment in OVCAR-3 and OVCAR-8 cells, consistent with the induction of mitotic arrest and DNA damage. In contrast, CIN negative Ovarian cancer cells that are insensitive to KIF18A loss, such as A2780 and OVK18, proliferate normally upon ATX-21020 treatment, and Annexin V, phospho-Histone H3, and gamma-H2AX are not induced. In sensitive cell lines, ATX-21020 induces a dose-dependent cell cycle arrest in G2/M, consistent with the role of KIF18A in facilitating mitosis. OVCAR-3 cells treated with ATX-21020 exhibit fragmented nuclei and malformed mitotic spindles, in contrast to A2780 cells where cell division is unaffected, suggesting that KIF18A is dispensable in CIN negative cells. This selective dependency is also observed in vivo, where administration of ATX-21020 leads to dose-dependent tumor growth inhibition in an OVCAR-3 cancer cell line-derived xenograft model, with significant tumor regression observed at 100 mpk/day. In contrast, OVK18 tumors are unaffected by ATX-21020 administration, as expected based on the lack of cell cycle and proliferation effects in that cell line. Together, these data demonstrate a critical role for KIF18A in facilitating mitosis in a subset of chromosomally instable cells. These effects are selective, with KIF18A-independent cell lines proceeding through the cell cycle normally in the presence of inhibitors. Small molecule inhibition of KIF18A is therefore expected to have robust efficacy in solid tumors with high levels of chromosomal instability such as Ovarian cancer.

Citation Format: Maureen S. Lynes, Sanjoy Khan, Taylor Hotz, Brian A. Sparling, Mary-Margaret Zablocki, Deepali Gotur, P Ann Boriack-Sjodin, Kenneth W. Duncan, Stephen J. Blakemore, Serena J. Silver, Robert A. Copeland. Inhibition of KIF18A leads to mitotic arrest and robust anti-tumor activity in chromosomally instable tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 3337.