Abstract C018: Targeting KRAS inhibitor resistance by ferroptosis induction in PDAC
Authors: Padhye Aparna , Yu Qijia , Sindoni Nicole , Zhang Huan , Dilly Julien , Feng Hanrong , Aguirre Andrew , Mancias Joseph 
Published: September 2024

KRAS inhibitors (KRASi) have shown promising antitumor activity in PDAC patients; however, intrinsic and acquired resistance will likely preclude durable monotherapy responses in the clinic. Genetic and pharmacologic targeting of the KRAS pathway is associated with transcriptional and metabolic adaptations, including epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and dysregulated iron homeostasis that contribute to resistance. Therapy resistant mesenchymal cancer cells have a high reliance on iron that increases their susceptibility to ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death characterized by generation of lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS). We hypothesize that KRASi resistance characterized by EMT can be overcome by ferroptosis induction in PDAC. Here, we use in vitro and ex vivo PDAC models and transcriptomic and proteomic profiling to define critical ferroptotic liabilities in KRASi-treated PDAC. First, we evaluated the effect of inhibiting different ferroptosis defense mechanisms (e.g. SLC7A11, GPX4, FSP1) using newly developed ferroptosis inducers (FINs) in a panel of epithelial and mesenchymal PDAC cells. Mesenchymal cells were more sensitive to ferroptosis induction compared to epithelial cells. Since ferroptotic death is regulated by multiple ferroptosis defense pathways, and in general PDAC are relatively resistant to ferroptosis induction, it is unlikely that a single ferroptosis inducer will be successful. Therefore, targeting multiple nodes with FINs in a combinatorial approach may lead to a more pronounced effect. Combination GPX4 and SLC7A11 inhibition and GPX4 and FSP1 inhibition were the most effective combinations compared to respective monotherapies. Next, we evaluated if combination of KRASi and ferroptosis induction is synergistic. Transcriptomic analysis of KRAS-mutant PDAC cell lines sensitive or with a priori resistance to KRASi revealed that EMT-related gene sets were upregulated in KRASi resistant cell lines. Quantitative proteomics revealed that PDAC cells treated long-term with KRASi undergo EMT and likewise long-term KRASi in in vivo PDAC models induces EMT. A KRASi-anchored CRISPR/Cas9 screen showed that sgRNAs targeting GPX4 dropped out in multiple cell lines indicating that ferroptosis induction may be synergistic upon KRAS inhibition. Remarkably, KRASi induced an increase of lipid peroxidation levels in PDAC cells which was rescued with antioxidant ferrostatin-1. We also observed that previously generated KRASi resistant cells were more sensitive to GPX4 inhibition. Combination of GPX4 inhibitor with KRASi led to a synergistic effect on cell viability and a significantly higher level of lipid peroxidation compared to monotherapy. These findings highlight the importance of investigating ferroptosis induction as a novel strategy to overcome therapeutic resistance in KRAS-mutant PDAC. We aim to further evaluate these combinations in vivo to determine the best combinatorial strategies in PDAC to prevent or circumvent KRASi resistance.

Citation Format: Aparna Padhye, Qijia Yu, Nicole Sindoni, Huan Zhang, Julien Dilly, Hanrong Feng, Andrew Aguirre, Joseph Mancias. Targeting KRAS inhibitor resistance by ferroptosis induction in PDAC [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 C018.