Abstract 2861: Collateral amplification KRAS-PTHrP drives pancreatic cancer growth and metastasis and reveals a new therapeutic vulnerability
Authors: Pitarresi Jason Robert , Norgard Robert J. , Chiarella Anna M. , Kremer Richard , Stanger Ben Z. , Rustgi Anil K. 
Published: July 2021

Purpose: Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related death in PDAC, yet very little is understood regarding the underlying biology. As a result, targeted therapies to inhibit metastasis are lacking. Whole-genome sequencing has established that the squamous/quasi-mesenchymal/basal-like PDAC subtype, which is characterized by its high metastatic proclivity, is annotated by KRAS gene amplification. Here, we report that the squamous lineage gene parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP encoded by PTHLH) is located directly adjacent to KRAS and is co-amplified in metastatic patients. We hypothesize that this collateral amplification of PTHrP may exert its own oncogenic and pro-metastatic phenotype beyond KRAS and set out to determine if this will confer a novel therapeutic vulnerability.

Methods: We generated a novel genetically engineered mouse model whereby we deleted the cytokine Pthlh in the autochthonous KPCY model. To functionally demonstrate the oncogenic and pro-metastatic roles of PTHrP, we further employed genetic deletion and pharmacological inhibition in orthotopic injection, tail vein metastasis assays, mouse hospital pre-clinical trials, and patient-derived 3D organoid models.

Results: In silico analysis established that PTHLH is co-amplified along with KRAS in TCGA, is specifically enriched in metastatic patients from the COMPASS trial and correlates with significantly decreased overall survival in both cohorts. Further examination revealed that PTHLH is a squamous/quasi-mesenchymal/basal-like lineage marker. We generated KPCY-PthlhCKO mice and showed that they have significantly reduced primary and metastatic tumor burden and dramatically increased overall survival relative to KPCY controls. In parallel experiments, we treated mice with an anti-PTHrP neutralizing monoclonal antibody, which similarly reduced primary and metastatic tumor growth. Finally, RNA-seq revealed a downstream mechanism whereby PTHrP is important for metastatic competency through induction of EMT, thus facilitating entry into the metastatic cascade. Loss of PTHrP reduced the ability of tumor cells to undergo EMT both in vivo and in vitro, resulting in a nearly complete elimination of disseminating cells in KPCY-PthlhCKO mice. Thus, KPCY-PthlhCKO tumors are locked in a well-differentiated epithelial state and are unable to initiate the metastatic process.

Conclusions: This work has demonstrated the importance of the previously unappreciated role for PTHrP signaling in pancreatic cancer cell plasticity and metastasis, and future studies will look to translate anti-PTHrP therapy into clinical trials. In a broader sense, we establish a new paradigm of collateral amplification, where an assumed passenger gene (PTHLH) is co-amplified along with a known oncogene (KRAS) and endows the evolving tumor with its own oncogenic and pro-metastatic phenotype.

Citation Format: Jason Robert Pitarresi, Robert J. Norgard, Anna M. Chiarella, Richard Kremer, Ben Z. Stanger, Anil K. Rustgi. Collateral amplification KRAS-PTHrP drives pancreatic cancer growth and metastasis and reveals a new therapeutic vulnerability [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2861.