Abstract 3329: Efficacy of EGFR/PI3K signaling inhibition is enhanced with LSD1 inhibition in glioblastoma stem cell (GSC) models
Authors: Stitzlein Lea , Luetzen Matthew , McCabe Caitlin , Khosla Maninder , Singh Melissa , Su Xiaoping , Lu Yue , Gumin Joy , Lang Frederick , Whitehead Christopher , Sebolt-Leopold Judith , Chandra Joya 
Published: June 2022

Mutated and dysregulated protein kinases, such as EGFR and PI3K, have become major targets in cancer therapy due to the growth advantage they confer and the frequency of alterations. In glioblastoma (GBM), EGFR and PI3K are two of the most mutated genes and result in hyperactivation of these kinases. However, single agent inhibition has offered minimal success, largely due to the development of resistance from compensatory downstream signaling pathways. One strategy to circumvent resistance and improve efficacy in GBM is to use combination therapy, such as concurrent inhibition of EGFR or PI3K with inhibition of relevant epigenetic modulators. In GBM, lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) is an important epigenetic regulator that has shown to promote kinase signaling in cancer models. Therefore, the present study sought to define the relationship between the EGFR/PI3K signaling pathway and LSD1 and to evaluate the efficacy of co-inhibition of EGFR/PI3K and LSD1 in GBM.Transcriptional changes were examined following knockdown of LSD1 in isogenic human GBM cells using RNA-seq. These data were analyzed by GSEA to evaluate biological processes associated with the LSD1 expression. We identified several kinase signaling processes that were enriched in GBM cells with wild type LSD1 such as gene sets for regulation of PI3K activity, RTK binding, and transmembrane RTK activity. The effect of kinase inhibition on LSD1 expression was assessed using western blot analysis. We also evaluated the effects of LSD1 inhibition on expression of downstream kinase signaling proteins. Three kinase inhibitors directed against either EGFR or PI3K were evaluated in GSCs as single agents and in combination with LSD1 inhibitors. The three kinase inhibitors, osimertinib, erlotinib, and BKM120, all have evidence of some brain penetrance. We also evaluated a novel dual kinase inhibitor, MTX-241, which targets both EGFR and PI3K simultaneously. Five LSD1 inhibitors were assessed for their ability to enhance efficacy of EGFR/PI3K inhibitors.Our results demonstrate that LSD1 protein expression can be modulated by stimulation of EGFR in patient-derived GSCs. We observed an increase in LSD1 protein expression following the addition of EGF in GSC 17 cells. The concurrent inhibition of EGFR/PI3K and LSD1 enhanced the in vitro efficacy compared to single agent, supporting convergence of kinase signaling and LSD1 dependent pathways. In fact, several treatment combinations of EGFR/PI3K inhibitors and LSD1 inhibitors resulted in synergistic effects in multiple GSC lines.In summary, our results highlight the need for effective therapy combinations that can reduce the population of GSCs and avoid the adaptive resistance that is typical of kinase inhibitors. Future studies will focus on evaluating the efficacy and tolerability of the most promising treatment combinations in vivo using orthotopic xenograft models of the GSCs.

Citation Format: Lea Stitzlein, Matthew Luetzen, Caitlin McCabe, Maninder Khosla, Melissa Singh, Xiaoping Su, Yue Lu, Joy Gumin, Frederick Lang, Christopher Whitehead, Judith Sebolt-Leopold, Joya Chandra. Efficacy of EGFR/PI3K signaling inhibition is enhanced with LSD1 inhibition in glioblastoma stem cell (GSC) models [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 3329.