Abstract A038: Epigenetic compound library screen of ovarian clear cell carcinoma cell line models identifies decreased cell viability following treatment with the Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib
Authors: Ma Yue , Dickson Kristie Ann , Field Natisha , Xie Tao , Tran Nham , Marsh Deborah Joy 
Published: March 2024

Ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) is a difficult to treat histological subtype of ovarian cancer, demonstrating resistance to standard chemotherapy. New approaches are required in order to identify compounds with the potential to target this tumor. OCCC are characterized by mutations in ARID1A and/or ARID1B (AT-rich interactive domain-containing proteins) that encode for members of the mammalian SWI/SNF (SWItch/Sucrose Non-Fermentable) chromatin remodeling complex. We have used an epigenetic library consisting of 160 compounds that targets epigenetic readers, writers, erasers, and transcriptional modulators, to screen seven OCCC cell line models (RMG1, JHOC5, OVTOKO, OVMANA, OVISE, OV207 and TOV21G) and three non-OCCC ovarian cancer cell line models (A2780, COV434 and OVCAR8). Cell lines were seeded in triplicate into 96-well plates and treated with all 160 compounds at both 5 µM and 0.5 µM, as well as with a DMSO vehicle control, for 72 hours. Following treatment, cell viability was determined using a MTS assay and each data point normalized to the DMSO control. Based on the results of viability assays, drugs were sought that preferentially targeted OCCC relative to non-OCCC cell lines. Drugs that increased cell proliferation in two or more of the OCCC lines were removed from the analysis, as were drugs that did not impact upon viability. Drug 152, ibrutinib, inhibited cell viability between 53 to 78% in 6 of the 7 OCCC cell lines at 5 µM, with an average inhibition of 64%. In non-OCCC cell lines, the average cell viability after treatment with 5 µM ibrutinib was 91% (range, 84 – 103%). Ibrutinib is a small molecule inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) that has been approved by the FDA for treatment of a number of hematological malignancies including mantle cell lymphoma, small lymphocytic lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. BTK functions in B-cell receptor signaling, regulating B cell proliferation and survival. Ibrutinib works by irreversibly blocking the kinase activity of BTK. Interestingly, ibrutinib binding sites are also present in other tyrosine kinases, including EGFR, raising the possibility of off-target effects that can function to decrease tumor cell viability. In addition to hematological malignancies, ibrutinib is being investigated in clinical trials for the potential to impact on solid tumors including non-small cell lung cancer, certain oesophagogastric carcinoma, advanced carcinoid and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, renal cell carcinoma and glioblastoma, including in some cases in combination with other therapeutic drugs including cisplatin, temozolomide and nivolumab. Following organoid drug testing, off-label use of ibrutinib in a patient with low-grade serous ovarian cancer has recently shown promising results. Research is on-going to determine the effectiveness of ibrutinib in pre-clinical models of OCCC, including analyses of the effectiveness of ibrutinib in ARID1A and ARID1B wild-type and mutant CRISPR-engineered isogenic cell line panels of OCCC.

Citation Format: Yue Ma, Kristie Ann Dickson, Natisha Field, Tao Xie, Nham Tran, Deborah Joy Marsh. Epigenetic compound library screen of ovarian clear cell carcinoma cell line models identifies decreased cell viability following treatment with the Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Ovarian Cancer; 2023 Oct 5-7; Boston, Massachusetts. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(5 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A038.