Abstract 2992: Proteogenomic characterization of triple-negative breast cancer patient-derived xenografts reveals molecular correlates of differential chemotherapy response and potential therapeutic targets to overcome resistance
Authors: Lei Jonathan T. , Huang Chen , Srinivasan Ramakrishnan R. , Vasaikar Suhas , Dobrolecki Lacey E. , Lewis Alaina N. , Sallas Christina , Hilsenbeck Susan G. , Osborne C Kent , Rimawi Mothaffar F. , Ellis Matthew J. , Petrosyan Varduhi , Saltzman Alexander B. , Malovannaya Anna , Wulf Gerburg , Kraushaar Daniel C. , Wang Tao , Echeverria Gloria V. , Zhang Bing , Lewis Michael T. 
Published: July 2021

Background: Chemotherapy is essential for the management of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Identification of biomarkers that may indicate treatment efficacy will be critical to improve patient stratification prior to treatment. To elucidate molecular determinants underlying chemotherapy response, we conducted a proteogenomic study using TNBC patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) treated with chemotherapy.

Approach: 50 TNBC PDXs were treated with either docetaxel or carboplatin. Changes in tumor volume after 4 weeks from baseline were evaluated. Genomic, transcriptomic, and mass-spectrometry-based proteomic profiling were performed on baseline tumors prior to treatment to identify associations with chemotherapy response. Fisher's exact tests were used to test for significant enrichment of mutation and copy number events (p&lt;0.05). Gene Set Enrichment Analysis was performed for pathway analyses.

Results: At the DNA level, genomic aberrations in BRCA2 and BCL2 were enriched in carboplatin-responsive PDXs, while ARID1B aberrations were enriched in docetaxel-responsive PDXs. Gene-drug response correlations supported by both mRNA and protein-based measurements, but not mRNA or protein alone, for both carboplatin and docetaxel treatment in PDXs were associated with prognosis from basal and claudin-low human breast tumors in receipt of any chemotherapy from the METABRIC dataset. These data suggest that the combination of mRNA and protein data increased power to identify genes related to clinical outcome in TNBC. Some of the top genes overexpressed at both mRNA and protein levels in chemoresistant PDXs are targets of approved drugs, many of which have not been evaluated for their ability to augment response to taxane- or platinum-based chemotherapies. These genes are being investigated as therapeutic targets as well as markers of chemotherapy response. At the pathway level, both RNA and protein data associated models resistant to both agents with enhanced oxidative phosphorylation and translation regulation. Protein data further associated resistant models with elevated cytoplasmic ribosomal proteins. In contrast, both RNA and protein data associated tumors sensitive to both agents with genes involved in the E2F-Rb axis and cell cycle progression. Moreover, DNA mismatch repair and mRNA processing pathways were uniquely associated with carboplatin and docetaxel sensitivity, respectively, while amino acid metabolism and MAPK signaling pathways were uniquely associated with carboplatin and docetaxel resistance, respectively.

Conclusion: Taken together, proteogenomic analysis of PDX tumors identifies diverse genes and pathways associated with chemotherapy response and further suggests potential therapeutic opportunities in TNBC.

Citation Format: Jonathan T. Lei, Chen Huang, Ramakrishnan R. Srinivasan, Suhas Vasaikar, Lacey E. Dobrolecki, Alaina N. Lewis, Christina Sallas, Susan G. Hilsenbeck, C Kent Osborne, Mothaffar F. Rimawi, Matthew J. Ellis, Varduhi Petrosyan, Alexander B. Saltzman, Anna Malovannaya, Gerburg Wulf, Daniel C. Kraushaar, Tao Wang, Gloria V. Echeverria, Bing Zhang, Michael T. Lewis. Proteogenomic characterization of triple-negative breast cancer patient-derived xenografts reveals molecular correlates of differential chemotherapy response and potential therapeutic targets to overcome resistance [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 2992.