Person:

Kim, Carla

Adenosquamous lung tumours, which are extremely poor prognosis, may result from cellular plasticity. Here, we demonstrate lineage switching of KRAS+ lung adenocarcinomas (ADC) to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) through deletion of Lkb1 (Stk11) in autochthonous and transplant models. Chromatin analysis reveals loss of H3K27me3 and gain of H3K27ac and H3K4me3 at squamous lineage genes, including Sox2, ΔNp63 and Ngfr. SCC lesions have higher levels of the H3K27 methyltransferase EZH2 than the ADC lesions, but there is a clear lack of the essential Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) subunit EED in the SCC lesions. The pattern of high EZH2, but low H3K27me3 mark, is also prevalent in human lung SCC and SCC regions within ADSCC tumours. Using FACS-isolated populations, we demonstrate that bronchioalveolar stem cells and club cells are the likely cells-of-origin for SCC transitioned tumours. These findings shed light on the epigenetics and cellular origins of lineage-specific lung tumours.

SUMMARY Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide1. Chemotherapies such as the topoisomerase II inhibitor (TopoIIi) etoposide effectively reduce disease in a minority of NSCLC patients2,3; therefore, alternative drug targets, including epigenetic enzymes, are under consideration for therapeutic intervention4. A promising potential epigenetic target is the methyltransferase EZH2, which in the context of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) is well known to tri-methylate Histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27me3) and elicit gene silencing5. Here, we demonstrate that EZH2 inhibition (EZH2i) had differential effects on TopoIIi response of NSCLCs in vitro and in vivo. EGFR and BRG1 mutations were genetic biomarkers that predicted enhanced sensitivity to TopoIIi in response to EZH2i. BRG1 loss-of-function mutant tumors responded to EZH2i with increased S phase, anaphase bridging, apoptosis, and TopoIIi sensitivity. Conversely, EGFR and BRG1 wild-type tumors up-regulated BRG1 in response to EZH2i and ultimately became more resistant to TopoIIi. EGFR gain-of-function mutant tumors were also sensitive to dual EZH2i and TopoIIi, due to genetic antagonism between EGFR and BRG1. These findings suggest an exciting opportunity for precision medicine in the genetically complex disease of NSCLC.

Non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), the most common lung cancers, are known to have diverse pathological features. During the past decade, in-depth analyses of lung cancer genomes and signalling pathways have further defined NSCLCs as a group of distinct diseases with genetic and cellular heterogeneity. Consequently, an impressive list of potential therapeutic targets was unveiled, drastically altering the clinical evaluation and treatment of patients. Many targeted therapies have been developed with compelling clinical proofs of concept; however, treatment responses are typically short-lived. Further studies of the tumour microenvironment have uncovered new possible avenues to control this deadly disease, including immunotherapy.