Synthetic lethality between VPS4A and VPS4B triggers an inflammatory response in colorectal cancer.

EMBO molecular medicine 2020 Feb 07

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Somatic copy number alterations play a critical role in oncogenesis. Loss of chromosomal regions containing tumor suppressors can lead to collateral deletion of passenger genes. This can be exploited therapeutically if synthetic lethal partners of such passenger genes are known and represent druggable targets. Here, we report that VPS4B gene, encoding an ATPase involved in ESCRT-dependent membrane remodeling, is such a passenger gene frequently deleted in many cancer types, notably in colorectal cancer (CRC). We observed downregulation of VPS4B mRNA and protein levels from CRC patient samples. We identified VPS4A paralog as a synthetic lethal interactor for VPS4B in vitro and in mouse xenografts. Depleting both proteins profoundly altered the cellular transcriptome and induced cell death accompanied by the release of immunomodulatory molecules that mediate inflammatory and anti-tumor responses. Our results identify a pair of novel druggable targets for personalized oncology and provide a rationale to develop VPS4 inhibitors for precision therapy of VPS4B-deficient cancers. © 2020 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.

Citation

Ewelina Szymańska, Paulina Nowak, Krzysztof Kolmus, Magdalena Cybulska, Krzysztof Goryca, Edyta Derezińska-Wołek, Anna Szumera-Ciećkiewicz, Marta Brewińska-Olchowik, Aleksandra Grochowska, Katarzyna Piwocka, Monika Prochorec-Sobieszek, Michał Mikula, Marta Miączyńska. Synthetic lethality between VPS4A and VPS4B triggers an inflammatory response in colorectal cancer. EMBO molecular medicine. 2020 Feb 07;12(2):e10812