FDA-approved drug screen identifies proteasome as a synthetic lethal target in MYC-driven neuroblastoma

Oncogene. 2019 Oct;38(41):6737-6751. doi: 10.1038/s41388-019-0912-5. Epub 2019 Aug 12.

Abstract

MYCN amplification in neuroblastoma predicts poor prognosis and resistance to therapy. Yet pharmacological strategies of direct MYC inhibition remain unsuccessful due to its "undruggable" protein structure. We herein developed a synthetic lethal screen against MYCN-amplified neuroblastomas using clinically approved therapeutic reagents. We performed a high-throughput screen, from a library of 938 FDA-approved drugs, for candidates that elicit synthetic lethal effects in MYC-driven neuroblastoma cells. The proteasome inhibitors, which are FDA approved for the first-line treatment of multiple myeloma, emerge as top hits to elicit MYC-mediated synthetic lethality. Proteasome inhibition activates the PERK-eIF2α-ATF4 axis in MYC-transformed cells and induces BAX-mediated apoptosis through ATF4-dependent NOXA and TRIB3 induction. A combination screen reveals the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (BTZ) and the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor vorinostat (SAHA) concertedly induce dramatic cell death in part through synergistic activation of BAX. This combination causes marked tumor suppression in vivo, supporting dual proteasome/HDAC inhibition as a potential therapeutic approach for MYC-driven cancers. This FDA-approved drug screen with in vivo validation thus provides a rationale for clinical evaluation of bortezomib, alone or in combination with vorinostat, in MYC-driven neuroblastoma patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Activating Transcription Factor 4 / metabolism
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Bortezomib / pharmacology
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism
  • Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-1 / metabolism
  • Genes, myc*
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays
  • Humans
  • Ku Autoantigen / metabolism
  • Neuroblastoma / drug therapy*
  • Neuroblastoma / enzymology
  • Neuroblastoma / pathology
  • Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex / drug effects*
  • Proteasome Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism
  • Repressor Proteins / metabolism
  • United States
  • United States Food and Drug Administration
  • Vorinostat / pharmacology
  • bcl-2-Associated X Protein / metabolism
  • eIF-2 Kinase / metabolism

Substances

  • ATF4 protein, human
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • BAX protein, human
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-1
  • Proteasome Inhibitors
  • Repressor Proteins
  • TRIB3 protein, human
  • bcl-2-Associated X Protein
  • eukaryotic peptide initiation factor-1A
  • Activating Transcription Factor 4
  • Vorinostat
  • Bortezomib
  • EIF2AK3 protein, human
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • eIF-2 Kinase
  • Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex
  • Ku Autoantigen