The integrated stress response is tumorigenic and constitutes a therapeutic liability in KRAS-driven lung cancer.

Ghaddar N, Wang S, Woodvine B, Krishnamoorthy J, van Hoef V, Darini C, Kazimierczak U, Ah-Son N, Popper H, Johnson M, Officer L, Teodósio A, Broggini M, Mann KK, Hatzoglou M, Topisirovic I, Larsson O, Le Quesne J, Koromilas AE

Nat Commun 12 (1) 4651 [2021-07-30; online 2021-07-30]

The integrated stress response (ISR) is an essential stress-support pathway increasingly recognized as a determinant of tumorigenesis. Here we demonstrate that ISR is pivotal in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) development, the most common histological type of lung cancer and a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Increased phosphorylation of the translation initiation factor eIF2 (p-eIF2α), the focal point of ISR, is related to invasiveness, increased growth, and poor outcome in 928 LUAD patients. Dissection of ISR mechanisms in KRAS-driven lung tumorigenesis in mice demonstrated that p-eIF2α causes the translational repression of dual specificity phosphatase 6 (DUSP6), resulting in increased phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK). Treatments with ISR inhibitors, including a memory-enhancing drug with limited toxicity, provides a suitable therapeutic option for KRAS-driven lung cancer insofar as they substantially reduce tumor growth and prolong mouse survival. Our data provide a rationale for the implementation of ISR-based regimens in LUAD treatment.

PubMed 34330898

DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-24661-0

Crossref 10.1038/s41467-021-24661-0

pmc: PMC8324901
pii: 10.1038/s41467-021-24661-0