Identifying the druggable interactome of EWS-FLI1 reveals MCL-1 dependent differential sensitivities of Ewing sarcoma cells to apoptosis inducers.

Oncotarget
Authors
Abstract

Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is an aggressive pediatric bone cancer in need of more effective therapies than currently available. Most research into novel targeted therapeutic approaches is focused on the fusion oncogene , which is the genetic hallmark of this disease. In this study, a broad range of 3,325 experimental compounds, among them FDA approved drugs and natural products, were screened for their effect on EwS cell viability depending on EWS-FLI1 expression. In a network-based approach we integrated the results from drug perturbation screens and RNA sequencing, comparing EWS-FLI1-high (normal expression) with EWS-FLI1-low (knockdown) conditions, revealing novel interactions between compounds and EWS-FLI1 associated biological processes. The top candidate list of druggable EWS-FLI1 targets included genes involved in translation, histone modification, microtubule structure, topoisomerase activity as well as apoptosis regulation. We confirmed our results using viability and apoptosis assays, underlining the applicability of our integrative and systemic approach. We identified differential sensitivities of Ewing sarcoma cells to BCL-2 family inhibitors dependent on the EWS-FLI1 regulome including altered MCL-1 expression and subcellular localization. This study facilitates the selection of effective targeted approaches for future combinatorial therapies of patients suffering from Ewing sarcoma.

Year of Publication
2018
Journal
Oncotarget
Volume
9
Issue
57
Pages
31018-31031
Date Published
2018 Jul 24
ISSN
1949-2553
DOI
10.18632/oncotarget.25760
PubMed ID
30123424
PubMed Central ID
PMC6089552
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