VISAGE Reveals a Targetable Mitotic Spindle Vulnerability in Cancer Cells
VISAGE Reveals a Targetable Mitotic Spindle Vulnerability in Cancer Cells
There is an unmet need for new antimitotic drug combinations that target cancer-specific vulnerabilities. Based on our finding of elevated biomolecule oxidation in mitotically arrested cancer cells, we combined Plk1 inhibitors with TH588, an MTH1 inhibitor that prevents detoxification of oxidized nucleotide triphosphates. This combination showed robust synergistic killing of cancer, but not normal, cells that, surprisingly, was MTH1-independent. To dissect the underlying synergistic mechanism, we developed VISAGE, a strategy integrating experimental synergy quantification with computational-pathway-based gene expression analysis. VISAGE predicted, and we experimentally confirmed, that this synergistic combination treatment targeted the mitotic spindle. Specifically, TH588 binding to β-tubulin impaired microtubule assembly, which when combined with Plk1 blockade, synergistically disrupted mitotic chromosome positioning to the spindle midzone. These findings identify a cancer-specific mitotic vulnerability that is targetable using Plk1 inhibitors with microtubule-destabilizing agents and highlight the general utility of the VISAGE approach to elucidate molecular mechanisms of drug synergy.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States
- Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research At MIT United States
- Paul Scherrer Institute Switzerland
- University of Basel Switzerland
Gene Expression Profiling, Computational Biology, Antineoplastic Agents, Cell Cycle Proteins, Drug Synergism, Spindle Apparatus, Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases, Growth Inhibitors, Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases, Polo-Like Kinase 1, DNA Repair Enzymes, Pyrimidines, Tubulin, Cell Line, Tumor, Neoplasms, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Humans, Molecular Targeted Therapy, Protein Binding
Gene Expression Profiling, Computational Biology, Antineoplastic Agents, Cell Cycle Proteins, Drug Synergism, Spindle Apparatus, Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases, Growth Inhibitors, Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases, Polo-Like Kinase 1, DNA Repair Enzymes, Pyrimidines, Tubulin, Cell Line, Tumor, Neoplasms, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Humans, Molecular Targeted Therapy, Protein Binding
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