Inhibition of GPX4 enhances CDK4/6 inhibitor and endocrine therapy activity in breast cancer
CDK4/6 inhibition in combination with endocrine therapy is the standard of care for estrogen receptor (ER+) breast cancer, and although cytostasis is frequently observed, new treatment strategies that enhance efficacy are required. Here, we perform two independent genome-wide CRISPR screens to identify genetic determinants of CDK4/6 and endocrine therapy sensitivity. Genes involved in oxidative stress and ferroptosis modulate sensitivity, with GPX4 as the top sensitiser in both screens. Depletion or inhibition of GPX4 increases sensitivity to palbociclib and giredestrant, and their combination, in ER+ breast cancer models, with GPX4 null xenografts being highly sensitive to palbociclib. GPX4 perturbation additionally sensitises triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) models to palbociclib. Palbociclib and giredestrant induced oxidative stress and disordered lipid metabolism, leading to a ferroptosis-sensitive state. Lipid peroxidation is promoted by a peroxisome AGPAT3-dependent pathway in ER+ breast cancer models, rather than the classical ACSL4 pathway. Our data demonstrate that CDK4/6 and ER inhibition creates vulnerability to ferroptosis induction, that could be exploited through combination with GPX4 inhibitors, to enhance sensitivity to the current therapies in breast cancer.
Authors
- Wendy Sandoval (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4672-0762)
- Gerald M. Wilson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1273-7507)
- Oliver Hickman
- Márcia Regina da Costa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6273-4913)
- Jyoti S. Choudhary (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0881-5477)
- Rachel Brough (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1862-7130)
- Marc Hafner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1337-7598)
- WS Wong
- John Alexander (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3973-6501)
- Jessica Frankum
- Jingwen Guan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1759-2172)
- Ros Cutts
- Jason Yongsheng Chan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4801-3703)
- María Teresa Herrera-Abreu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6953-3919)
- Syed Aleem Haider (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6685-5480)
- Amanda Swain (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8666-1608)
- A. Biton
- Jessyka Fortin
- Nicholas C. Turner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8937-0873)
- Ciara Metcalfe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7233-661X)
- Usman Khalid (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6710-4686)
- Pirunthan Perampalam
- Theodoros I. Roumeliotis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3354-5643)
- Jian Ning (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0683-1924)
- Christopher J. Lord (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3226-0515)
- Jyothi Vijay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2389-708X)
- Qing Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4191-9596)
Institutions
- Institute of Cancer Research (GB)
- Breast Cancer Now (GB)
- Genesys (United States) (US)
- Roche (Canada) (CA)
- Royal Marsden Hospital (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-11-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53837-7
- Citations
- 23
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Breast Cancer Therapies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.64
Funders
- Cancer Research UK
- Imperial College London