Article
作者: McSwain, Leon F ; Maybury, Mellissa ; Sivakumaran, Haran ; Ock, Lucy S H ; Hwang, Duhyeong ; Dismuke, Taylor ; Offenhäuser, Carolin ; D'Souza, Rochelle C J ; Edwards, Stacey L ; Malawsky, Daniel S ; Gershon, Timothy R ; Stein, Gregory ; Lim, Chaemin ; Harris, Lachlan ; Vukojević, Vladana ; Johns, Terrance G ; Terenius, Lars ; Alicea Pauneto, Coral Del Mar ; Sokolsky-Papkov, Marina ; Kesari, Santosh ; Piper, Michael ; Wainwright, Brandon ; Li, Yuchen ; Oasa, Sho ; Nair, Sneha ; Baumgartner, Ulrich ; Bruce, Zara C ; Tikunov, Andrey P ; Day, Bryan W ; French, Juliet D ; Hassall, Timothy
OLIG2-expressing tumor stem cells have been shown to drive recurrence in Sonic Hedgehog (SHH)-subgroup medulloblastoma (MB) and patients urgently need specific therapies to target this tumor cell population. Here, we investigate the therapeutic potential of the brain-penetrant orally bioavailable, OLIG2 inhibitor CT-179, using SHH-MB explant organoids, PDX and GEM SHH-MB models. We find that CT-179 disrupts OLIG2 dimerization, phosphorylation and DNA binding and alters tumor cell-cycle kinetics, increasing differentiation and apoptosis. CT-179 prolongs survival in SHH-MB PDX and GEM models and potentiates radiotherapy (RT) in vivo. Single cell transcriptomic studies (scRNA-seq) confirm that CT-179 increases differentiation and implicate Cdk4 up-regulation in maintaining proliferation during treatment. Consistent with CDK4 mediating CT-179 resistance, CT-179 combines effectively with the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib, further prolonging survival in vivo. These data support therapeutic targeting of OLIG2+ tumor stem cells in regimens for SHH-driven MB, to improve response, delay recurrence and ultimately improve MB patient outcomes.