Cited by 771Melanoma and MAPK PathwaysCancer Cells and MetastasisCancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers

Toward Minimal Residual Disease-Directed Therapy in Melanoma

Open access
Rambow, Florian, Rogiers, Aljosja, Marin-Bejar, Oskar, Aibar, Sara, Femel, Julia, Dewaele, Michael, Karras, Panagiotis, Brown, Daniel +17 more·2018·Cell

Abstract

Many patients with advanced cancers achieve dramatic responses to a panoply of therapeutics yet retain minimal residual disease (MRD), which ultimately results in relapse. To gain insights into the biology of MRD, we applied single-cell RNA sequencing to malignant cells isolated from BRAF mutant patient-derived xenograft melanoma cohorts exposed to concurrent RAF/MEK-inhibition. We identified distinct drug-tolerant transcriptional states, varying combinations of which co-occurred within MRDs from PDXs and biopsies of patients on treatment. One of these exhibited a neural crest stem cell (NCSC) transcriptional program largely driven by the nuclear receptor RXRG. An RXR antagonist mitigated accumulation of NCSCs in MRD and delayed the development of resistance. These data identify NCSCs as key drivers of resistance and illustrate the therapeutic potential of MRD-directed therapy. They also highlight how gene regulatory network architecture reprogramming may be therapeutically exploited to limit cellular heterogeneity, a key driver of disease progression and therapy resistance.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.cell.2018.06.025

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  • In vivo models have shown similar drug-tolerant slow-cycling persister cells.

    “In vivo models have shown similar drug-tolerant slow-cycling persister cells.”
  • In melanoma, tumor cells treated with targeted therapy underwent a lineage transition to an undifferentiated mesenchymal cell state leading to drug tolerance and eventually resistance.

    “In melanoma, tumor cells treated with targeted therapy underwent a lineage transition to an undifferentiated mesenchymal cell state leading to drug tolerance and eventually resistance [48,80,81].”
  • Using the selective antagonist HX531 to target RXR signaling, a lower proportion of NCSC-like cells emerged upon MAPK inhibitor treatment, thus rendering melanomas more sensitive to treatment.

    “Using the selective antagonist HX531 to target RXR signaling, a lower proportion of NCSC-like cells emerged upon MAPK inhibitor treatment, thus rendering melanomas more sensitive to treatment [48].”
  • Applying single-cell RNA sequencing to BRAF-mutant patient-derived xenograft tumors treated with combination of RAF and ME inhibitors, Rambow et al. identified distinct drug-tolerant transcriptional states, including a neural crest stem cell-like (NCSC) transcriptional program largely driven by the nuclear receptor RXR.

    “Applying single-cell RNA sequencing to BRAF-mutant patient-derived xenograft tumors treated with combination of RAF and ME inhibitors, Rambow et al. identified distinct drug-tolerant transcriptional states, including a neural crest stem cell-like (NCSC) transcriptional program largely driven by the nuclear receptor RXR [48].”

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Authors
Rambow, F., Rogiers, A., Marin-Bejar, O., Aibar, S., Femel, J., Dewaele, M., Karras, P., Brown, D., Chang, Y. H., Debiec-Rychter, M., Adriaens, C., Radaelli, E., Wolter, P., Bechter, O., Dummer, R., Levesque, M., Piris, A., Frederick, D. T., Boland, G., Flaherty, K. T., van den Oord, J., Voet, T., Aerts, S., Lund, A. W., & Marine, J.-C.
Affiliations
  • VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology (BE)
  • VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research (BE)
  • Oregon Health & Science University (US)
  • KU Leuven (BE)
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • Universitair Ziekenhuis Leuven (BE)
  • University Hospital Zurich (CH)
  • Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
Corresponding author
Marine, Jean-Christophe
Venue
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-08
Volume
174
Issue
4
Pages
843-855.e19
ISSN
0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2884607428
Cited by
771
References
56
Citations by year
2026: 90 · 2025: 96 · 2024: 87 · 2023: 124 · 2022: 98 · 2021: 115 · 2020: 96 · 2019: 53 · 2018: 10
FWCI
24.36
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion)
  • Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion)
  • Lirias (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
Funders
  • Omics/Marie Curie@VIB
  • KUL GOA (14/012)
  • VLK
  • Interreg
  • Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Vlaanderen (G.0929.16N)
  • Swedish Research Council
  • OHSU Knight Cancer Center (NIH P30-CA069533)
  • Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (W81XWH-15-1-0348)
  • V Foundation for Cancer Research (V2015-024)
  • Cancer Research Institute
  • Melanoma Research Alliance
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Melanoma and MAPK Pathways
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Cells and Metastasis
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers
Keywords
minimal residual disease, melanoma, BRAF mutation, drug resistance, neural crest stem cells, retinoid X receptor, single-cell RNA sequencing, patient-derived xenografts, transcriptional heterogeneity
MeSH terms
Animals, Female, Humans, Male, Melanoma, Mutation, Tumor Cells, Cultured, Biomarkers, Tumor, Neoplastic Stem Cells, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Mice, SCID, Neoplasm, Residual, Drug Resistance, Neoplasm, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Protein Kinase Inhibitors, Retinoid X Receptor gamma, MAP Kinase Kinase 1, Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf, Neural Stem Cells

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