Cited by 639Melanoma and MAPK PathwaysLung Cancer Treatments and MutationsColorectal Cancer Treatments and Studies

Low MITF/AXL ratio predicts early resistance to multiple targeted drugs in melanoma

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Müller, Judith, Krijgsman, Oscar, Tsoi, Jennifer, Robert, Lidia, Hugo, Willy, Song, Chunying, Kong, Xiangju, Possik, Patricia A. +11 more·2014·Nature Communications

Abstract

Increased expression of the Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) contributes to melanoma progression and resistance to BRAF pathway inhibition. Here we show that the lack of MITF is associated with more severe resistance to a range of inhibitors, while its presence is required for robust drug responses. Both in primary and acquired resistance, MITF levels inversely correlate with the expression of several activated receptor tyrosine kinases, most frequently AXL. The MITF-low/AXL-high/drug-resistance phenotype is common among mutant BRAF and NRAS melanoma cell lines. The dichotomous behaviour of MITF in drug response is corroborated in vemurafenib-resistant biopsies, including MITF-high and -low clones in a relapsed patient. Furthermore, drug cocktails containing AXL inhibitor enhance melanoma cell elimination by BRAF or ERK inhibition. Our results demonstrate that a low MITF/AXL ratio predicts early resistance to multiple targeted drugs, and warrant clinical validation of AXL inhibitors to combat resistance of BRAF and NRAS mutant MITF-low melanomas.

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  • In melanoma, core regulators of neural crest lineage, MITF and SOX10, regulate the emergence of distinct cell states associated with drug tolerance establishment after treatment.

    “In melanoma, core regulators of neural crest lineage, MITF and SOX10, regulate the emergence of distinct cell states associated with drug tolerance establishment after treatment [61,82,83,84].”

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Authors
Müller, J., Krijgsman, O., Tsoi, J., Robert, L., Hugo, W., Song, C., Kong, X., Possik, P. A., Cornelissen-Steijger, P. D. M., Foppen, M. H. G., Kemper, K., Goding, C. R., McDermott, U., Blank, C., Haanen, J., Graeber, T. G., Ribas, A., Lo, R. S., & Peeper, D. S.
Affiliations
  • The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NL)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • University of Oxford (GB)
  • Wellcome Sanger Institute (GB)
  • California NanoSystems Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Peeper, Daniel S.
Venue
Nature Communications
Published
2014-12-15
Volume
5
Issue
1
Pages
5712-5712
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2052005627
Cited by
639
References
56
Citations by year
2026: 34 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 65 · 2021: 70 · 2020: 86 · 2019: 71 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 56 · 2016: 43 · 2015: 21 · 2012: 2
FWCI
16.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Communications (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • American Cancer Society (UL1TR000124, RSG‐12‐257‐01‐TBE)
  • Melanoma Research Alliance (20120279)
  • Universiteit Leiden
  • KWF Kankerbestrijding
  • Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum
  • National Institutes of Health (UL1TR000124)
  • National Cancer Institute (P01CA168585, R01CA176111)
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
  • Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of California, Los Angeles (UL1TR000124)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Melanoma and MAPK Pathways
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Lung Cancer Treatments and Mutations
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Colorectal Cancer Treatments and Studies
Keywords
MITF, AXL, melanoma, drug resistance, BRAF inhibitors, vemurafenib, NRAS, receptor tyrosine kinase, kinase inhibitor resistance, AXL inhibitor, predictive biomarkers
MeSH terms
Imatinib Mesylate, Vemurafenib, Axl Receptor Tyrosine Kinase, Aminopyridines, Animals, Antineoplastic Agents, Benzamides, Humans, Imidazoles, Indoles, Melanoma, Oximes, Piperazines, Prognosis, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Pyridones, Pyrimidines, Pyrimidinones, Skin Neoplasms, Sulfonamides, Signal Transduction, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Drug Resistance, Neoplasm, Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Cell Line, Tumor, Protein Kinase Inhibitors, Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases, Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf, Mice, Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor

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