2. Academic Validation
  3. Multiomics characterization implicates PTK7 in ovarian cancer EMT and cell plasticity and offers strategies for therapeutic intervention

Multiomics characterization implicates PTK7 in ovarian cancer EMT and cell plasticity and offers strategies for therapeutic intervention

  • Cell Death Dis. 2022 Aug 17;13(8):714. doi: 10.1038/s41419-022-05161-5.
Juuli Raivola 1,  Alice Dini 1,  Hanna Karvonen 2,  Emilia Piki 1,  Kari Salokas 3,  Wilhelmiina Niininen 2,  Laura Kaleva 2,  Kaiyang Zhang 4,  Mariliina Arjama 5,  Greta Gudoityte 6,  Brinton Seashore-Ludlow 6,  Markku Varjosalo 3,  Olli Kallioniemi 5 6,  Sampsa Hautaniemi 4,  Astrid Murumägi 5,  Daniela Ungureanu 7 8 9
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Applied Tumor Genomics, Research Program Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
  • 2 Cancer Signaling, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33014, Tampere, Finland.
  • 3 Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
  • 4 Research Program in Systems Oncology, Research Program Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
  • 5 Institute for Molecular Medicine, FIMM, Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
  • 6 Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, 17121, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 7 Applied Tumor Genomics, Research Program Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland. [email protected].
  • 8 Cancer Signaling, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33014, Tampere, Finland. [email protected].
  • 9 Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, 90014, Oulu, Finland. [email protected].
PMID: 35977930 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-022-05161-5
Abstract

Most patients with ovarian Cancer (OC) are diagnosed at a late stage when there are very few therapeutic options and a poor prognosis. This is due to the lack of clearly defined underlying mechanisms or an oncogenic addiction that can be targeted pharmacologically, unlike Other types of Cancer. Here, we identified protein tyrosine kinase 7 (PTK7) as a potential new therapeutic target in OC following a multiomics approach using genetic and pharmacological interventions. We performed proteomics analyses upon PTK7 knockdown in OC cells and identified novel downstream effectors such as synuclein-γ (SNCG), SALL2, and PP1γ, and these findings were corroborated in ex vivo primary samples using PTK7 monoclonal antibody cofetuzumab. Our phosphoproteomics analyses demonstrated that PTK7 modulates cell adhesion and Rho-GTPase signaling to sustain epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell plasticity, which was confirmed by high-content image analysis of 3D models. Furthermore, using high-throughput drug sensitivity testing (525 drugs) we show that targeting PTK7 exhibited synergistic activity with chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel, Chk1/2 inhibitor prexasertib, and PLK1 Inhibitor GSK461364, among Others, in OC cells and ex vivo primary samples. Taken together, our study provides unique insight into the function of PTK7, which helps to define its role in mediating aberrant Wnt signaling in ovarian Cancer.

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