1. Academic Validation
  2. Senescent fibroblasts in the tumor stroma rewire lung cancer metabolism and plasticity

Senescent fibroblasts in the tumor stroma rewire lung cancer metabolism and plasticity

  • bioRxiv. 2024 Jul 30:2024.07.29.605645. doi: 10.1101/2024.07.29.605645.
Jin Young Lee 1 2 Nabora Reyes 1 2 Sang-Ho Woo 1 2 Sakshi Goel 3 Fia Stratton 3 Chaoyuan Kuang 3 Aaron S Mansfield 4 Lindsay M LaFave 3 Tien Peng 1 2 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine.
  • 2 Bakar Aging Research Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143.
  • 3 Albert Einstein Cancer Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461.
  • 4 Department of Oncology, Division of Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905.
  • 5 Lead contact.
Abstract

Senescence has been demonstrated to either inhibit or promote tumorigenesis. Resolving this paradox requires spatial mapping and functional characterization of senescent cells in the native tumor niche. Here, we identified senescent p16 Ink4a + cancer-associated fibroblasts with a secretory phenotype that promotes fatty acid uptake and utilization by aggressive lung adenocarcinoma driven by Kras and p53 mutations. Furthermore, rewiring of lung Cancer metabolism by p16 Ink4a + cancer-associated fibroblasts also altered tumor cell identity to a highly plastic/dedifferentiated state associated with progression in murine and human LUAD. Our ex vivo senolytic screening platform identified XL888, a HSP90 Inhibitor, that cleared p16 Ink4a + cancer-associated fibroblasts in vivo. XL888 administration after establishment of advanced lung adenocarcinoma significantly reduced tumor burden concurrent with the loss of plastic tumor cells. Our study identified a druggable component of the tumor stroma that fulfills the metabolic requirement of tumor cells to acquire a more aggressive phenotype.

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