The epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFR) is one of the most commonly activated oncoproteins in lung adenocarcinoma, glioblastoma and other cancers. The identification of cancer-associated EGFR mutants, and their predictive power to select patients for treatment with EGFR inhibitors including erlotinib and gefitinib, has led to a major advance in cancer treatment. The collaborative efforts of the Eck and Meyerson laboratories for the past seven years have focused on understanding the structure-function relationship of cancer-derived EGFR mutants with the overarching goal of improved targeted therapies for cancers bearing these mutations. Refinement of our understanding of the mechanisms of action of mutant EGFR, and the spectrum of response of specific mutants to EGFR inhibitors, will permit more efficient development and application of EGFR-directed therapies. In this renewal, we will undertake the following Specific Aims:
Aim 1) Characterize the response of novel EGFR mutants, identified by genomic studies, to low- molecular weight ATP-competitive enzymatic inhibitors and to antibody therapies, Aim 2) Perform structural and functional studies of the exon 20 insertion mutants of EGFR, which are resistant to gefitinib, erlotinib and cetuximab, to ascertain potential therapeutic approaches, and Aim 3) Analyze the substrate specificity of wild- type and cancer-derived EGFR mutants through peptide library array experiments, mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomics, and crystal structure determination. Execution of these aims will help define the pathogenesis of EGFR-driven tumors and will thus provide a critically important mechanistic foundation for clinical trias targeting EGFR in a variety of cancer types using known agents. Additionally, our efforts will structural and mechanistic foundation for development of next-generation EGFR inhibitors that can be effective in patients whose tumors carry EGFR mutants that are resistant to currently available inhibitors.

Public Health Relevance

Mutations in the EGFR gene are a frequent cause of lung cancer, especially in non-smokers. Many different mutations have been identified, and lung cancers cause by some of these EGFR mutations respond to specific drugs such as erlotinib and gefitinib while others do not. The long term goal of our research is to understand why some EGFR mutant cancers are drug resistant, and to lay the foundations for development of drugs to target these resistant tumors.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
4R01CA116020-10
Application #
9031063
Study Section
Basic Mechanisms of Cancer Therapeutics Study Section (BMCT)
Program Officer
Forry, Suzanne L
Project Start
2005-07-01
Project End
2017-03-31
Budget Start
2016-04-01
Budget End
2017-03-31
Support Year
10
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Department
Type
DUNS #
076580745
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
Jang, Jaebong; Son, Jieun; Park, Eunyoung et al. (2018) Discovery of a Highly Potent and Broadly Effective Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor and HER2 Exon 20 Insertion Mutant Inhibitor. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 57:11629-11633
Kosaka, Takayuki; Tanizaki, Junko; Paranal, Raymond M et al. (2017) Response Heterogeneity of EGFR and HER2 Exon 20 Insertions to Covalent EGFR and HER2 Inhibitors. Cancer Res 77:2712-2721
Jia, Yong; Yun, Cai-Hong; Park, Eunyoung et al. (2016) Overcoming EGFR(T790M) and EGFR(C797S) resistance with mutant-selective allosteric inhibitors. Nature 534:129-32
Fischer, Eric S; Park, Eunyoung; Eck, Michael J et al. (2016) SPLINTS: small-molecule protein ligand interface stabilizers. Curr Opin Struct Biol 37:115-22
Begley, Michael J; Yun, Cai-hong; Gewinner, Christina A et al. (2015) EGF-receptor specificity for phosphotyrosine-primed substrates provides signal integration with Src. Nat Struct Mol Biol 22:983-90
Park, Eunyoung; Kim, Nayoung; Ficarro, Scott B et al. (2015) Structure and mechanism of activity-based inhibition of the EGF receptor by Mig6. Nat Struct Mol Biol 22:703-711
Francis, Joshua M; Zhang, Cheng-Zhong; Maire, Cecile L et al. (2014) EGFR variant heterogeneity in glioblastoma resolved through single-nucleus sequencing. Cancer Discov 4:956-71
Cho, Jeonghee; Bass, Adam J; Lawrence, Michael S et al. (2014) Colon cancer-derived oncogenic EGFR G724S mutant identified by whole genome sequence analysis is dependent on asymmetric dimerization and sensitive to cetuximab. Mol Cancer 13:141
Sharifnia, Tanaz; Rusu, Victor; Piccioni, Federica et al. (2014) Genetic modifiers of EGFR dependence in non-small cell lung cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111:18661-6
Yasuda, Hiroyuki; Park, Eunyoung; Yun, Cai-Hong et al. (2013) Structural, biochemical, and clinical characterization of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion mutations in lung cancer. Sci Transl Med 5:216ra177

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