Loss of Pip4k2c confers liver-metastatic organotropism through insulin-dependent PI3K-AKT pathway activation
Menée à l'aide de modèles murins et de données portant sur 3 511 patients atteints d'un mélanome cutané, cette étude met en évidence un mécanisme par lequel la perte d'expression de la kinase Pip4k2c favorise le développement de métastases dans le foie via l'activation de la voie de signalisation PI3K-AKT dépendante de l'insuline
Liver metastasis (LM) confers poor survival and therapy resistance across cancer types, but the mechanisms of liver-metastatic organotropism remain unknown. Here, through in vivo CRISPR–Cas9 screens, we found that Pip4k2c loss conferred LM but had no impact on lung metastasis or primary tumor growth. Pip4k2c-deficient cells were hypersensitized to insulin-mediated PI3K/AKT signaling and exploited the insulin-rich liver milieu for organ-specific metastasis. We observed concordant changes in PIP4K2C expression and distinct metabolic changes in 3,511 patient melanomas, including primary tumors, LMs and lung metastases. We found that systemic PI3K inhibition exacerbated LM burden in mice injected with Pip4k2c-deficient cancer cells through host-mediated increase in hepatic insulin levels; however, this circuit could be broken by concurrent administration of an SGLT2 inhibitor or feeding of a ketogenic diet. Thus, this work demonstrates a rare example of metastatic organotropism through co-optation of physiological metabolic cues and proposes therapeutic avenues to counteract these mechanisms.