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RAC1B modulates intestinal tumourigenesis via modulation of WNT and EGFR signalling pathways.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Gudiño, Victoria 
Pohl, Sebastian Öther-Gee  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4294-9498
Billard, Caroline V 
Cammareri, Patrizia 
Bolado, Alfonso 

Abstract

Current therapeutic options for treating colorectal cancer have little clinical efficacy and acquired resistance during treatment is common, even following patient stratification. Understanding the mechanisms that promote therapy resistance may lead to the development of novel therapeutic options that complement existing treatments and improve patient outcome. Here, we identify RAC1B as an important mediator of colorectal tumourigenesis and a potential target for enhancing the efficacy of EGFR inhibitor treatment. We find that high RAC1B expression in human colorectal cancer is associated with aggressive disease and poor prognosis and deletion of Rac1b in a mouse colorectal cancer model reduces tumourigenesis. We demonstrate that RAC1B interacts with, and is required for efficient activation of the EGFR signalling pathway. Moreover, RAC1B inhibition sensitises cetuximab resistant human tumour organoids to the effects of EGFR inhibition, outlining a potential therapeutic target for improving the clinical efficacy of EGFR inhibitors in colorectal cancer.

Description

Keywords

Animals, Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological, Carcinogenesis, Cell Line, Tumor, Cetuximab, Colorectal Neoplasms, Drug Resistance, Neoplasm, ErbB Receptors, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Humans, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Knockout, Neuropeptides, Signal Transduction, Up-Regulation, Wnt Signaling Pathway, rac1 GTP-Binding Protein

Journal Title

Nat Commun

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2041-1723
2041-1723

Volume Title

12

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) (C26031/A11378, A26825, A21139, A17196)
Chief Scientist Office (CSO) (SCAF/16/01)
EC | EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020 | H2020 Priority Excellent Science | H2020 European Research Council (H2020 Excellent Science - European Research Council) (311301)