Targeting PI3K, FGFR, CDK4/6 Signaling Pathways Together With Cytostatics and Radiotherapy in Two Medulloblastoma Cell Lines

• Main Authors: Monika Lukoseviciute, Henrietta Maier, Eleni Poulou-Sidiropoulou, Erika Rosendahl, Stefan Holzhauser, Tina Dalianis, Ourania N. Kostopoulou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-09-01
• Series: Frontiers in Oncology
• Subjects: childhood cancer; medulloblastoma (MB); targeted therapy; PI3K inhibitors; FGFR inhibitors; CDK4/6 inhibitors
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.748657/full

ObjectivesMedulloblastoma (MB) is treated with surgery and chemotherapy, with or without irradiation, but unfortunately >20% of the patients are not cured, and treatment comes with serious long-term side effects, so novel treatments are urgently needed. Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K), fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR), and cyclin-D kinases (CDK) play critical roles in cancer, and especially PI3K is crucial in MB, so here targeted therapies against them were explored.MethodsMB cell lines DAOY and UW228-3 were exposed to PI3K (BYL719), FGFR (JNJ-42756493), and CDK4/6 (PD-0332991) inhibitors, as single or combined treatments, and their viability, cell confluence, apoptosis, and cytotoxicity were examined. Moreover, the inhibitors were combined with cisplatin, vincristine, or irradiation.ResultsSingle treatments with FGFR, PI3K, or CDK4/6 inhibitors decreased viability and proliferation slightly; however, when combining two inhibitors, or the inhibitors with irradiation, sensitivity was enhanced and lower doses could be used. A more complex pattern was obtained when combining the inhibitors with cisplatin and vincristine.ConclusionsThe data suggest that combination treatments with PI3K, FGFR, and CDK4/6 inhibitors for MB could be beneficial and their use should be pursued further. Likewise, their combination with irradiation gave positive effects, while the addition of cisplatin and vincristine resulted in more complex patterns, which need to be investigated further.