Targeted therapies straight to the point or how to counter the defence of cancer cells in response to these therapies?

What signals do cancer cells send to prevent these therapies from working?

A targeted therapy is a therapy that prevents a specifically active signal in tumour cells. Our team is interested in inhibitors of PI3Ks, innovative targeted therapies for solid and liquid cancers. PI3Ks are proteins that are hyperactive in cancer and are present in several forms, called isoforms. In this study, which has just been published in the Journal of the American Association Against Cancer (AACR), we investigated the response of tumour cells to therapies targeting PI3Ks isoforms using comprehensive proteomics approaches. We validated a novel combination therapy in patient cell cultures that inhibits this tumour cell response and consequently increases the efficacy of PI3K inhibitors.

This work involved multiple collaborations in Toulouse, with the IPBS proteomics team, the IUCT-O biological resource centre, as well as with the laboratories of Dr Reichert in Munich, Dr Hirsch and Dr Cappello in Turin, and led to the defence of a thesis funded by the Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer.

Collaborations, acknowledgements and associated patents

This work was mainly funded by :

• National League against Cancer
• Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale

Associated patents

1: Guillermet-Guibert J*, Douche T, Mouton-Barbosa E, Schiltz O, Bousquet M, Cintas C WO2019101871-A1 New phosphopeptide useful for predicting sensitivity of cancer cells to p110-alpha and/or p110-gamma inhibitor, or treating cancer e.g. pancreatic cancer in mammals.

2: Guillermet-Guibert J*, Reichert M, Cintas C. WO2019073031-A1 Treatment of pancreatic cancer, particularly pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, by administering combination of p110alpha selective inhibitor and p110gamma selective inhibitor. Forcheur Jean-Marie Lehn International prize

One picture :

Réseaux de signalisation & Cancer – Illustration réalisée avec https://string-db.org/. J Guillermet-Guibert

Collaborations and acknowledgements