Tumor Heterogeneity Underlies Differential Cisplatin Sensitivity in Mouse Models of Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Summary: Small-cell lung cancer is the most aggressive type of lung cancer, characterized by a remarkable response to chemotherapy followed by development of resistance. Here, we describe SCLC subtypes in Mycl- and Nfib-driven GEMM that include CDH1-high peripheral primary tumor lesions and CDH1-negative, aggressive intrapulmonary metastases. Cisplatin treatment preferentially eliminates the latter, thus revealing a striking differential response. Using a combined transcriptomic and proteomic approach, we find a marked reduction in proliferation and metabolic rewiring following cisplatin treatment and present evidence for a distinctive metabolic and structural profile defining intrinsically resistant populations. This offers perspectives for effective combination therapies that might also hold promise for treating human SCLC, given the very similar response of both mouse and human SCLC to cisplatin. : Böttger et al. show the presence of histologically and molecularly distinct sub-populations of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) in advanced mouse models. They demonstrate that the heterogeneity of SCLC is responsible for the differential sensitivity to cisplatin and identify metabolic circuitries that likely contribute to cisplatin resistance. Keywords: SCLC, mouse models, tumor heterogeneity, cisplatin, chemotherapy, RNA-seq, transcriptomics, mass spectrometry, proteomics