A combined opposite targeting of p110δ PI3K and RhoA abrogates skin cancer

A combined treatment approach that targets both skin tumor cells and macrophages prevents tumor growth in malignant melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive and deadly skin cancer with an increasing incidence worldwide whereas SCC is the second most common non-melanoma human skin cancer with limited treatment options.

Here we show that the development and metastasis of melanoma and SCC cancers can be blocked by a combined opposite targeting of RhoA and p110δ PI3K.

We found that a targeted induction of RhoA activity into tumours by deletion of p190RhoGAP-a potent inhibitor of RhoA GTPase-in tumour cells together with adoptive macrophages transfer from δ^D910A/D910A mice in mice bearing tumours with active RhoA abrogated growth progression of melanoma and SCC tumours.

Τhe efficacy of this combined treatment is the same in tumours lacking activating mutations in BRAF and in tumours harbouring the most frequent BRAF(V600E) mutation.

Furthermore, the efficiency of this combined treatment is associated with decreased ATX expression in tumour cells and tumour stroma bypassing a positive feedback expression of ATX induced by direct ATX pharmacological inactivation.

Together, our findings highlight the importance of targeting cancer cells and macrophages for skin cancer therapy, emerge a reverse link between ATX and RhoA and illustrate the benefit of p110δ PI3K inhibition as a combinatorial regimen for the treatment of skin cancers.