Targeting β-catenin overcomes MEK inhibition resistance in colon cancer with KRAS and PIK3CA mutations

Background Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MEK 1/2) are central components of the RAS signalling pathway and are attractive targets for cancer therapy. These agents continue to be investigated in KRAS mutant colon cancer but are met with significant resistance. Clinical investigations have demonstrated that these strategies are not well tolerated by patients. Methods We investigated a biomarker of response for MEK inhibition in KRAS mutant colon cancers by LC-MS/MS analysis. We tested the MEK inhibitor in PIK3CA wild(wt) and mutant(mt) colon cancer cells. In addition, we tested the combinational effects of MEK and TNKS inhibitor in vitro and in vivo. Results We identified β-catenin, a key mediator of the WNT pathway, in response to MEK inhibitor. MEK inhibition led to a decrease in β-catenin in PIK3CA wt colon cancer cells but not in mt. Tumour regression was promoted by combination of MEK inhibition and NVP-TNS656, which targets the WNT pathway. Furthermore, inhibition of MEK promoted tumour regression in colon cancer patient-derived xenograft models expressing PIK3CA wt. Conclusions We propose that inhibition of the WNT pathway, particularly β-catenin, may bypass resistance to MEK inhibition in human PIK3CA mt colon cancer. Therefore, we suggest that β-catenin is a potential predictive marker of MEK inhibitor resistance.