TY - JOUR
AU - Xing, Yao Lulu
AU - Panovska, Dena
AU - Park, Jong-Whi
AU - Grossauer, Stefan
AU - Koeck, Katharina
AU - Bui, Brandon
AU - Nasajpour, Emon
AU - Nirschl, Jeffrey J
AU - Feng, Zhi-Ping
AU - Cheung, Pierre
AU - Habib, Pardes
AU - Wei, Ruolun
AU - Wang, Jie
AU - Thomason, Wes
AU - Monje, Michelle
AU - Xiu, Joanne
AU - Beck, Alexander
AU - Weber, Katharina
AU - Harter, Patrick N
AU - Lim, Michael
AU - Mahaney, Kelly B
AU - Prolo, Laura M
AU - Grant, Gerald A
AU - Ji, Xuhuai
AU - Walsh, Kyle M
AU - Mulcahy Levy, Jean M
AU - Hambardzumyan, Dolores
AU - Petritsch, Claudia K
TI - BRAF/MEK inhibition induces cell state transitions boosting immune checkpoint sensitivity in BRAFV600E-mutant glioma.
JO - Cell reports / Medicine
VL - 6
IS - 6
SN - 2666-3791
CY - Cambridge, MA
PB - Cell Press
M1 - DKFZ-2025-01212
SP - 102183
PY - 2025
N1 - 2025 Jun 17;6(6):102183
AB - Resistance to v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF) plus mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibition (BRAFi+MEKi) in BRAFV600E-mutant gliomas drives rebound, progression, and high mortality, yet it remains poorly understood. This study addresses the urgent need to develop treatments for BRAFi+MEKi-resistant glioma using preclinical mouse models and patient-derived materials. BRAFi+MEKi reveals glioma plasticity by heightening cell state transitions along glial differentiation trajectories, giving rise to astrocyte- and immunomodulatory oligodendrocyte (OL)-like states. PD-L1 upregulation in OL-like cells links cell state transitions to immune evasion, possibly orchestrated by Galectin-3. BRAFi+MEKi induces interferon response signatures, tumor infiltration, and suppression of T cells. Combining BRAFi+MEKi with immune checkpoint inhibition enhances survival in a T cell-dependent manner, reinvigorates T cells, and outperforms individual or sequential therapies in mice. Elevated PD-L1 expression in BRAF-mutant versus BRAF-wild-type glioblastoma supports the rationale for PD-1 inhibition in patients. These findings underscore the potential of targeting glioma plasticity and highlight combination strategies to overcome therapy resistance in BRAFV600E-mutant high-grade glioma.
KW - BRAF V600E (Other)
KW - BRAF and MEK inhibitor adaptation (Other)
KW - Galectin-3 (Other)
KW - T cell modulation (Other)
KW - cell state transitions (Other)
KW - high-grade glioma (Other)
KW - immune checkpoint inhibition (Other)
KW - programmed death-ligand 1 (Other)
LB - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6 - pmid:40505659
DO - DOI:10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102183
UR - https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/302014
ER -