Invasion and metastasis increase after inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling in some preclinical tumor models. The present study asked whether selective VEGF inhibition is sufficient to increase invasion and metastasis and whether selective c-Met inhibition is sufficient to block this effect. Treatment of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in RIP-Tag2 mice with a neutralizing anti-VEGF antibody reduced tumor burden but increased tumor hypoxia, HIF-1α, and c-Met activation, and also increased invasion and metastasis. However, invasion and metastasis were reduced by concurrent inhibition of c-Met by PF-04217903 or PF-02341066 (crizotinib). Similar benefit was found in orthotopic Panc-1 pancreatic carcinomas treated with sunitinib plus PF-04217903 and in RIP-Tag2 tumors treated with XL184 (cabozantinib), which simultaneously blocks VEGF and c-Met signaling. These findings document that invasion and metastasis are promoted by selective inhibition of VEGF signaling and can be reduced by concurrent inhibition of c-Met.

Aging is the main risk factor for most chronic diseases, disabilities, and declining health. It has been proposed that senescent cells—damaged cells that have lost the ability to divide—drive the deterioration that underlies aging and age-related diseases. However, definitive evidence for this relationship has been lacking. The use of a progeroid mouse model (which expresses low amounts of the mitotic checkpoint protein BubR1) has been instrumental in demonstrating that p16Ink4a-positive senescent cells drive age-related pathologies and that selective elimination of these cells can prevent or delay age-related deterioration. These studies identify senescent cells as potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of aging and age-related diseases. Here, we describe how senescent cells develop, the experimental evidence that causally implicates senescent cells in age-related dysfunction, the chronic diseases and disorders that are characterized by the accumulation of senescent cells at sites of pathology, and the therapeutic approaches that could specifically target senescent cells.

Novel combinations targeting new molecular vulnerabilities are needed to improve the outcome of patients with acute myeloid leukemia. We recently identified WEE1 kinase as a novel target in leukemias. To identify genes that are synthetically lethal with WEE1 inhibition, we performed a short interfering RNA screen directed against cell cycle and DNA repair genes during concurrent treatment with the WEE1 inhibitor MK1775. CHK1 and ATR, genes encoding two replication checkpoint kinases, were among the genes whose silencing enhanced the effects of WEE1 inhibition most, whereas CDK2 short interfering RNA antagonized MK1775 effects. Building on this observation, we examined the impact of combining MK1775 with selective small molecule inhibitors of CHK1, ATR and cyclin-dependent kinases. The CHK1 inhibitor MK8776 sensitized acute myeloid leukemia cell lines and primary leukemia specimens to MK1775 ex vivo, whereas smaller effects were observed with the MK1775/MK8776 combination in normal myeloid progenitors. The ATR inhibitor VE-821 likewise enhanced the antiproliferative effects of MK1775, whereas the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor roscovitine antagonized MK1775. Further studies showed that MK8776 enhanced MK1775-mediated activation of the ATR/CHK1 pathway in acute leukemia cell lines and ex vivo. These results indicate that combined cell cycle checkpoint interference with MK1775/MK8776 warrants further investigation as a potential treatment for acute myeloid leukemia.

Accurate segregation of duplicated chromosomes between two daughter cells depends on bi-polar spindle formation, a metaphase state in which sister kinetochores are attached to microtubules emanating from opposite spindle poles. To ensure bi-orientation, cells possess surveillance systems that safeguard against microtubule-kinetochore attachment defects, including the spindle assembly checkpoint and the error correction machinery. However, recent developments have identified centrosome dynamics – that is, centrosome disjunction and poleward movement of duplicated centrosomes – as a central target for deregulation of bi-orientation in cancer cells. Here we review novel insights into the mechanisms that underlie centrosome dynamics and discuss how these mechanisms are perturbed in cancer cells to drive chromosome missegregation and advance neoplastic transformation.

Cyclin A2 activates the cyclin-dependent kinases Cdk1 and Cdk2 and is expressed at elevated levels from S phase until early mitosis. We found that mutant mice that cannot elevate cyclin A2 are chromosomally unstable and tumor-prone. Underlying the chromosomal instability is a failure to up-regulate the meiotic recombination 11 (Mre11) nuclease in S phase, which leads to impaired resolution of stalled replication forks, insufficient repair of double-stranded DNA breaks, and improper segregation of sister chromosomes. Unexpectedly, cyclin A2 controlled Mre11 abundance through a C-terminal RNA binding domain that selectively and directly binds Mre11 transcripts to mediate polysome loading and translation.These data reveal cyclin A2 as a mechanistically diverse regulator of DNA replication combining multifaceted kinase-dependent functions with a kinase-independent, RNA binding–dependent role that ensures adequate repair of common replication errors.