Mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) rendering it constitutively active is one of the major causes for metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and EGFR-targeted therapies utilizing tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are often used clinically as the first-line treatment. But approximately half of NSCLC patients develop resistance to these therapies, where the MET proto-oncogene is amplified by EGFR through the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α. Here we report that endothelial PAS domain-containing protein 1 (EPAS1), with 48% sequence identity to HIF-1α, specifically binds to TKI-resistant T790M EGFR, but not to wild-type EGFR, in NSCLC cell lines. Expression of EPAS1 enhances amplification of MET when simultaneously expressed with T790M EGFR but not with wild-type EGFR, and this enhancement is independent of ligand binding domain of EGFR. MET amplification requires EPAS1, since EPAS1 knock-down reduced MET levels. When NSCLC cells expressing T790M EGFR were treated with TKIs, reduced EPAS1 levels significantly enhanced the drug effect, whereas over-expression of EPAS1 increased the drug resistant effect. This EPAS1-dependent TKI-resistance was abolished by knocking-down MET, suggesting that EPAS1 does not cause TKI-resistance itself but functions to bridge EGFR and MET interactions. Our findings suggest that EPAS1 is a key factor in the EGFR-MET crosstalk in conferring TKI-resistance in NSCLC cases, and could be used as a potential therapeutic target in TKI-resistant NSCLC patients.
Keywords: EGFR; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; EPAS1; EPAS1, endothelial PAS domain-containing protein 1; HIF)-1α., hypoxia-inducible factor; MET; NSCLC, non-small-cell lung cancer; TKI-resistance; TKIs, tyrosine kinase inhibitors; non-small cell lung cancer.