Biology subjects

Counter, C. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Counter, C. M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

CDK8 Inhibition Releases the Muscle Differentiation Block in Fusion-driven Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (aRMS) is a fusion-driven pediatric cancer with poor survival and limited therapeutic options. To uncover novel vulnerabilities, we employed complex-based analysis of the DepMap functional genomic data, identifying CDK8 as a dependency in aRMS. Both CDK8 knockout and pharmacologic inhibition impaired tumor cell growth and induced myogenic differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Compared to genetic loss, CDK8 inhibition induced more dynamic transcriptional changes. With a genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 drug modifier screen, we determined that the maximal anti-tumor activity of the CDK8 inhibitor requires the presence of the Mediator kinase module and transcriptional cooperation with the SAGA complex. We further identified SIX4 as a key transcription factor mediating CDK8 inhibitor-induced transcriptional activation of myogenic differentiation genes and tumor cell proliferation. These findings suggest a distinct gain-of-function mechanism of the CDK8 inhibitor and establish a strong rationale for CDK8 inhibition as a differentiation-inducing therapeutic strategy in aRMS. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEWe provide a framework for uncovering therapeutic targets by network-based analysis of functional genomic screens. We identify CDK8 as a druggable target in aRMS and determine that CDK8 inhibition drives myogenic differentiation and impairs tumor progression via a collaborative mechanism involving the Mediator kinase module, SAGA complex, and SIX4.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2023

p53 dosage impedes KrasG12D- and KrasQ61R-mediated tumorigenesis

Mice engineered with G12D versus Q61R mutant of Kras exhibit differences in the number and grade of tumors. Namely, the incidence or grade of oral or forestomach squamous epithelial lesions was more prevalent in the KrasG12D background while hematolymphopoietic disease was more prevalent in the KrasQ61R background. Loss of the Trp53 gene encoding p53 enhances the ability of oncogenic Kras to initiate tumorigenesis in carcinogen and genetic models of lung cancer, while an extra copy of Trp53 (Super p53) was recently shown to suppress Kras-induced tumorigenesis in a genetic model of this disease. Given this, we evaluated whether such an extra copy of Trp53 would alter tumorigenesis upon global activation of a modified Kras allele engineered with either a G12D or Q61R mutation. We report that an increase in p53 dosage generally reduced tumor number or grade across a number of organs in a manner largely independent of the type of Kras mutation, which was sufficient to extend lifespan in the less aggressive background of a KrasG12D initiating mutation.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2019

A novel intensity-specific screen identifies RpS21 as a modifier of low-intensity MAPK signaling

Signal transduction pathways are intricately fine-tuned to accomplish diverse biological processes. An example is the conserved Ras/mitogen-activated-protein-kinase (MAPK) pathway, which exhibits context-dependent signaling output dynamics and regulation. Here, by altering codon usage as a novel platform to control signaling output, we screened the Drosophila genome for modifiers specific to either weak or strong Ras-driven eye phenotypes. We mapped the underlying gene from one modifier to the ribosomal gene RpS21. RpS21 preferentially influences weak Ras/MAPK signaling outputs, and negatively regulates Ras/MAPK in multiple cell/tissue and signaling settings. In turn, MAPK signaling may regulate its own negative feedback by promoting RpS21 expression. These data show that codon usage manipulation can identify output-specific signaling regulators, and identify RpS21 as an in vivo Ras/MAPK phenotypic regulator.

genetics↗