Inhibition of Met results in concomitant inhibition of Akt and STAT3 signaling pathways, while abrogation of negative feedback permits Erk reactivation

Amplification and activation of the Met receptor tyrosine kinase occurs up to 23% of gastric cancers, suggesting that Met is a therapeutic target in these cancers. However, the steady-state signaling events that occur during chronic Met activation, and mechanisms for resistance to Met small-molecule inhibitors, are poorly understood. Here we show that multiple gastric cancer cell lines harboring MET amplifications are dependent on Met signaling for proliferation and anchorage-independent growth. In these cells, short-term inhibition of Met leads to coordinated changes in gene expression; these include a rapid loss in expression of immediate-early genes, followed by decreased expression of genes involved in cell cycle and proliferation. Activation of Ras-Erk, PI3K-Akt and STAT3 pathways is attenuated by acute Met inhibition. STAT3 inhibition alone, but not individual inhibition of Mek or Akt, is sufficient to abrogate Met-dependent growth of these cells. However, following chronic Met inhibition, reactivation of Mek-dependent Erk phosphorylation occurs even in the presence of Met inhibitor corresponding with a downregulation of Erk negative regulators DUSP4/6. This provides a mechanism for the emergence of drug resistance. Our findings provide insights into innate resistance to a small-molecule Met inhibitor and highlight rational combination therapies that could be evaluated in clinical trials. Time series experiment, four cell lines, 2 treatments