Wee1 inhibitor MK1775 sensitizes KRAS mutated NSCLC cells to sorafenib

Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) is a poorly chemosensitive tumor and targeted therapies are only used for about 15% of patients where a specific driving and druggable lesion is observed (EGFR, ALK, ROS). KRAS is one of the most frequently mutated genes in NSCLC and patients harboring these mutations do not benefit from specific treatments. Sorafenib, a multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitor, was proposed as a potentially active drug in KRAS-mutated NSCLC patients, but clinical trials results were not conclusive. Here we show that the NSCLC cells’ response to sorafenib depends on the type of KRAS mutation. KRAS G12V cells respond less to sorafenib than the wild-type counterpart, in vitro and in vivo. To overcome this resistance, we used high-throughput screening with a siRNA library directed against 719 human kinases, and Wee1 was selected as a sorafenib response modulator. Inhibition of Wee1 by its specific inhibitor MK1775 in combination with sorafenib restored the KRAS mutated cells’ response to the multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitor. This combination of the Wee1 inhibitor with sorafenib, if confirmed in models with different genetic backgrounds, might be worth investigating further as a new strategy for KRAS mutated NSCLC.