Non-Genetic Mechanisms of Fractional Resistance to Abemaciclib in Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma. (PubMed, bioRxiv)
Dedifferentiated liposarcoma is a rare mesenchymal malignancy driven by amplification of chromosome 12q13-15, which includes the oncogenes CDK4 and MDM2. These fractionally resistant cells were defined by selective enrichment of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), cyclin B1, and phosphorylated ribosomal protein S6 (pS6), and showed enhanced sensitivity to the CDK2 inhibitor, tagtociclib. Together, these findings reveal nongenetic cell cycle plasticity as a mechanism of escape from CDK4/6 inhibition in dedifferentiated liposarcoma and nominate CDK2 and the PI3K-mTOR pathway as candidate targets for combination therapy.