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Advances in genome and tissue engineering have spurred significant progress and opportunity for innovation in cancer modeling. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are an established and powerful tool to study cellular processes in the context of disease-specific genetic backgrounds; however, their application to cancer has been limited by the resistance of many transformed cells to undergo successful reprogramming. Here, we review the status of human iPSC modeling of solid tumors in the context of genetic engineering, including how base and prime editing can be incorporated into "bottom-up" cancer modeling, a term we coined for iPSC-based cancer models using genetic engineering to induce transformation. This approach circumvents the need to reprogram cancer cells while allowing for dissection of the genetic mechanisms underlying transformation, progression, and metastasis with a high degree of precision and control. We also discuss the strengths and limitations of respective engineering approaches and outline experimental considerations for establishing future models.

Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) is a common cancer predisposition syndrome, caused by heterozygous loss of function mutations in the tumor suppressor gene NF1 . Individuals with NF1 develop benign tumors of the peripheral nervous system (neurofibromas), originating from the Schwann cell linage after somatic loss of the wild type NF1 allele, some of which progress further to malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST). There is only one FDA approved targeted therapy for symptomatic plexiform neurofibromas and none approved for MPNST. The genetic basis of NF1 syndrome makes associated tumors ideal for using synthetic drug sensitivity approaches to uncover therapeutic vulnerabilities. We developed a drug discovery pipeline to identify therapeutics for NF1-related tumors using isogeneic pairs of NF1- proficient and deficient immortalized human Schwann cells. We utilized these in a large-scale high throughput screen (HTS) for drugs that preferentially kill NF1 -deficient cells, through which we identified 23 compounds capable of killing NF1- deficient Schwann cells with selectivity. Multiple hits from this screen clustered into classes defined by method of action. Four clinically interesting drugs from these classes were tested in vivo using both a genetically engineered mouse model of high-grade peripheral nerve sheath tumors and human MPNST xenografts. All drugs tested showed single agent efficacy in these models as well as significant synergy when used in combination with the MEK inhibitor Selumetinib. This HTS platform yielded novel therapeutically relevant compounds for the treatment of NF1-associated tumors and can serve as a tool to rapidly evaluate new compounds and combinations in the future., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: D.A.L. is the co-founder and co-owner of NeoClone Biotechnologies, Inc., Discovery Genomics, Inc. (acquired by Immunsoft, Inc.), B-MoGen Biotechnologies, Inc. (acquired by Bio-Techne corporation), and Luminary Therapeutics, Inc. D.A.L. holds equity in, is on the Board of Directors of, and serves as a Senior Scientific Advisor to Recombinetics, a genome-editing company. He consults for and has equity in Styx Biotechnologies, Inc. and Genentech, Inc., which is funding some of his research. The business of all the companies above is unrelated to the contents of this manuscript. N.R. had research support from Boehringer Ingelheim, Revolution Medicines, and Healx during the course of this study, unrelated to these studies. Other authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

We previously identified ZNF217 as an oncogenic driver of a subset of osteosarcomas using the Sleeping Beauty ( SB ) transposon system. Here, we followed up by investigating the genetic role of ZNF217 in osteosarcoma initiation and progression through the establishment of a novel genetically engineered mouse model, in vitro assays, orthotopic mouse studies, and paired these findings with preclinical studies using a small-molecule inhibitor. Throughout, we demonstrate that ZNF217 is coupled to numerous facets of osteosarcoma transformation, including proliferation, cell motility, and anchorage independent growth, and ultimately promoting osteosarcoma growth, progression, and metastasis in part through positive modulation of PI3K-AKT survival signaling. Pharmacologic blockade of AKT signaling with nucleoside analogue triciribine in ZNF217 + orthotopically injected osteosarcoma cell lines reduced tumor growth and metastasis. Our data demonstrate that triciribine treatment may be a relevant and efficacious therapeutic strategy for patients with osteosarcoma with ZNF217 + and p-AKT rich tumors. With the recent revitalization of triciribine for clinical studies in other solid cancers, our study provides a rationale for further evaluation preclinically with the purpose of clinical evaluation in patients with incurable, ZNF217 + osteosarcoma., (©2020 American Association for Cancer Research.)