BRAF-mutated cells activate GCN2-mediated integrated stress response as a cytoprotective mechanism in response to vemurafenib

Abstract In BRAF -mutated melanoma cells, the BRAF inhibitor, vemurafenib, induces phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) and subsequent induction of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), the central regulation node of the integrated stress response (ISR). While the ISR supports cellular adaptation to various stresses, the role of vemurafenib-triggered ISR has not been fully characterized. Here, we showed that in response to vemurafenib, BRAF -mutated melanoma and colorectal cancer cells rapidly induced the ISR as a cytoprotective mechanism through activation of general control nonderepressible 2 (GCN2), an eIF2α kinase sensing amino acid levels. The vemurafenib-triggered ISR, an event independent of downstream MEK inhibition, was specifically prevented by silencing GCN2, but not other eIF2α kinases, including protein kinase-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase, which transmits endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Consistently, the ER stress gatekeeper, GRP78, was not induced by vemurafenib. Interestingly, ATF4 silencing by siRNA rendered BRAF -mutated melanoma cells sensitive to vemurafenib. Thus, the GCN2-mediated ISR can promote cellular adaptation to vemurafenib-induced stress, providing an insight into the development of drug resistance.