Targeted hyperactivation of AKT through inhibition of ectopic expressed SHIP1 induces cell death in colon carcinoma cells and derived metastases.

Current therapeutic approaches for colorectal cancer (CRC) focus on the suppression of oncogenic kinase signaling. Here, we test the hypothesis that targeted hyperactivation of the PI3K/AKT-signaling may lead to trigger CRC cell death. Recently we found that hematopoietic SHIP1 is ectopically expressed in CRC cells. Here we show that SHIP1 is more strongly expressed in metastatic cells than in the primary cancer cells, which allows for an increase in AKT signaling in metastatic cells, giving them an advantage from an evolutionary point of view. Mechanistically, the increased SHIP1 expression reduces the activation of the PI3K/ AKT signaling to a value that is below the threshold that leads to cell death. This mechanism gives the cell a selection advantage. We show that genetic hyperactivation of PI3K/AKT-signaling or blocking the activity of the inhibitory phosphatase SHIP1, induces acute cell death in CRC cells, because of excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Our results demonstrate that CRC cells critically depend on mechanisms to fine-tune PI3K/AKT activity and show SHIP1 inhibition as an unexpectedly promising concept for CRC therapy.