IKKβ Kinase Promotes Stemness, Migration, and Invasion in KRAS-Driven Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells

KRAS oncogenic mutations are widespread in lung cancer and, because direct targeting of KRAS has proven to be challenging, KRAS-driven cancers lack effective therapies. One alternative strategy for developing KRAS targeted therapies is to identify downstream targets involved in promoting important malignant features, such as the acquisition of a cancer stem-like and metastatic phenotype. Based on previous studies showing that KRAS activates nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-kappa B) through inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase beta (IKK beta) to promote lung tumourigenesis, we hypothesized that inhibition of IKK beta would reduce stemness, migration and invasion of KRAS-mutant human lung cancer cells. We show that KRAS-driven lung tumoursphere-derived cells exhibit stemness features and increased IKK beta kinase activity. IKK beta targeting by different approaches reduces the expression of stemness-associated genes, tumoursphere formation, and self-renewal, and preferentially impairs the proliferation of KRAS-driven lung tumoursphere-derived cells. Moreover, we show that IKK beta targeting reduces tumour cell migration and invasion, potentially by regulating both expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2). In conclusion, our results indicate that IKK beta is an important mediator of KRAS-induced stemness and invasive features in lung cancer, and, therefore, might constitute a promising strategy to lower recurrence rates, reduce metastatic dissemination, and improve survival of lung cancer patients with KRAS-driven disease.