Integrated pharmaco-proteogenomics defines two subgroups in isocitrate dehydrogenase wild-type glioblastoma with prognostic and therapeutic opportunities

Abstract

The prognostic and therapeutic relevance of molecular subtypes for the most aggressive isocitrate dehydrogenase 1/2 (IDH) wild-type glioblastoma (GBM) is currently limited due to high molecular heterogeneity of the tumors that impedes patient stratification. Here, we describe a distinct binary classification of IDH wild-type GBM tumors derived from a quantitative proteomic analysis of 39 IDH wild-type GBMs as well as IDH mutant and low-grade glioma controls. Specifically, GBM proteomic cluster 1 (GPC1) tumors exhibit Warburg-like features, neural stem-cell markers, immune checkpoint ligands, and a poor prognostic biomarker, FKBP prolyl isomerase 9 (FKBP9). Meanwhile, GPC2 tumors show elevated oxidative phosphorylation-related proteins, differentiated oligodendrocyte and astrocyte markers, and a favorable prognostic biomarker, phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH). Integrating these proteomic features with the pharmacological profiles of matched patient-derived cells (PDCs) reveals that the mTORC1/2 dual inhibitor AZD2014 is cytotoxic to the poor prognostic PDCs. Our analyses will guide GBM prognosis and precision treatment strategies. The heterogeneity of IDH1/2 wild-type glioblastoma limits its prognosis and therapy. Here, the authors show a binary stratification, based on quantitative proteomic analysis of samples from patients with glioblastoma, with different prognosis and therapeutic vulnerabilities.