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Spindle Assembly Checkpoint Competency Determines Sensitivity to KIF18A Inhibition in Small-Cell Lung Cancer

This study examined the biological determinants of response to KIF18A inhibition in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), a chromosomal instability-high cancer. The study used patient tumor datasets, SCLC cell line models, genomic and transcriptomic profiling, drug sensitivity testing, live-cell imaging, genetic perturbation, and pharmacologic inhibition to assess chromosomal instability, mitotic regulation, and spindle assembly checkpoint function. Although KIF18A expression was elevated in SCLC and associated with chromosomal instability, proliferation, and neuroendocrine transcriptional programs, these features did not predict drug sensitivity. Instead, response to KIF18A inhibition was primarily determined by spindle assembly checkpoint competency, with SAC-proficient cells undergoing sustained mitotic arrest and apoptosis and SAC-defective cells showing resistance.

The dbGaP-accessible data will include de-identified RNA-seq-derived expression data and associated sample metadata for the NIH/NCI patient-derived SCLC cell line component of the study. These data were used to assess selected gene expression features, including KIF18A-related expression and a neuroendocrine-related score based on Neuroendocrine-associated genes. No direct participant identifiers will be included.