Inhibition of cytoplasmic GSK-3β increases cisplatin resistance through activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in A549/DDP cells

Downregulation of Meg3 enhances cisplatin resistance of lung cancer cells through activation of the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway

Maternally expressed gene 3 (Meg3) has been shown to promote tumor progression. However, the role of Meg3 in the development of a chemoresistant phenotype of human lung cancer has remains. Reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis was used to determine the expression of Meg3. Flow cytometric analysis and MTT assay were also used to investigate the cell cycle and apoptosis. The present study detected that the expression levels of Meg3 were significantly lower in cisplatin‑resistant A549/DDP lung cancer cells, compared with those in parental A549 cells. Furthermore, upregulation of Meg3 was able to re‑sensitize the A549/DDP cells to cisplatin in vitro. Whereas downregulation of Meg3, by RNA interference, decreased the sensitivity of A549 cells to cisplatin. The results of the present study also demonstrated that the Meg3‑mediated chemosensitivity enhancement was associated with the induction of cell-cycle arrest and increased apoptosis, through regulation of p53, β‑catenin and survivin, which is a target gene of the WNT/β‑catenin signaling pathway. In conclusion, these results suggested that Meg3 may have a crucial role in the development of cisplatin resistance in non-small cell lung cancer.

Breast cancer cell line MCF7 escapes from G1/S arrest induced by proteasome inhibition through a GSK-3β dependent mechanism

Targeting the ubiquitin proteasome pathway has emerged as a rational approach in the treatment of human cancers. Autophagy has been described as a cytoprotective mechanism to increase tumor cell survival under stress conditions. Here, we have focused on the role of proteasome inhibition in cell cycle progression and the role of autophagy in the proliferation recovery. The study was performed in the breast cancer cell line MCF7 compared to the normal mammary cell line MCF10A. We found that the proteasome inhibitor MG132 induced G1/S arrest in MCF10A, but G2/M arrest in MCF7 cells. The effect of MG132 on MCF7 was reproduced on MCF10A cells in the presence of the glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) inhibitor VII. Similarly, MCF7 cells overexpressing constitutively active GSK-3β behaved like MCF10A cells. On the other hand, MCF10A cells remained arrested after MG132 removal while MCF7 recovered the proliferative capacity. Importantly, this recovery was abolished in the presence of the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA). Thus, our results support the relevance of GSK-3β and autophagy as two targets for controlling cell cycle progression and proliferative capacity in MCF7, highlighting the co-treatment of breast cancer cells with 3-MA to synergize the effect of the proteasome inhibition.

Matrine induces mitochondrial apoptosis in cisplatin-resistant non-small cell lung cancer cells via suppression of β-catenin/survivin signaling

Matrine is an alkaloid isolated from Sophora flavescens and shows anticancer activities. The present study was carried out to determine the cytotoxic effects of matrine on cisplatin-resistant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and the associated molecular mechanisms. Parental and cisplatin-resistant A549 and H460 NSCLC cells were treated with 1 or 2 g/l of matrine for 48 h, and cell viability and apoptosis were assessed. β-catenin-mediated transcriptional activity, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) changes, activation of caspases, and survivin expression were examined. The effect of overexpression of survivin on the anticancer activity of matrine was investigated. Compared to the parental cells, cisplatin-resistant NSCLC cells showed increased β-catenin transcriptional activity. Matrine treatment resulted in a significant reduction in β-catenin activation and survivin expression in the cisplatin-resistant cells. Matrine caused apoptotic death in the cisplatin-resistant NSCLC cells, coupled with loss of ΔΨm and activation of caspase-9 and -3. Matrine-induced apoptosis of the cisplatin-resistant NSCLC cells was significantly reversed by overexpression of survivin. In conclusion, matrine exposure induces mitochondrial apoptosis in cisplatin-resistant NSCLC cells, which is largely mediated through inactivation of β-catenin/survivin signaling. Further investigation of the therapeutic benefit of matrine in overcoming cisplatin resistance in NSCLC is warranted.

Mutated K-ras activates CDK8 to stimulate the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in pancreatic cancer in part via the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

Cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8), a gene encoding the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) component of the Mediator complex, is known as a colon cancer oncogene. Our recent study showed that CDK8 plays an important role in the formation of pancreatic cancer, but the CDK8 expression levels were not completely identical in different pancreatic cancer samples. The level of CDK8 expression depended on whether the K-ras gene was mutated; its expression was much higher in samples carrying a K-ras mutation than in wild-type K-ras samples. Moreover, CDK8 expression was reduced following mutated K-ras knockdown in K-ras-mutated pancreatic cancer cells, whereas CDK8 expression was increased following expression of mutated K-ras in wild-type K-ras cells. Our study demonstrates that mutated K-ras stimulates CDK8 expression, possibly by regulating HIF-1α, and both CDK8 and mutated K-ras were confirmed to promote cell proliferation and prevent apoptosis in vitro. Additionally, we found that both CDK8 and mutated K-ras promote the invasion and migration of pancreatic cancer cells via the positive regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, thereby increasing the expression of Snail1 and ZEB1, which act as important stimulating factors of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Finally, knockdown of either CDK8 or mutated K-ras contributed to attenuated pancreatic cancer growth in BALB/c nude mice. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that mutated K-ras promotes CDK8 expression and that the regulatory effects of CDK8 on the EMT are partially attributed to the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

C-Myc participates in β-catenin-mediated drug resistance in A549/DDP lung adenocarcinoma cells

The aim of this study was to investigate c-Myc and β-catenin-mediated drug resistance in A549/DDP lung adenocarcinoma cells. Cisplatin sensitivity was determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) toxicity assay. β-Catenin and c-Myc protein expression following cisplatin treatment were determined using western blotting and immunofluorescence. Flow cytometry was performed to detect cell cycle and apoptosis in A549, A549/DDP, and c-Myc small interfering RNA (siRNA)-transfected A549/DDP cells before and after treatment with different doses of cisplatin. The median inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) in cisplatin-treated A549 and A549/DDP cells was 5.769 ± 0.24 μmol/L and 28.373 ± 0.96 μmol/L, respectively; the cisplatin resistance of A549 cells was about five times that of A549/DDP cells. Endogenous β-catenin and c-Myc expression in A549/DDP cells were higher than that in A549 cells, and were upregulated in A549/DDP cells (p < 0.05) and downregulated in A549 cells after 48 h cisplatin treatment (p < 0.05). β-catenin localization transferred from membrane/cytoplasmic/nuclear to cytoplasmic/nuclear, and c-Myc localization transferred from cytoplasmic/nuclear to nuclear in both cell lines following cisplatin treatment. The rate of apoptosis increased in a dose-dependent manner with cisplatin. After 48-h transfection with c-myc siRNA, A549/DDP cells were blocked in the S phase, and G0/G1-phase cells increased. Simultaneously, the apoptotic rate was increased (p < 0.05) and the IC50 decreased significantly (p < 0.05). C-myc, the downstream target gene of β-catenin, plays an important role in regulating cisplatin resistance in A549/DDP cells. C-Myc siRNA improved the sensitivity of A549/DDP cells to cisplatin.

Comparison of Intracellular Stress Response of NCI-H526 Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) Cells to Platinum(II) Cisplatin and Platinum(IV) Oxoplatin

In attempts to develop an orally applicable platinum-based drug, platinum(IV) drugs which exhibit higher in vivo stability compared to the platinum(II) drug cisplatin were formulated. The first such chemotherapeutic agent, namely satraplatin, failed to receive approval. In the present work, we checked the initial cellular stress response of the chemosensitive NCI-H526 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells by determination of the relative phosphorylation of 46 specific phosphorylation sites of 38 selected proteins in a six hours response to cisplatin (platinum(II)) or oxoplatin (platinum(IV)), respectively. Oxoplatin is considered as prodrug of cisplatin, although several findings point to differences in intracellular effects. Cisplatin induced hyperphosphorylation of p38α MAPK and AMPKα1, whereas oxoplatin treatment resulted in increased phosphorylation of a large number of signaling proteins involved in stress response/drug resistance, including JNK, GSK-3α, AMPKα1, src kinases, STATs, CHK-2 and especially focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Cisplatin exerts markedly higher cytotoxicity upon four hours short-term exposure in comparison to oxoplatin and, correspondingly, the extended initial stress response to the platinum(IV) drug oxoplatin thus is expected to increase clinical drug resistance. Induction of a substantial stress response to any prodrug of a platinum-based compound may likewise limit the effectivity of its active metabolite(s), such contributing to the failure of selected derivatized platinum complexes.

Concerted suppression of STAT3 and GSK3β is involved in growth inhibition of non-small cell lung cancer by Xanthatin

Xanthatin, a sesquiterpene lactone purified from Xanthium strumarium L., possesses prominent anticancer activity. We found that disruption of GSK3β activity was essential for xanthatin to exert its anticancer properties in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), concurrent with preferable suppression of constitutive activation of STAT3. Interestingly, inactivation of the two signals are two mutually exclusive events in xanthatin-induced cell death. Moreover, we surprisingly found that exposure of xanthatin failed to trigger the presumable side effect of canonical Wnt/β-Catenin followed by GSK3β inactivation. We further observed that the downregulation of STAT3 was required for xanthatin to fine-tune the risk. Thus, the discovery of xanthatin, which has ability to simultaneously orchestrate two independent signaling cascades, may have important implications for screening promising drugs in cancer therapies.

Peroxiredoxin 2 knockdown by RNA interference inhibits the growth of colorectal cancer cells by downregulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Peroxiredoxin 2 (Prdx2) has been shown to act as an antioxidant whose main function is to reduce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in cells, and Prdx2 is abnormally elevated in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the functional significance of this up-regulation and the detailed molecular mechanism behind the regulatory effect of Prdx2 on the growth of CRC cells have not been elucidated. In this study, we demonstrated that Prdx2 knockdown using a lentiviral vector-mediated specific shRNA inhibited cell growth, stimulated apoptosis, and augmented the production of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS). Further, silencing of Prdx2 resulted in an altered expression of proteins associated with the Wnt signaling pathway. Finally, Prdx2 knockdown contributed to attenuated CRC growth in BALB/c nude mice. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that the regulatory effects of Prdx2 can be partially attributed to Wnt/β-catenin signaling.