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Tong F, Zhao JX, Fang ZY, Cui XT, Su DY, Liu X, Zhou JH, Wang GX, Qiu ZJ, Liu SZ, Fu JQ, Kang CS, Wang JC, Wang QX. MUC1 promotes glioblastoma progression and TMZ resistance by stabilizing EGFRvIII. Pharmacol Res 2023; 187:106606. [PMID: 36516884 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) is a mutant isoform of EGFR with a deletion of exons 2-7 making it insensitive to EGF stimulation and downstream signal constitutive activation. However, the mechanism underlying the stability of EGFRvIII remains unclear. Based on CRISPR-Cas9 library screening, we found that mucin1 (MUC1) is essential for EGFRvIII glioma cell survival and temozolomide (TMZ) resistance. We revealed that MUC1-C was upregulated in EGFRvIII-positive cells, where it enhanced the stability of EGFRvIII. Knockdown of MUC1-C increased the colocalization of EGFRvIII and lysosomes. Upregulation of MUC1 occurred in an NF-κB dependent manner, and inhibition of the NF-κB pathway could interrupt the EGFRvIII-MUC1 feedback loop by inhibiting MUC1-C. In a previous report, we identified AC1Q3QWB (AQB), a small molecule that could inhibit the phosphorylation of NF-κB. By screening the structural analogs of AQB, we obtained EPIC-1027, which could inhibit the NF-κB pathway more effectively. EPIC-1027 disrupted the EGFRvIII-MUC1-C positive feedback loop in vitro and in vivo, inhibited glioma progression, and promoted sensitization to TMZ. In conclusion, we revealed the pivotal role of MUC1-C in stabilizing EGFRvIII in glioblastoma (GBM) and identified a small molecule, EPIC-1027, with great potential in GBM treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Tong
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China; Tianjin Neurological Institute, Key Laboratory of Neurotrauma, Variation, and Regeneration, Ministry of Education and Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin 300052, China
| | - Ji-Xing Zhao
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China; Tianjin Neurological Institute, Key Laboratory of Neurotrauma, Variation, and Regeneration, Ministry of Education and Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin 300052, China
| | - Zi-Yuan Fang
- Clinical Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding 071000, China
| | - Xiao-Teng Cui
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China; Tianjin Neurological Institute, Key Laboratory of Neurotrauma, Variation, and Regeneration, Ministry of Education and Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin 300052, China
| | - Dong-Yuan Su
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China; Tianjin Neurological Institute, Key Laboratory of Neurotrauma, Variation, and Regeneration, Ministry of Education and Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin 300052, China
| | - Xing Liu
- Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Jun-Hu Zhou
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China; Tianjin Neurological Institute, Key Laboratory of Neurotrauma, Variation, and Regeneration, Ministry of Education and Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin 300052, China
| | - Guang-Xiu Wang
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China; Tianjin Neurological Institute, Key Laboratory of Neurotrauma, Variation, and Regeneration, Ministry of Education and Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin 300052, China
| | - Zhi-Jun Qiu
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China
| | - Shi-Zhong Liu
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China
| | - Jun-Qi Fu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Haikou Affiliated Hospital of Xiangya Medical College, Central South University, Hainan 570311, China; Department of Neurosurgery, Haikou People's Hospital, Hainan 570208, China
| | - Chun-Sheng Kang
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China; Tianjin Neurological Institute, Key Laboratory of Neurotrauma, Variation, and Regeneration, Ministry of Education and Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin 300052, China.
| | - Jia-Chong Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Haikou Affiliated Hospital of Xiangya Medical College, Central South University, Hainan 570311, China; Department of Neurosurgery, Haikou People's Hospital, Hainan 570208, China.
| | - Qi-Xue Wang
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China; Tianjin Neurological Institute, Key Laboratory of Neurotrauma, Variation, and Regeneration, Ministry of Education and Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin 300052, China.
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Kadioglu O, Saeed MEM, Mahmoud N, Azawi S, Mrasek K, Liehr T, Efferth T. Identification of novel drug resistance mechanisms by genomic and transcriptomic profiling of glioblastoma cells with mutation-activated EGFR. Life Sci 2021; 284:119601. [PMID: 33991550 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2021.119601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AIMS Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is not only involved in carcinogenesis, but also in chemoresistance. We characterized U87.MGΔEGFR glioblastoma cells with constitutively active EGFR due to deletion at the ligand binding domain in terms of gene expression profiling and chromosomal aberrations. Wild-type U87.MG cells served as control. MATERIALS AND METHODS RNA sequencing and network analyses (Ingenuity Pathway Analysis) were performed to identify novel drug resistance mechanisms related to expression of mutation activated EGFR. Chromosomal aberrations were characterized by multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (mFISH) and array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH). KEY FINDINGS U87.MGΔEGFR cells presented much more chromosomal aberrations, amplifications and deletions than wild-type U87.MG cells. Still, both cell lines were near-triploid. Numerous genes were overexpressed in U87.MGΔEGFR cells, some of which have been already linked to drug resistance. PXDN, which is associated with epithelial mesenchymal transition, was the most upregulated gene (901.8-fold). TENM1 was 331.6-fold upregulated, and it was previously reported to modulate neural development. EGFR-AS1 (161.2-fold upregulated) has been reported to increase the EGFR mRNA stability and its expression - in accordance with that of EGFR - was upregulated (85.5-fold). In addition to well-known resistance genes, numerous novel genes and genomic aberrations were identified. ANGPT2 upregulation and CPM downregulation were validated by Western blotting. SIGNIFICANCE Transcriptomics and genomics analyses in U87.MGΔEGFR cells unraveled a range of novel drug resistance mechanisms including apoptosis, DNA repair, ferroptosis, glutathione related gene activities, heat shock, oxidative stress, transcription factor activities, which may have important implications for future treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Onat Kadioglu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Mohamed E M Saeed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Nuha Mahmoud
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Shaymaa Azawi
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Jena, Germany
| | - Kristin Mrasek
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Jena, Germany
| | - Thomas Liehr
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Jena, Germany
| | - Thomas Efferth
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.
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EGFRvIII Promotes Cell Survival during Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress through a Reticulocalbin 1-Dependent Mechanism. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13061198. [PMID: 33801941 PMCID: PMC7999088 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13061198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary A key molecule, EGFRvIII has been shown to provide several growth advantages for brain tumors. However, we have found a new mechanism in which the EGFRvIII provides increased survival to brain cancer cells when under sub-optimal conditions. Specifically, we have found that the EGFRvIII drives the expression of a molecule called Reticulocalbin 1 (RCN1) and that RCN1 blocks cell stress and cell death, thereby allowing cells to survive and proliferate. Importantly, these findings will allow for the generation of drugs that block the function of EGFRvIII and RCN1 with the hope that these drugs will induce brain cancer cell death. Abstract Reticulocalbin 1 (RCN1) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-residing protein, involved in promoting cell survival during pathophysiological conditions that lead to ER stress. However, the key upstream receptor tyrosine kinase that regulates RCN1 expression and its potential role in cell survival in the glioblastoma setting have not been determined. Here, we demonstrate that RCN1 expression significantly correlates with poor glioblastoma patient survival. We also demonstrate that glioblastoma cells with expression of EGFRvIII receptor also have high RCN1 expression. Over-expression of wildtype EGFR also correlated with high RCN1 expression, suggesting that EGFR and EGFRvIII regulate RCN1 expression. Importantly, cells that expressed EGFRvIII and subsequently showed high RCN1 expression displayed greater cell viability under ER stress compared to EGFRvIII negative glioblastoma cells. Consistently, we also demonstrated that RCN1 knockdown reduced cell viability and exogenous introduction of RCN1 enhanced cell viability following induction of ER stress. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that the EGFRvIII-RCN1-driven increase in cell survival is due to the inactivation of the ER stress markers ATF4 and ATF6, maintained expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and reduced activity of caspase 3/7. Our current findings identify that EGFRvIII regulates RCN1 expression and that this novel association promotes cell survival in glioblastoma cells during ER stress.
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