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Gao Y, Feng C, Ma J, Yan Q. Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs): Orchestrators of cancer pathogenesis, immunotherapy dynamics, and drug resistance. Biochem Pharmacol 2024; 221:116048. [PMID: 38346542 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2024.116048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Protein Arginine Methyltransferases (PRMTs) are a family of enzymes regulating protein arginine methylation, which is a post-translational modification crucial for various cellular processes. Recent studies have highlighted the mechanistic role of PRMTs in cancer pathogenesis, immunotherapy, and drug resistance. PRMTs are involved in diverse oncogenic processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis. They exert their effects by methylation of histones, transcription factors, and other regulatory proteins, resulting in altered gene expression patterns. PRMT-mediated histone methylation can lead to aberrant chromatin remodeling and epigenetic changes that drive oncogenesis. Additionally, PRMTs can directly interact with key signaling pathways involved in cancer progression, such as the PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathways, thereby modulating cell survival and proliferation. In the context of cancer immunotherapy, PRMTs have emerged as critical regulators of immune responses. They modulate immune checkpoint molecules, including programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), through arginine methylation. Drug resistance is a significant challenge in cancer treatment, and PRMTs have been implicated in this phenomenon. PRMTs can contribute to drug resistance through multiple mechanisms, including the epigenetic regulation of drug efflux pumps, altered DNA damage repair, and modulation of cell survival pathways. In conclusion, PRMTs play critical roles in cancer pathogenesis, immunotherapy, and drug resistance. In this overview, we have endeavored to illuminate the mechanistic intricacies of PRMT-mediated processes. Shedding light on these aspects will offer valuable insights into the fundamental biology of cancer and establish PRMTs as promising therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yihang Gao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130000, China
| | - Chongchong Feng
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130000, China.
| | - Jingru Ma
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130000, China
| | - Qingzhu Yan
- Department of Ultrasound Medicine, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130000, China
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Lavogina D, Krõlov MK, Vellama H, Modhukur V, Di Nisio V, Lust H, Eskla KL, Salumets A, Jaal J. Inhibition of epigenetic and cell cycle-related targets in glioblastoma cell lines reveals that onametostat reduces proliferation and viability in both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Sci Rep 2024; 14:4303. [PMID: 38383756 PMCID: PMC10881536 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54707-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The choice of targeted therapies for treatment of glioblastoma patients is currently limited, and most glioblastoma patients die from the disease recurrence. Thus, systematic studies in simplified model systems are required to pinpoint the choice of targets for further exploration in clinical settings. Here, we report screening of 5 compounds targeting epigenetic writers or erasers and 6 compounds targeting cell cycle-regulating protein kinases against 3 glioblastoma cell lines following incubation under normoxic or hypoxic conditions. The viability/proliferation assay indicated that PRMT5 inhibitor onametostat was endowed with high potency under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions in cell lines that are strongly MGMT-positive (T98-G), weakly MGMT-positive (U-251 MG), or MGMT-negative (U-87 MG). In U-251 MG and U-87 MG cells, onametostat also affected the spheroid formation at concentrations lower than the currently used chemotherapeutic drug lomustine. In T98-G cell line, treatment with onametostat led to dramatic changes in the transcriptome profile by inducing the cell cycle arrest, suppressing RNA splicing, and down-regulating several major glioblastoma cell survival pathways. Further validation by immunostaining in three cell lines confirmed that onametostat affects cell cycle and causes reduction in nucleolar protein levels. In this way, inhibition of epigenetic targets might represent a viable strategy for glioblastoma treatment even in the case of decreased chemo- and radiation sensitivity, although further studies in clinically more relevant models are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darja Lavogina
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, L. Puusepa 8, 50406, Tartu, Estonia.
- Chair of Bioorganic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
- Competence Centre on Health Technologies, Tartu, Estonia.
| | - Mattias Kaspar Krõlov
- Chair of Bioorganic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Hans Vellama
- Department of Physiology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Centre of Excellence for Genomics and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Vijayachitra Modhukur
- Competence Centre on Health Technologies, Tartu, Estonia
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Valentina Di Nisio
- Department of Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden
- Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Helen Lust
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, L. Puusepa 8, 50406, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Kattri-Liis Eskla
- Department of Physiology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Centre of Excellence for Genomics and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Andres Salumets
- Competence Centre on Health Technologies, Tartu, Estonia
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Department of Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden
- Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jana Jaal
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, L. Puusepa 8, 50406, Tartu, Estonia.
- Department of Radiotherapy and Oncological Therapy, Tartu University Hospital, Tartu, Estonia.
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Dakroub R, Huard S, Hajj-Younes Y, Suresh S, Badran B, Fayyad-Kazan H, Dubois T. Therapeutic Advantage of Targeting PRMT5 in Combination with Chemotherapies or EGFR/HER2 Inhibitors in Triple-Negative Breast Cancers. BREAST CANCER (DOVE MEDICAL PRESS) 2023; 15:785-799. [PMID: 37954171 PMCID: PMC10637385 DOI: 10.2147/bctt.s430513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
Purpose Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive breast cancer subgroup characterized by a high risk of resistance to chemotherapies and high relapse potential. TNBC shows inter-and intra-tumoral heterogeneity; more than half expresses high EGFR levels and about 30% are classified as HER2-low breast cancers. High PRMT5 mRNA levels are associated with poor prognosis in TNBC and inhibiting PRMT5 impairs the viability of subsets of TNBC cell lines and delays tumor growth in TNBC mice models. TNBC patients may therefore benefit from a treatment targeting PRMT5. The aim of this study was to assess the therapeutic benefit of combining a PRMT5 inhibitor with different chemotherapies used in the clinics to treat TNBC patients, or with FDA-approved inhibitors targeting the HER family members. Methods The drug combinations were performed using proliferation and colony formation assays on TNBC cell lines that were sensitive or resistant to EPZ015938, a PRMT5 inhibitor that has been evaluated in clinical trials. The chemotherapies analyzed were cisplatin, doxorubicin, camptothecin, and paclitaxel. The targeted therapies tested were erlotinib (EGFR inhibitor), neratinib (EGFR/HER2/HER4 inhibitor) and tucatinib (HER2 inhibitor). Results We found that PRMT5 inhibition synergized mostly with cisplatin, and to a lesser extent with doxorubicin or camptothecin, but not with paclitaxel, to impair TNBC cell proliferation. PRMT5 inhibition also synergized with erlotinib and neratinib in TNBC cell lines, especially in those overexpressing EGFR. Additionally, a synergistic interaction was observed with neratinib and tucatinib in a HER2-low TNBC cell line as well as in a HER2-positive breast cancer cell line. We noticed that synergy can be obtained in TNBC cell lines that were resistant to PRMT5 inhibition alone. Conclusion Altogether, our data highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting PRMT5 using combinatorial strategies for the treatment of subsets of TNBC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rayan Dakroub
- Breast Cancer Biology Group, Translational Research Department, Institut Curie-PSL Research University, Paris, 75005, France
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Molecular Immunology, Faculty of Sciences-I, Lebanese University, Hadath, 1003, Lebanon
| | - Solène Huard
- Breast Cancer Biology Group, Translational Research Department, Institut Curie-PSL Research University, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Yara Hajj-Younes
- Breast Cancer Biology Group, Translational Research Department, Institut Curie-PSL Research University, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Samyuktha Suresh
- Breast Cancer Biology Group, Translational Research Department, Institut Curie-PSL Research University, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Bassam Badran
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Molecular Immunology, Faculty of Sciences-I, Lebanese University, Hadath, 1003, Lebanon
| | - Hussein Fayyad-Kazan
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Molecular Immunology, Faculty of Sciences-I, Lebanese University, Hadath, 1003, Lebanon
| | - Thierry Dubois
- Breast Cancer Biology Group, Translational Research Department, Institut Curie-PSL Research University, Paris, 75005, France
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