scholarly journals Dual Targeting of EGFR with PLK1 Exerts Therapeutic Synergism in Taxane-Resistant Lung Adenocarcinoma by Suppressing ABC Transporters

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 4413
Author(s):  
Sol-Bi Shin ◽  
Dae-Hoon Kim ◽  
Da-Eun Kim ◽  
Mark Borris D. Aldonza ◽  
Yoosik Kim ◽  
...  

To overcome the limitations of chemoresistance, combination therapies using druggable targets have been investigated. Our previous studies led us to hypothesize that the downregulation of PLK1 expression or activity can be one strategy to overcome the hurdles of taxane resistance by the downregulation of ABC transporters. To explore this, various versions of PLK1 including a constitutively active version, kinase-dead form, and polo-box domain mutant were expressed in paclitaxel-resistant lung adenocarcinoma (LUADTXR). Targeting PLK1 using shRNA or non-functional mutants downregulated ABCB1, ABCC9, and ABCG2 in LUADTXR cells, which was similar to the downregulation effects from treatment with PLK1 inhibitors. The high expression of EGFR in LUAD led us to administer gefitinib, showing a markedly reduced EGFR level in LUADTXR cells. When gefitinib and PLK1 inhibitors were combined, LUADTXR cells tended to undergo apoptosis more effectively than parental cells, showing a synergistic effect on the downregulation of ABC transporters through c-Myc and AP-1. Clinical data provide evidence for the relevance between survival rates and expressions of PLK1 and EGFR in LUAD patients. Based on these results, we suggest that a combination of gefitinib and PLK1 inhibitors exerts strong synergism in LUADTXR, which helps to overcome the limitations associated with taxanes.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Woon Yong Jung ◽  
Kyueng-Whan Min ◽  
Young Ha Oh

AbstractThe histological classification of lung adenocarcinoma includes 5 types: lepidic, acinar, papillary, micropapillary and solid. The complex gene interactions and anticancer immune response of these types are not well known. The aim of this study was to reveal the survival rates, genetic alterations and immune activities of the five histological types and provide treatment strategies. This study reviewed the histological findings of 517 patients with lung adenocarcinoma from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and classified them into five types. We performed gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and survival analysis according to the different types. We found six oncogenic gene sets that were higher in lung adenocarcinoma than in normal tissues. In the survival analysis of each type, the acinar type had a favorable prognosis, and the solid subtype had an unfavorable prognosis; however, the survival differences between the other types were not significant. Our study focused on the solid type, which had the poorest prognosis. The solid type was related to adaptive immune resistance associated with elevated CD8 T cells and high CD274 (encoding PD-L1) expression. In the pathway analyses, the solid type was significantly related to high vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A expression, reflecting tumor angiogenesis. Non-necrosis/low immune response affected by high VEGF-A was associated with worse prognosis. The solid type associated with high VEGF-A expression may contribute to the development of therapeutic strategies for lung adenocarcinoma.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongqi Li ◽  
Chuanchun He ◽  
Fan Ye ◽  
En Ye ◽  
Hao He ◽  
...  

p62 protein has been implicated in bone metastasis and is a multifunctional adaptor protein usually correlated with autophagy. Herein, we investigated p62 expression and its prognostic significance in bone metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma, and analyzed whether the mechanism involved depends on autophagy. mRNA and protein expression of p62, LC3B and Beclin 1 were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blotting, respectively, in fresh bone metastasis tissues (n=6 cases) and normal cancellous bone tissues (n=3 cases). The association between p62 and LC3B expression and patient prognosis was subsequently analyzed in 62 paraffin-embedded bone metastasis specimens by immunohistochemistry assay. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) was employed to downregulate p62 expression in SPC-A-1 and A549 cells. Cell proliferation and migration ability were tested by CCK8, CCF and Transwell assays respectively. Autophagy was induced by Rapamycin or inhibited by Atg 7 knockout/Chloroquine in A549 cells and p62 and LC3II/I expression were analyzed. After subcutaneous inoculation or intracardial injection of A549 cells into nude mice, the effect of p62 downregulation in vivo was analyzed by histopathological examination. The results showed that p62, LC3B and Beclin 1 mRNA and protein were all overexpressed in bone metastasis tissues (all P<0.01). Patient samples with high p62 expression levels were significantly associated with more bone lesions (>3), shorter overall survival rates and shorter progression free survival rates compared with patients having lower p62 expression (P=0.014, P=0.003, P=0.048, respectively). Cox regression analysis identified p62 expression as an independent prognostic indicator of overall survival of patients with bone metastasis (P=0.007). In vitro p62 downregulation inhibited SPC-A-1 and A549 cells migration but had no effect on cell proliferation. After autophagy induction or inhibition, p62 expression involved in autophagy flux and changed inconsistently according to the switch of LC3I to LC3II in different autophagy conditions. In vivo p62 downregulation had no effect on growth of subcutaneous tumor. Lung or bone metastasis lesion was not found in all mice model. These findings suggested that p62 overexpression promotes tumor cell invasion out of LC3-dependent autophagy, which could be used a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for bone metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma.


Author(s):  
Ju-Pi Li ◽  
Hsien-Cheng Huang ◽  
Po-Jen Yang ◽  
Chien-Yuan Chang ◽  
Yu-Hua Chao ◽  
...  

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) is involved in multiple physiological and pathological processes. Several genetic variants of FGFR4 have been shown to be associated with tumor progression in many cancers. However, its association, such as genetic variants and expression levels, with lung cancer is controversial. The present study examined the relationship between four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs2011077 T/C, rs351855 G/A, rs7708357 G/A, and rs1966265 A/G) of FGFR4 and the risk of lung adenocarcinoma with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status in a Taiwanese cohort. The results demonstrated that FGFR4 rs2011077 (odds ratio (OR) = 0.348, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.136–0.891, p = 0.024), and rs351855 (OR = 0.296, 95% CI = 0.116–0.751, p = 0.008) showed an inverse association with distant metastasis in wild-type EGFR lung adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, a database analysis using The Cancer Genome Atlas revealed that the higher FGFR4 expression level was correlated with poor survival rates in wild-type EGFR lung adenocarcinoma. In conclusion, the data suggest that FGFR4 SNPs may help in identifying patient subgroups at low-risk for tumor metastasis, among carriers of lung adenocarcinoma bearing wild-type EGFR.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Ren ◽  
Deqiang Wang ◽  
Hanpeng Huang ◽  
Xiaoqin Li ◽  
Xiufen Zhuang ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Wang ◽  
Chengping Hu

Abstract Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to play essential roles in tumorigenesis and cancers prognosis, and they can be a potential cancer prognostic markers. However, in lung adenocarcinoma(LUAD), how lncRNA signatures predict the survival of patients is poorly understood. Our study aims to explore lncRNA signatures and prognostic function in LUAD.Methods: The expression and prognosis data of lncRNAs in LUAD patients was collected from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. All analyses were performed using the R package (version 3.6.2). Metascape, STRING and Cytoscape were used for enrichment analysis and function prediction of the lncRNA co-expressed protein-coding genes.Results: We have collected lncRNA expression data in 466 LUAD tumors, and a six-lncRNA signature(RP11-79H23.3, RP11-309M7.1, CTD-2357A8.3, RP11-108P20.4, U47924.29, LHFPL3-AS2) has been shown to be significantly related to LUAD patients’ overall survival. According to the lncRNA signatures, the high-risk and low-risk groups were divided in LUAD patients with different survival rates. Further multivariable cox regression analysis showed that the prognostic value of this signature was independent of clinical factors. The potential functional roles and hub co-expressed protein-coding genes in the six prognostic lncRNAs are shown in the functional enrichment analysis.Conclusions: These results showed that these six lncRNAs could be independent predicted prognostic biomarkers in LUAD patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Weifeng Chen ◽  
Jingyao Wang ◽  
Qiumei Zhao ◽  
Dandan Liu ◽  
Donglin Sun ◽  
...  

Due to high energy and material metabolism requirements, mitochondria are frequently active in tumor cells. Our study found that the high energy metabolism status is positively correlated with the poor prognosis of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. We constructed a scoring system (mitoRiskscore) based on the gene expression of specific mitochondrial localized proteins through univariate and LASSO cox regression. It has been shown that high mitoRiskscore was correlated with a shorter survival time after surgery in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Compared with the typical TNM grading system, the mitoRiskscore gene panel had higher prediction accuracy. A vast number of external verification results ensured its universality. Additionally, the mitoRiskscore could evaluate the metabolic pattern and chemotherapy sensitivity of the tumor samples. Lung adenocarcinoma with higher mitoRiskscore was more active in glycolysis, and oxidative phosphorylation expression of proliferation-related pathway genes was also significantly upregulated. In contrast, patients with low mitoRiskscore had similar metabolic patterns to normal tissues. In order to improve the accuracy of prediction ability and promote clinical usage, we developed a nomogram that combined mitoRiskscore and clinical prognostic factors to predict the 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year survival rates of patients. We also performed in vitro experiments to verify the function of the key genes in the mitoRiskscore panel. In conclusion, the mitoRiskscore scoring system may assist clinicians to judge the postoperative survival rate and chemotherapy of patients with lung adenocarcinoma.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Long Huang ◽  
Xiao-Liu Jiang ◽  
Hong-Bin Liang ◽  
Jian-Cheng Li ◽  
Li-Han Chin ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Patients newly diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma with bone metastases (LABM) have poor survival rates after treatment with conventional therapies. To improve outcomes, we retrospectively investigated whether the application of a more comprehensive genetic test of tumor biopsies samples from LABM patients could provide the basis for treatment with more effective tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) regimens. Methods Fine needle biopsies were taken from the primary tumor (PT) and a secondary bone metastasis (BM) of 17 LABM patients before treatment. Simple genetic profiles for selecting therapies were initially obtained using an ARMS-PCR test for EGFR and ALK fusion mutations. More detailed genetic profiles of somatic exon SNVs and CNVs in 457 cancer-related genes were retrospectively derived using capture single molecule amplification and resequencing technology (capSMART). Results ARMS-PCR identified 14 EGFR positive, 3 EGFR negative and 1 ALK fusion positive patient. A therapy regimen incorporating TKIs Gefitinib and Crizotinib was offered to the EGFR and ALK fusion positive patients, respectively. With the exception of two patients, molecular profiling of matching PT and BM biopsies identified a highly shared somatic variant fingerprint, although the BMs exhibited additional genomic instability. In six of 13 EGFR positive patients and in all three EGFR negative patients, examination of the genetic profiles identified additional clinically significant mutations that are known or experimental drug targets for treatment of lung cancer. Conclusion Our findings firstly suggest that treatment regimens based on comprehensive genetic assessment of newly diagnosed LABM patients should target both the PT and secondary BMs, including rogue clones with potential to form new BMs. Second, the additional information gained should allow clinicians to design and implement more personalized treatment regimens and potentially improve outcomes for LABM patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Youwen Zhang ◽  
Xiukun Wang ◽  
Xue Li ◽  
Limin Dong ◽  
Xinxin Hu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT As increasing numbers of colistin-resistant bacteria emerge, new therapies are urgently needed to treat infections caused by these pathogens. The discovery of new combination therapies is one important way to solve such problems. Here, we report that the antitumor drug PFK-158 and its analogs PFK-015 and 3PO can exert synergistic effects with colistin against colistin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, including mcr-1-positive or high-level-colistin-resistant (HLCR) isolates, as shown by a checkerboard assay. The results of a time-kill assay revealed that colistin combined with PFK-158 continuously eliminated colistin-resistant Escherichia coli 13-43, Klebsiella pneumoniae H04, and Enterobacter cloacae D01 in 24 h. Images from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at 5 h postinoculation confirmed the killing effect of the combination. Finally, in vivo treatment showed that PFK-158 had a better synergistic effect than its analogs. Compared to the corresponding rates after colistin monotherapy, the survival rates of systemically infected mice were significantly increased 30% or 60% when the mice received an intravenous injection of colistin in combination with 15 mg/kg of body weight PFK-158. These results have important implications for repurposing PFK-158 to combat colistin resistance.


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