Bioengineering Program, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
Mol Oncol. 2023 Oct;17(10):1962-1980. doi: 10.1002/1878-0261.13478. Epub 2023 Jul 19.
Chemotherapy remains the standard treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC); however, chemoresistance compromises its efficacy. The RNA-binding protein Hu antigen R (HuR) could be a potential therapeutic target to enhance the chemotherapy efficacy. HuR is known to mainly stabilize its target mRNAs, and/or promote the translation of encoded proteins, which are implicated in multiple cancer hallmarks, including chemoresistance. In this study, a docetaxel-resistant cell subline (231-TR) was established from the human TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231. Both the parental and resistant cell lines exhibited similar sensitivity to the small molecule functional inhibitor of HuR, KH-3. Docetaxel and KH-3 combination therapy synergistically inhibited cell proliferation in TNBC cells and tumor growth in three animal models. KH-3 downregulated the expression levels of HuR targets (e.g., β-Catenin and BCL2) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Moreover, KH-3 restored docetaxel's effects on activating Caspase-3 and cleaving PARP in 231-TR cells, induced apoptotic cell death, and caused S-phase cell cycle arrest. Together, our findings suggest that HuR is a critical mediator of docetaxel resistance and provide a rationale for combining HuR inhibitors and chemotherapeutic agents to enhance chemotherapy efficacy.
化疗仍然是三阴性乳腺癌(TNBC)的标准治疗方法;然而,化疗耐药性会影响其疗效。RNA 结合蛋白 Hu 抗原 R(HuR)可能是增强化疗疗效的潜在治疗靶点。HuR 主要稳定其靶 mRNA,并/或促进编码蛋白的翻译,这些蛋白与多种癌症特征有关,包括化疗耐药性。在这项研究中,从人 TNBC 细胞系 MDA-MB-231 中建立了多西紫杉醇耐药细胞亚系(231-TR)。亲本细胞系和耐药细胞系对 HuR 的小分子功能抑制剂 KH-3 均表现出相似的敏感性。多西紫杉醇和 KH-3 联合治疗在三种动物模型中协同抑制 TNBC 细胞的增殖和肿瘤生长。KH-3 以时间和剂量依赖的方式下调 HuR 靶标(如β-Catenin 和 BCL2)的表达水平。此外,KH-3 恢复了 docetaxel 在 231-TR 细胞中激活 Caspase-3 和切割 PARP 的作用,诱导细胞凋亡,导致 S 期细胞周期停滞。总之,我们的研究结果表明 HuR 是多西紫杉醇耐药的关键介质,并为联合使用 HuR 抑制剂和化疗药物以增强化疗疗效提供了依据。