Department of Medical Oncology (Laboratory), Dr. BRA IRCH, AIIMS, New Delhi, India.
Department of Pathology, AIIMS, Delhi, New Delhi, India.
J Cell Biochem. 2023 Sep;124(9):1259-1272. doi: 10.1002/jcb.30443. Epub 2023 Jul 14.
Among all the subtypes of breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has been associated with the worst prognosis. Recently, for many solid tumors (including breast cancer) metabolic reprogramming has appeared as a cancer cell hallmark, and the elevated glycolytic pathway has been linked to their aggressive phenotype. In the present study, we evaluated the prognostic and therapeutic relevance of PFKFB3 (6-phosphofructo-2- kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase) in TNBCs. Prognostic significance of PFKFB3 expression was evaluated in overall breast cancers as well as in TNBCs. PFKFB3 inhibitor (3PO potent analogue i.e., PFK15) cytotoxicity in TNBC cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468) was analyzed using an MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Cancer cell physiological characteristics like clonogenicity and migration were also investigated after PFK15 treatment. As fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (F-2,6-BP), has been associated with increased PFK-1 activity, the effect of PFKFB3 inhibition by PFK15 was investigated on two major isoforms of phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK-1) in breast cancer, that is, phosphofructokinase-platelet type (PFKP) and phosphofructokinase-liver type (PFKL) (relevant to breast cancer). For PFKL inhibition, the siRNA approach was used. PFKFB3 expression was significantly correlated with inferior overall survival in breast cancer patients including TNBCs. PFK15 treatment in TNBC cells (i.e., MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468) resulted in a decreased PFKP expression, thereby leading to reduced colony formation ability, migration rate, and extracellular lactate levels. However, to our surprise PFK15 treatment in both TNBC cells also resulted in elevated PFKL levels. Our results demonstrated that the combinatorial inhibition of PFK15 with siPFKL was more effective in TNBC cells, as it led to a decrease in colony formation ability, migration rate, extracellular lactate levels, and PFK-1 activity when compared with individual treatments. Using bona fide PFKFB3 inhibitor, that is, AZ67, we further show that AZ67 treatment to TNBC cells has no effect either on the expression of PFKP and PFKL, or on the lactate production. In summary, our present in vitro study demonstrated that 3PO derived PFK15 mechanism of action is totally different from AZ67 in TNBC cells. However, we advocate that the PFK15-mediated inhibition (along with PFKL) on the TNBCs migration, colony formation, and PFK-1 activity can be further explored for the therapeutic advantage of TNBC patients.
在所有乳腺癌亚型中,三阴性乳腺癌(TNBC)的预后最差。最近,对于许多实体瘤(包括乳腺癌)来说,代谢重编程似乎已经成为癌细胞的一个标志,而升高的糖酵解途径与它们侵袭性的表型有关。在本研究中,我们评估了 PFKFB3(6-磷酸果糖-2-激酶/果糖-2,6-二磷酸酶)在 TNBC 中的预后和治疗相关性。评估了 PFKFB3 表达在所有乳腺癌以及 TNBC 中的预后意义。使用 MTT(3-(4,5-二甲基噻唑-2-基)-2,5-二苯基四唑溴盐)测定法分析了 PFKFB3 抑制剂(3PO 有效类似物,即 PFK15)对 TNBC 细胞系(MDA-MB-231 和 MDA-MB-468)的细胞毒性。在 PFK15 处理后,还研究了癌症细胞的生理特征,如集落形成能力和迁移能力。由于果糖-2,6-双磷酸(F-2,6-BP)与 PFK-1 活性的增加有关,因此研究了 PFK15 通过 PFKFB3 抑制对乳腺癌中两种主要的磷酸果糖激酶-1(PFK-1)同工酶的影响,即磷酸果糖激酶-血小板型(PFKP)和磷酸果糖激酶-肝型(PFKL)(与乳腺癌相关)。对于 PFKL 抑制,使用了 siRNA 方法。PFKFB3 表达与乳腺癌患者(包括 TNBC 患者)的总生存期不良显著相关。PFK15 处理 TNBC 细胞(即 MDA-MB-231 和 MDA-MB-468)导致 PFKP 表达降低,从而导致集落形成能力、迁移率和细胞外乳酸水平降低。然而,令我们惊讶的是,PFK15 处理在两种 TNBC 细胞中也导致 PFKL 水平升高。我们的结果表明,PFK15 与 siPFKL 的联合抑制在 TNBC 细胞中更有效,因为与单独治疗相比,它导致集落形成能力、迁移率、细胞外乳酸水平和 PFK-1 活性降低。使用真正的 PFKFB3 抑制剂,即 AZ67,我们进一步表明,AZ67 处理 TNBC 细胞既不会影响 PFKP 和 PFKL 的表达,也不会影响乳酸的产生。总之,我们目前的体外研究表明,3PO 衍生的 PFK15 的作用机制在 TNBC 细胞中与 AZ67 完全不同。然而,我们主张 PFK15 介导的抑制(与 PFKL 一起)对 TNBC 细胞的迁移、集落形成和 PFK-1 活性的抑制可以进一步探索用于 TNBC 患者的治疗优势。