Prado-Souza Laura Francisca Leite do, Ferraz Letícia Silva, Citrangulo Tortelli Tharcísio, Ribeiro César Augusto João, Amaral Danilo Trabuco do, Arruda Denise Costa, Oliveira Érica Aparecida de, Chammas Roger, Maria-Engler Silvya Stuchi, Rodrigues Tiago
Center for Natural and Human Sciences (CCNH), Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Santo Andre, Sao Paulo 09210-580, Brazil.
Center for Translational Research in Oncology (LIM24), Cancer Institute of the State of Sao Paulo (ICESP), Clinical Hospital of the University of Sao Paulo Medical School (HCFMUSP), Sao Paulo 01246-000, Brazil.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Mar 16;26(6):2675. doi: 10.3390/ijms26062675.
Vemurafenib is a BRAF (rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma B-type)-targeted therapy used to treat patients with advanced, unresectable melanoma. It inhibits the MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase)/ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) pathway and tumor proliferation in BRAF-mutated melanoma cells. Resistance to vemurafenib has been reported in melanoma patients due to secondary (neuroblastoma RAS viral oncogene homolog) mutations, which lead to paradoxical MAPK pathway activation and tumor proliferation. However, the impact of this paradoxical activation on mitochondrial dynamics and function in -mutated melanoma is unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of vemurafenib on NRAS-mutated melanoma cells, focusing on mitochondrial dynamics and function. As expected, vemurafenib did not exhibit cytotoxicity in SK-MEL-147 NRAS-mutated melanoma cells, even after 72 h of incubation. However, it significantly enhanced the MAPK/ERK signaling through paradoxical activation, accompanied by decreased expression of mitochondrial fusion proteins and activation of the fission protein DRP1 (dynamin-related protein 1), leading to small, rounded mitochondrial morphology. These observations were corroborated by transcriptome data obtained from -mutated melanoma patients, showing (mitofusin 1) and (optic atrophy 1) downregulation and (DRP1 gene) upregulation. Interestingly, inhibition of mitochondrial fission with mdivi-1 or modulation of oxidative phosphorylation via respiratory chain inhibition or uncoupling significantly sensitized NRAS-mutated melanoma cells to vemurafenib. Despite vemurafenib's low cytotoxicity in -mutated melanoma, targeting mitochondrial dynamics and/or oxidative phosphorylation may offer a promising strategy for combined therapy.
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