Inhibition of Dickkopf-1 enhances the anti-tumor efficacy of sorafenib via inhibition of the PI3K/Akt and Wnt/ß-catenin pathways in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Cell Commun Signal
; 21(1): 339, 2023 11 27.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38012711
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Sorafenib improves the overall survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) is commonly overexpressed in HCC. In this study, we investigated whether the inhibition of DKK1 enhances the anti-tumor efficacy of sorafenib in HCC.METHODS:
HCC cells were treated with sorafenib and WAY-262611, which is an inhibitor of DKK1. Transgenic mouse models were also developed using hydrodynamic tail vein injection. Mice were orally administered with sorafenib (32 mg/kg), WAY-262611 (16 mg/kg), or sorafenib + WAY-262611 for 10 days. Mechanisms of sorafenib and WAY-262611 were explored via western blotting, immunostaining, and RNA sequencing.RESULTS:
DKK1 was significantly overexpressed in patients with HCC than in the healthy controls and patients with liver diseases except HCC (all P < 0.05). Compared with sorafenib alone, sorafenib + WAY-262611 significantly inhibited the cell viability, invasion, migration, and colony formation by promoting apoptosis and altering the cell cycles in HCC cells (all P < 0.05). Moreover, sorafenib + WAY-262611 decreased the p110α, phospho-Akt (all P < 0.05), active ß-catenin (all P < 0.05) and phospho-GSK-3ß (Ser9) expression levels, while increasing the phospho-GSK-3ß (Tyr216) expression levels compared with those in the sorafenib alone in vitro and in vivo. In addition, sorafenib + WAY-262611 inhibited tumor progression by regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis, significantly better than sorafenib alone in mouse models.CONCLUSIONS:
Our results indicate that DKK1 inhibition significantly enhances the anti-tumor efficacy of sorafenib by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt and Wnt/ß-catenin pathways via regulation of GSK3ß activity, suggesting a novel therapeutic strategy for HCC. Video Abstract.Palavras-chave
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Carcinoma Hepatocelular
/
Neoplasias Hepáticas
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article