Nrf3 alleviates oxidative stress and promotes the survival of colon cancer cells by activating AKT/BCL-2 signal pathway.

ABSTRACT

Oxidative stress is closely linked to tumor initiation and development, conferring a survival advantage to cancer cells. Therefore, understanding cancer cells' antioxidant molecular mechanisms is crucial to cancer therapy. In this study, we discovered that H2O2-induced oxidative stress increased Nrf3 expression in colon cancer cells. Overexpression of Nrf3 decreased H2O2-mediated cytotoxicity and apoptosis. Furthermore, Nrf3 reduced reactive oxygen species levels and malondialdehyde concentrations after H2O2 treatment. Mechanistically, H2O2-mediated cell apoptosis involves multiple signaling proteins, including Akt, bcl-2, JNK, and p38. An increase in Nrf3 expression in colon cancer cells treated with H2O2 partly reversed Akt/Bcl-2 inhibition, whereas it decreased activation of p38 and JNK. In addition, we found that increasing Nrf3 decreased stress-associated chemical-induced cell death, resulting in drug resistance. According to these results, Nrf3 is critical for drug resistance and oxidant adaptation.