RESUMEN
Disease recurrence in high-grade serous ovarian cancer may be due to cancer stem-like cells (CSC) that are resistant to chemotherapy and capable of reestablishing heterogeneous tumors. The alternative NF-κB signaling pathway is implicated in this process; however, the mechanism is unknown. Here we show that TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) and its receptor, Fn14, are strong inducers of alternative NF-κB signaling and are enriched in ovarian tumors following chemotherapy treatment. We further show that TWEAK enhances spheroid formation ability, asymmetric division capacity, and expression of SOX2 and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition genes VIM and ZEB1 in ovarian cancer cells, phenotypes that are enhanced when TWEAK is combined with carboplatin. Moreover, TWEAK in combination with chemotherapy induces expression of the CSC marker CD117 in CD117- cells. Blocking the TWEAK-Fn14-RelB signaling cascade with a small-molecule inhibitor of Fn14 prolongs survival following carboplatin chemotherapy in a mouse model of ovarian cancer. These data provide new insights into ovarian cancer CSC biology and highlight a signaling axis that should be explored for therapeutic development. IMPLICATIONS: This study identifies a unique mechanism for the induction of ovarian cancer stem cells that may serve as a novel therapeutic target for preventing relapse.
Asunto(s)
FN-kappa B , Neoplasias Ováricas , Humanos , Animales , Femenino , Ratones , FN-kappa B/metabolismo , Factores de Necrosis Tumoral/genética , Factores de Necrosis Tumoral/metabolismo , Carboplatino/farmacología , Receptores del Factor de Necrosis Tumoral/genética , Receptor de TWEAK/genética , Línea Celular Tumoral , Recurrencia Local de Neoplasia/tratamiento farmacológico , Citocina TWEAK , Transducción de Señal/genética , Neoplasias Ováricas/tratamiento farmacológico , Neoplasias Ováricas/genética , Neoplasias Ováricas/metabolismo , Células Madre/metabolismo , Factor de Transcripción ReIB/metabolismoRESUMEN
The structure of the title compound, C29H26N4O6, exhibits a folded conformation with the three arms all on the same side of the tertiary N atom. The two phthalimide units make a dihedral angle of 12.18â (12)° and the dihedral angles between the benzyl plane and the phthalimide units are 68.08â (7) and 67.71â (7)°. The crystal packing features π-π inter-actions.
RESUMEN
The identification of tumor-initiating cells (TICs) has traditionally relied on surface markers including CD133, CD44, CD117, and the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzyme, which have diverse expression across samples. A more reliable indication of TICs may include the expression of embryonic transcription factors that support long-term self-renewal, multipotency, and quiescence. We hypothesize that SOX2, OCT4, and NANOG will be enriched in ovarian TICs and may indicate TICs with high relapse potential. We evaluated a panel of eight ovarian cancer cell lines grown in standard 2-D culture or in spheroid-enriching 3-D culture, and correlated expression with growth characteristics, TIC marker expression, and chemotherapy resistance. RNA-sequencing showed that cell cycle regulation pathways involving SOX2 were elevated in 3-D conditions. HGSOC lines had longer doubling-times, greater chemoresistance, and significantly increased expression of SOX2, OCT4, and NANOG in 3-D conditions. CD117+ or ALDH+/CD133+ cells had increased SOX2, OCT4, and NANOG expression. Limiting dilution in in vivo experiments implicated SOX2, but not OCT4 or NANOG, with early tumor-initiation. An analysis of patient data suggested a stronger role for SOX2, relative to OCT4 or NANOG, for tumor relapse potential. Overall, our findings suggest that SOX2 may be a more consistent indicator of ovarian TICs that contribute to tumor repopulation following chemotherapy. Future studies evaluating SOX2 in TIC biology will increase our understanding of the mechanisms that drive ovarian cancer relapse.