Tunicamycin potentiates cisplatin anticancer efficacy through the DPAGT1/Akt/ABCG2 pathway in mouse Xenograft models of human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma is highly chemoresistant, and ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2) is thought to play a critical role in this drug resistance. The present study aims to develop effective therapeutic strategies to decrease ABCG2 expression level and to surmount drug resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma chemotherapy. First, we verified a positive correlation between the ABCG2 protein level and the drug resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. ABCG2 was preferentially expressed in highly chemoresistant hepatocellular carcinoma cancer stem cells (CSC) enriched with CD133. In addition, ABCG2 was N-linked glycosylated in hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and this modification was involved in sustaining its protein stability. The N-linked glycosylation (NLG) inhibitor tunicamycin dramatically reduced ABCG2 expression, altered its subcellular localization, and reversed its drug efflux effect in multiple hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. Furthermore, tunicamycin reduced the expression levels of several CSC markers and suppressed the tumorigenicity of CD133(+) CSCs. Tunicamycin combined with cisplatin (CDDP) inhibited proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression and increased the cleavage of PARP; this effect was partially rescued by the overexpression of ABCG2 or Akt-myr. The combination therapy more effectively suppressed tumor growth in xenograft mice than did single-agent therapy with either drug. Finally, the CDDP treatment combined with UDP-GlcNAc-dolichol-phosphate N-acetylglucosamine-1 phosphate transferase (DPAGT1) knockdown recapitulated the effect observed when CDDP was used in combination with tunicamycin. In summary, our results suggest that tunicamycin may reverse the drug resistance and improve the efficacy of combination treatments for hepatocellular carcinomas by targeting the DPAGT1/Akt/ABCG2 pathway.

• Authors: Helei Hou, Hefen Sun, Ping Lu, Chao Ge, Lixing Zhang, Hong Li, Fangyu Zhao, Hua Tian, Lin Zhang, Taoyang Chen, Ming Yao, Jinjun Li
• Journal: Molecular cancer therapeutics (Mol Cancer Ther) Vol. 12 Issue 12 Pg. 2874-84 (Dec 2013) ISSN: 1538-8514 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 24130050 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: ©2013 AACR.

Chemical References

• ABCG2 protein, human
• ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily G, Member 2
• ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters
• Antineoplastic Agents
• Neoplasm Proteins
• Tunicamycin
• N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases
• dolichyl-phosphate alpha-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
• Cisplatin

Topics

• ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily G, Member 2
• ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters (genetics, metabolism)
• Animals
• Antineoplastic Agents (pharmacology)
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular (genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Cisplatin (pharmacology)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Drug Synergism
• Humans
• Intracellular Space (metabolism)
• Liver Neoplasms (genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Mice
• N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases (metabolism)
• Neoplasm Proteins (genetics, metabolism)
• Neoplastic Stem Cells (drug effects, metabolism)
• Protein Transport
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt (metabolism)
• Signal Transduction
• Tunicamycin (pharmacology)
• Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays