Targeting apoptosis to manage acquired resistance to third generation EGFR inhibitors

Integrated analysis of multiple programmed cell death-related prognostic genes and functional validation of apoptosis-related genes in osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is one of the most prevalent bone malignancies with a poor prognosis. Various types of programmed cell death patterns can influence cancer progression and response to treatment. We aimed to integrate different molecular characteristics of cell death for risk stratification and personalized therapy. First, we obtained transcriptomic, single-cell transcriptomic, and clinical information from the TARGET-OS and GEO databases as well as analyzed genes in fourteen cell death patterns to establish the cell death index (CDI) signature. A nomogram constructed from the CDI calculated from seven genes in combination with metastasis could effectively predict the prognosis of OS patients. Subsequently, the prognostic value and immune characteristics in CDI-defined subgroups were analyzed. A construct nomogram model was also constructed with clinical information. Notably, immunohistochemistry confirmed that the expression of GALNT14, a core gene in CDI model, correlated with poor survival. Deficiency of the highly expressed prognostic gene GALNT14 significantly repressed OS progression and OS cell proliferation by promoting apoptosis. We subsequently demonstrated that Bortezomib, a targeted inhibitor of GALNT14, can be used to enhance chemosensitivity. Finally, it was further elucidated that Bortezomib reduces MT2A glycosylation and improves its stability to promote apoptosis in OS cells by inhibiting GALNT14 expression. In summary, integration of multiple cell death genes may improve the ability to stratify risk in patients with OS, and targeting GALNT14 with Bortezomib improves chemotherapy sensitivity and induces apoptosis.

New 4-amino-3-chloro benzoate ester derivatives as EGFR inhibitors: synthesis, in silico and biological analyses

AIM

The main goal of this study was to synthesize new derivatives of 4-amino-3-chloro benzoate ester, including 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives (N3a-d), benzohydrazone derivatives (N4a-c), and hydrazine-1-carbothioamide derivatives (N5a-d) that target epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase.

MATERIALS & METHODS

The new derivatives were characterized using various spectroscopic techniques. Docking studies were used to investigate the binding patterns to EGFR, and the anti-proliferative properties were tested in vitro.

RESULTS

In silico analysis showed that the hydrazine-1-carbothioamide derivatives (N5a-d) had the best matching pattern with EGFR pharmacophoric queries compared to erlotinib, exhibited a favorable safety profile, and showed the best stability among the tested compounds. Compound N5a induced cytotoxicity in the three cancer cell lines tested (A549, HepG2, and HCT-116), by targeting EGFR and activating caspase 3 and caspase 8, therefore, inducing the extrinsic apoptotic pathway.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study show that compound N5a is a promising cytotoxic compound that inhibits the tyrosine kinase activity of EGFR.

The Role of miR-29a and miR-143 on the Anti-apoptotic MCL-1/cIAP-2 Genes Expression in EGFR Mutated Non-small Cell Lung Carcinoma Patients

The survival rate of lung cancer is low due to the high frequency of drug resistance in patients with mutations in the driver genes. Overexpression of anti-apoptotic genes is one of the most prominent features of tumor drug resistance. EGFR signaling induces the expression of anti-apoptotic genes. Also, microRNAs (miRNAs) have a critical role in regulating biological functions such as apoptosis; a process mostly eluded in cancer progression. The mutation screening was performed on one thousand non-small cell lung carcinoma patients to enroll clinical samples in this study. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that miRNAs (miR-29a, miR-143) might regulate MCL-1 and cIAP-2 expression. We investigated the expression of MCL-1, cIAP-2, miR-29a, and miR-143 encoding genes in adenocarcinoma patients with or without EGFR mutations before treatment. The potential role of miR-29a and miR-143 on gene expression was evaluated by overexpression and luciferase assays in HEK-293T cells. EGFR mutations were found in 262 patients (26.2%) with a greater incidence in females (36.23% vs. 20.37%, P = 0.001). The expression levels of MCL-1 and cIAP-2 genes in patients with mutated EGFR were higher than those of wild-type EGFR. In contrast, compared to those of patients with wild-type EGFR, the expression levels of miR-29a and miR-143 were lower in the patients carrying EGFR mutations. In cell culture, overexpression of miR-29a and miR-143 significantly downregulated the expression of MCL-1 and cIAP-2. Dual-luciferase reporter experiments confirmed that miR-29a and miR-143 target MCL-1 and cIAP-2 mRNAs, respectively. Our results suggest that upregulation of EGFR signaling in lung cancer cells may increase anti-apoptotic MCL-1 and cIAP-2 gene expression, possibly through downregulation of miR-29a-3p and miR-143-3p.