1
|
Dong R, Chen P, Polireddy K, Wu X, Wang T, Ramesh R, Dixon DA, Xu L, Aubé J, Chen Q. An RNA-Binding Protein, Hu-antigen R, in Pancreatic Cancer Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition, Metastasis, and Cancer Stem Cells. Mol Cancer Ther 2020; 19:2267-2277. [PMID: 32879054 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-19-0822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2019] [Revised: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer has poor prognosis and treatment outcomes due to its highly metastatic nature and resistance to current treatments. The RNA-binding protein (RBP) Hu-antigen R (HuR) is a central player in posttranscriptional regulation of cancer-related gene expression, and contributes to tumorigenesis, tumor growth, metastasis, and drug resistance. HuR has been suggested to regulate pancreatic cancer epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), but the mechanism was not well understood. Here, we further elucidated the role HuR plays in pancreatic cancer cell EMT, and developed a novel inhibitor specifically interrupting HuR-RNA binding. The data showed that HuR binds to the 3'-UTR of the mRNA of the transcription factor Snail, resulting in stabilization of Snail mRNA and enhanced Snail protein expression, thus promoted EMT, metastasis, and formation of stem-like cancer cells (CSC) in pancreatic cancer cells. siRNA silencing or CRISPR/Cas9 gene deletion of HuR inhibited pancreatic cancer cell EMT, migration, invasion, and inhibited CSCs. HuR knockout cells had dampened tumorigenicity in immunocompromised mice. A novel compound KH-3 interrupted HuR-RNA binding, and KH-3 inhibited pancreatic cancer cell viability, EMT, migration/invasion in vitro KH-3 showed HuR-dependent activity and inhibited HuR-positive tumor growth and metastasis in vivo.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ruochen Dong
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
| | - Ping Chen
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
| | - Kishore Polireddy
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
| | - Xiaoqing Wu
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
| | - Tao Wang
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
| | - Remya Ramesh
- Department of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Dan A Dixon
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
| | - Liang Xu
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
| | - Jeffrey Aubé
- Department of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Qi Chen
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas.
| |
Collapse
|