[TRIP13 Enhances Radioresistance of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells through the Homologous Recombination Pathway]

BACKGROUND

Radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the insensitivity of some tumor cells to radiation is one of the major reasons for the poor efficacy of radiotherapy and the poor prognosis of patients, and exploring the underlying mechanisms behind radioresistance is the key to solving this clinical challenge. This study aimed to identify the molecules associated with radioresistance in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), identified thyroid hormone receptor interactor 13 (TRIP13) as the main target initially, and explored whether TRIP13 is related to radioresistance in LUAD and the specific mechanism, with the aim of providing theoretical basis and potential targets for the combination therapy of LUAD patients receiving radiotherapy in the clinic.

METHODS

Three datasets, GSE18842, GSE19188 and GSE33532, were selected from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and screened for differentially expressed genes (|log FC|>1.5, P<0.05) in each of the three datasets using the R 4.1.3 software, and then Venn diagram was used to find out the differentially expressed genes common to the three datasets. The screened differential genes were then subjected to protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis and module analysis with the help of STRING online tool and Cytoscape software, and survival prognosis analysis was performed for each gene with the help of Kaplan-Meier Plotter database, and the TRIP13 gene was identified as the main molecule for subsequent studies. Subsequently, the human LUAD cell line H292 was irradiated with multiple X-rays using a sub-lethal dose irradiation method to construct a radioresistant cell line, H292DR. The radioresistance of H292DR cells was verified using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and clone formation assay. The expression levels of TRIP13 in H292 and H292DR cells were measured by Western blot. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to silence the expression of TRIP13 in H292DR cells and Western blot assay was performed. The clone formation ability and migration ability of H292DR cells were observed after TRIP13 silencing, followed by the detection of changes in the expression levels of proteins closely related to homologous recombination, such as ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) protein.

RESULTS

Screening of multiple GEO datasets, validation of external datasets and survival analysis revealed that TRIP13 was highly expressed in LUAD and was associated with poor prognosis in LUAD patients who had received radiation therapy. And the results of gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of TRIP13 suggested that TRIP13 might be closely associated with LUAD radioresistance by promoting homologous recombination repair after radiation therapy. Experimentally, TRIP13 expression was found to be upregulated in H292DR, and silencing of TRIP13 was able to increase the sensitivity of H292DR cells to radiation.

CONCLUSIONS

TRIP13 is associated with poor prognosis in LUAD patients treated with radiation, possibly by promoting a homologous recombination repair pathway to mediate resistance of LUAD cells to radiation.