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Zhang QY, Ding W, Mo JS, Ou-Yang SM, Lin ZY, Peng KR, Liu GP, Lu JJ, Yue PB, Lei JP, Wang YD, Zhang XL. Novel STAT3 oligonucleotide compounds suppress tumor growth and overcome the acquired resistance to sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2024:10.1038/s41401-024-01261-4. [PMID: 38609562 DOI: 10.1038/s41401-024-01261-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays an important role in the occurrence and progression of tumors, leading to resistance and poor prognosis. Activation of STAT3 signaling is frequently detected in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but potent and less toxic STAT3 inhibitors have not been discovered. Here, based on antisense technology, we designed a series of stabilized modified antisense oligonucleotides targeting STAT3 mRNA (STAT3 ASOs). Treatment with STAT3 ASOs decreased the STAT3 mRNA and protein levels in HCC cells. STAT3 ASOs significantly inhibited the proliferation, survival, migration, and invasion of cancer cells by specifically perturbing STAT3 signaling. Treatment with STAT3 ASOs decreased the tumor burden in an HCC xenograft model. Moreover, aberrant STAT3 signaling activation is one of multiple signaling pathways involved in sorafenib resistance in HCC. STAT3 ASOs effectively sensitized resistant HCC cell lines to sorafenib in vitro and improved the inhibitory potency of sorafenib in a resistant HCC xenograft model. The developed STAT3 ASOs enrich the tools capable of targeting STAT3 and modulating STAT3 activity, serve as a promising strategy for treating HCC and other STAT3-addicted tumors, and alleviate the acquired resistance to sorafenib in HCC patients. A series of novel STAT3 antisense oligonucleotide were designed and showed potent anti-cancer efficacy in hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo by targeting STAT3 signaling. Moreover, the selected STAT3 ASOs enhance sorafenib sensitivity in resistant cell model and xenograft model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi-Yi Zhang
- National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Wen Ding
- National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Jian-Shan Mo
- National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Shu-Min Ou-Yang
- National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Zi-You Lin
- National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Ke-Ren Peng
- National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Guo-Pin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510060, China
| | - Jin-Jian Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China
| | - Pei-Bin Yue
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, and Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA
| | - Jin-Ping Lei
- National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yan-Dong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510060, China.
| | - Xiao-Lei Zhang
- National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
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