All-trans retinoic acid reduces cancer stem cell-like cell-mediated resistance to gefitinib in NSCLC adenocarcinoma cells

BMC Cancer

Jia Cheng¹  Huifen Liu¹  Cuirong Gu¹  Kun Mi¹  Lingxiao Huang¹  Jianming Huang¹  Wenxiu Yao²  Xin Li²  Pinjia Wang²  Liyang Wang²  Huan Huang³ 

[1]Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Sichuan Cancer Insititute

[2]Department of Medical oncology, Sichuan Cancer Hospital, Medical School of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

[3]Department of Medical oncology, Wuming Hospital Affiliated to Guangxi Medical University

关键词: All-trans retinoic acid;    ALDH1A1;    CD44;    EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors;    Non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12885-020-06818-0

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background The enrichment of cancer stem cell-like cells (CSCs) has been considered to be responsible for tumor progression after an initial response to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) in patients with non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma (NSCLC/ADC). CSCs with ALDH1A1bright /CD44high expression contribute to the TKIs resistance in NSCLC/ADC cells. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been shown to be a potential targeted therapy against CSCs due to its ability to inhibit ALDH1A1 activity. We therefore investigated whether ATRA could circumvent the resistance to improve the response to gefitinib in NSCLC/ADC cells. Methods Treatment of NSCLC/ADC A549 and H1650 cells with gefitinib enriched the gefitinib surviving cells (GSCs). The expression of ALDH1A1 and CD44 and the IC50 values for gefitinib were determined by flow cytometry (FCM) and crystal violet assay in GSCs and ATRA-treated GSCs, respectively. Using DEAB as the positive control, direct inhibitory effect of ATRA on ALDH1A1 activity was determined by ALDEFLUOR assay, Results GSCs showed higher expression of ALDH1A1 and CD44 and IC50 values for gefitinib than their respective parental cells, suggesting that gefitinib can lead to propagation of CSC-enriched gefitinib-resistant cells. Treatment with ATRA was found to significantly reduce the increased expression of ALDH1A1 and CD44 and the IC50 values for gefitinib in A549GSC and H1650GSC cells, and ATRA could directly inhibit active ALDH1A1 as compared to DEAB. Conclusion Our findings suggest that combination treatment with ATRA prevents gefitinib-induced enrichment of ALDH1A1bright/CD44high CSCs and enhances gefitinib-induced growth inhibition of NSCLC/ADC cells.

【 授权许可】

Unknown