1. Comprehensive functional evaluation of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with BH3-profiling demonstrates apoptotic competency and therapeutic efficacy of BH3-mimetics.
- Author
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Li, Daniel, Lopez, Andrea, Shrivastava, Nitisha, Chan, Wesley, Thomas, Carlos, Burk, Robert, Segall, Jeff, Augustine, Stelby, Rosenblatt, Gregory, Mehta, Vikas, Schiff, Bradley A., Smith, Richard V., Prystowsky, Michael B., Schlecht, Nicolas F., Guha, Chandan, Gavathiotis, Evripidis, and Ow, Thomas J.
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BCL-2 proteins , *SQUAMOUS cell carcinoma , *HEAD & neck cancer , *CODEPENDENCY , *APOPTOSIS - Abstract
• Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) express anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-xL and Mcl-1. • BH3 profiling was used to evaluate dependency upon BCL-2 anti-apoptotic proteins in HNSCC lines. • Co-dependency on Bcl-xL and Mcl-1 in HNSCC for survival is common. • BCL-xL and MCL-1 inhibition is synergistic in 2D culture and in 3D organoid models of HHNSCC. • BCL-xL and MCL-1 inhibition may have therapeutic potential in HNSCC. Evasion of apoptosis promotes tumor survival and contributes to resistance to cancer therapeutics in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Our recent work has demonstrated that HNSCC's highly express pro-survival anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-xL and Mcl-1. Nevertheless, the mechanism of HNSCC to evade apoptosis is still not well understood. We used BH3 profiling, a functional assay which measures mitochondrial depolarization in response to the introduction of BH3 peptides, to evaluate apoptosis competency and dependency upon BCL-2 family anti-apoptotic proteins in a panel of immortalized and patient-derived HNSCC lines. We assessed response to BH3 mimetics including ABT-263 (navitoclax), an inhibitor of Bcl-2/Bcl-xL/Bcl-w, and S63845, an inhibitor of Mcl-1, both as single agents and in combination. We demonstrate that apoptosis signaling appears to be intact in the majority of HNSCC cells, and they are co-dependent upon Bcl-xL and Mcl-1 for survival. We found the combination to be highly synergistic in 2D culture and in 3D organoid models of HHNSCC. Given our findings that co-dependency on Bcl-xL and Mcl-1 is common, and co-inhibition of these molecules is synergistic for growth suppression in HNSCC cells, these results elucidate the therapeutic potential of BCL-xL and MCL-1 inhibition in HNSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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