Wnt/β-catenin signaling mediates resistance of colorectal cancer cells to chemoradiotherapy
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ABSTRACT: Activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays a central role in the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). Previously, we demonstrated that the Wnt transcription factor, TCF7L2, was overexpressed in primary rectal cancers that were resistant to chemoradiotherapy (CRT), and that TCF7L2 functionally mediates resistance of CRC cells to CRT. However, it remained unclear whether the resistance was mediated by a TCF7L2 inherent mechanism or Wnt/β-catenin signaling in general. We now show that silencing of β-catenin resulted in sensitization of the CRC cell lines LS1034, SW480, and SW837 to CRT, demonstrating a relationship between Wnt/β-catenin signaling and CRT resistance. To investigate the potential role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in controlling therapeutic responsiveness, non-tumorigenic RPE-1 cells were stimulated with Wnt-3a, a physiological ligand at the Frizzled receptor, which significantly increased resistance to CRT. This effect could be recapitulated by overexpression of mutated, undegradable β-catenin (S33Y). Again, this resulted in a significantly boosted resistance of RPE-1 cells to CRT, which was abrogated by siRNA-mediated silencing of β-catenin. Consistent with these findings, we observed higher expression levels of active (unphosphorylated) β-catenin as well as increased TCF/LEF reporter activity in SW1463 cells that evolved radiation-resistance due to repeated radiation-treatment. Global gene expression profiling identified several altered pathways associated with treatment response as a consequence of Wnt/β-catenin pathway activation, sheading new light on PPARD signaling as a possible mechanism of Wnt mediated resistance. Hence, synergistic pathway inhibition of either Wnt and/or one of the downstream-pathways may represent a promising strategy to increase therapeutic responsiveness to CRT.
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE97543 | GEO | 2017/05/01
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA382241
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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