Metformin sensitises hepatocarcinoma cells to methotrexate by targeting dihydrofolate reductase

Autor: Yinghui Wang, Hui Lu, Linchong Sun, Xin Chen, Haoran Wei, Caixia Suo, Junru Feng, Mengqiu Yuan, Shengqi Shen, Weidong Jia, Ying Wang, Huafeng Zhang, Zijun Li, Xiuying Zhong, Ping Gao
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Cell Death and Disease, Vol 12, Iss 10, Pp 1-13 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2041-4889
DOI: 10.1038/s41419-021-04199-1
Popis: Abstract Metformin, the first-line drug for type II diabetes, has recently been considered an anticancer agent. However, the molecular target and underlying mechanism of metformin’s anti-cancer effects remain largely unclear. Herein, we report that metformin treatment increases the sensitivity of hepatocarcinoma cells to methotrexate (MTX) by suppressing the expression of the one-carbon metabolism enzyme DHFR. We show that the combination of metformin and MTX blocks nucleotide metabolism and thus effectively inhibits cell cycle progression and tumorigenesis. Mechanistically, metformin not only transcriptionally represses DHFR via E2F4 but also promotes lysosomal degradation of the DHFR protein. Notably, metformin dramatically increases the response of patient-derived hepatocarcinoma organoids to MTX without obvious toxicity to organoids derived from normal liver tissue. Taken together, our findings identify an important role for DHFR in the suppressive effects of metformin on therapeutic resistance, thus revealing a therapeutically targetable potential vulnerability in hepatocarcinoma.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals