Functional interaction between endothelin-1 and ZEB1/YAP signaling regulates cellular plasticity and metastasis in high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) encompasses a highly dynamic and complex key process which leads to metastatic progression. In high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HG-SOC), endothelin-1 (ET-1)/endothelin A receptor (ETAR) signaling promotes EMT driving tumor progression. However, the complex nature of intertwined regulatory circuits activated by ET-1 to trigger the metastatic process is not fully elucidated.

METHODS:

The capacity of ET-1 pathway to guide a critical transcriptional network that is instrumental for metastatic growth was identified in patient-derived HG-SOC cells and cell lines through immunoblotting, q-RT-PCR, co-immunoprecipitation, in situ proximity ligation, luciferase reporter, chromatin immunoprecipitation assays and publicly available databases. Functional assays in HG-SOC cells and HG-SOC xenografts served to test the inhibitory effects of ET-1 receptors (ET-1R) antagonist in vitro and in vivo.

RESULTS:

We demonstrated that ET-1/ETAR axis promoted the direct physical ZEB1/YAP interaction by inducing their nuclear accumulation in HG-SOC cells. Moreover, ET-1 directed their engagement in a functional transcriptional complex with the potent oncogenic AP-1 factor JUN. This led to the aberrant activation of common target genes, including EDN1 (ET-1) gene, thereby creating a feed-forward loop that sustained a persistent ET-1/ZEB1 signaling activity. Notably, ET-1-induced Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) signaling mediated the activation of YAP/ZEB1 circuit driving cellular plasticity, invasion and EMT. Of therapeutic interest, treatment of HG-SOC cells with the FDA approved ET-1R antagonist macitentan, targeting YAP and ZEB1-driven signaling, suppressed metastasis in vivo in mice. High gene expression of ETAR/ILK/YAP/AP-1/ZEB1 was a strong predictor of poor clinical outcome in serous ovarian cancer patients, indicating the translational relevance of this signature expression.

CONCLUSIONS:

This study provides novel mechanistic insights of the ET-1R-driven mediators that support the ability of HG-SOC to acquire metastatic traits which include the cooperation of YAP and ZEB1 regulatory circuit paving the way for innovative treatment of metastatic ovarian cancer.

• Authors: Rosanna Sestito, Piera Tocci, Celia Roman, Valeriana Di Castro, Anna Bagnato
• Journal: Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR (J Exp Clin Cancer Res) Vol. 41 Issue 1 Pg. 157 (Apr 28 2022) ISSN: 1756-9966 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 35477522 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2022. The Author(s).

Chemical References

• Endothelin-1
• Receptor, Endothelin A
• Transcription Factor AP-1
• ZEB1 protein, human
• Zinc Finger E-box-Binding Homeobox 1

Topics

• Animals
• Cell Plasticity
• Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous (pathology)
• Endothelin-1 (genetics, metabolism)
• Female
• Humans
• Mice
• Ovarian Neoplasms (pathology)
• Receptor, Endothelin A (genetics, metabolism)
• Transcription Factor AP-1
• Zinc Finger E-box-Binding Homeobox 1 (genetics)