TY - JOUR
T1 - Stat1 confers sensitivity to radiation in cervical cancer cells by controlling Parp1 levels
T2 - a new perspective for Parp1 inhibition
AU - Raspaglio, Giuseppina
AU - Buttarelli, Marianna
AU - Filippetti, Flavia
AU - Battaglia, Alessandra
AU - Buzzonetti, Alexia
AU - Scambia, Giovanni
AU - Gallo, Daniela
N1 - Funding Information:
G.R. and M.B. performed study concept and design and draft manuscript. G.R., F.F., A. Battaglia, and A. Buzzonetti performed the experiments. M.B. performed bioinfor-matics analysis. G.S. supervised the study, revised the manuscript for intellectual content, and was responsible for funding acquisition. D.G. conceived, designed, and supervised the study and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approve the manuscript.
Funding Information:
This work, as part of the activities of the Unit of Translational Medicine for Woman and Child Health, was partially supported by the “Associazione OPPO e le sue stanze” Onlus.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related death in women. According to international guidelines, a standard treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) consists of exclusive concurrent chemoradiation treatment (CRT). However, chemoradioresistance and subsequent relapse and metastasis of cancer occur in many patients, and survival for these women has generally remained poor. Therefore, strategies to overcome resistance are urgently needed. We have recently reported a radiosensitizing effect of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) in CC, associated with the control of [Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase −1] PARP1 levels, a key factor in cell response to DNA damage induced by radiation. Here, we sought to decipher the underlying mechanism of STAT1-mediated control of PARP1, elucidating its role as a radiosensitizer in CC. Functional and molecular biology studies demonstrated that STAT1 may act at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels to modulate PARP1 expression in CC cells. In light of these results, we tested the effect of Olaparib in sensitizing CC cells to radiation and investigated signaling pathways involved in the activity observed. Results showed that PARP1 inhibition, at clinically achievable doses, may indeed selectively improve the sensitivity of resistant CC cells to DNA-damaging treatment. The translational relevance of our findings was supported by preliminary results in a limited patient cohort, confirming that higher PARP1 levels are significantly associated with a radioresistant phenotype. Finally, bioinformatics analysis of GEPIA and TCGA databases, demonstrated that PARP1 mRNA is higher in CC than in normal tissues and that increased PARP1 mRNA expression levels are associated with poor prognosis of LACC patients. Overall, our data open new opportunities for the development of personalized treatments in women diagnosed with CC.
AB - Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related death in women. According to international guidelines, a standard treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) consists of exclusive concurrent chemoradiation treatment (CRT). However, chemoradioresistance and subsequent relapse and metastasis of cancer occur in many patients, and survival for these women has generally remained poor. Therefore, strategies to overcome resistance are urgently needed. We have recently reported a radiosensitizing effect of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) in CC, associated with the control of [Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase −1] PARP1 levels, a key factor in cell response to DNA damage induced by radiation. Here, we sought to decipher the underlying mechanism of STAT1-mediated control of PARP1, elucidating its role as a radiosensitizer in CC. Functional and molecular biology studies demonstrated that STAT1 may act at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels to modulate PARP1 expression in CC cells. In light of these results, we tested the effect of Olaparib in sensitizing CC cells to radiation and investigated signaling pathways involved in the activity observed. Results showed that PARP1 inhibition, at clinically achievable doses, may indeed selectively improve the sensitivity of resistant CC cells to DNA-damaging treatment. The translational relevance of our findings was supported by preliminary results in a limited patient cohort, confirming that higher PARP1 levels are significantly associated with a radioresistant phenotype. Finally, bioinformatics analysis of GEPIA and TCGA databases, demonstrated that PARP1 mRNA is higher in CC than in normal tissues and that increased PARP1 mRNA expression levels are associated with poor prognosis of LACC patients. Overall, our data open new opportunities for the development of personalized treatments in women diagnosed with CC.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41419-021-04229-y
DO - 10.1038/s41419-021-04229-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 34642300
AN - SCOPUS:85117403623
SN - 2041-4889
VL - 12
JO - Cell Death and Disease
JF - Cell Death and Disease
IS - 10
M1 - 933
ER -