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  3. Inhibition of STAT3-ferroptosis negative regulatory axis suppresses tumor growth and alleviates chemoresistance in gastric cancer

Inhibition of STAT3-ferroptosis negative regulatory axis suppresses tumor growth and alleviates chemoresistance in gastric cancer

  • Redox Biol. 2022 Jun;52:102317. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2022.102317.
Shumin Ouyang 1,  Huaxuan Li 1,  Linlin Lou 1,  Qiuyao Huang 1,  Zhenhua Zhang 1,  Jianshan Mo 1,  Min Li 2,  Jiaye Lu 1,  Kai Zhu 3,  Yunjie Chu 3,  Wen Ding 1,  Jianzheng Zhu 1,  Ziyou Lin 1,  Lin Zhong 4,  Junjian Wang 1,  Peibin Yue 5,  James Turkson 5,  Peiqing Liu 6,  Yuanxiang Wang 7,  Xiaolei Zhang 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
  • 2 SSL Central Hospital of Dongguan City, Dongguan, 523326, China.
  • 3 Innovation Practice Center, Affiliated Hospital, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, 130117, China.
  • 4 Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
  • 5 Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, and Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA.
  • 6 National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China. Electronic address: liupq@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
  • 7 National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China. Electronic address: wangyx95@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
  • 8 National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China. Electronic address: zhangxlei5@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
PMID: 35483272 DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2022.102317
Abstract

Chemotherapy is still one of the principal treatments for gastric Cancer, but the clinical application of 5-FU is limited by drug resistance. Here, we demonstrate that Ferroptosis triggered by STAT3 inhibition may provide a novel opportunity to explore a new effective therapeutic strategy for gastric Cancer and chemotherapy resistance. We find that Ferroptosis negative regulation (FNR) signatures are closely correlated with the progression and chemoresistance of gastric Cancer. FNR associated genes (GPX4, SLC7A11, and FTH1) and STAT3 are upregulated in 5-FU resistant cells and xenografts. Further evidence demonstrates that STAT3 binds to consensus DNA response elements in the promoters of the FNR associated genes (GPX4, SLC7A11, and FTH1) and regulates their expression, thereby establishing a negative STAT3-ferroptosis regulatory axis in gastric Cancer. Genetic inhibition of STAT3 activity triggers Ferroptosis through lipid peroxidation and Fe2+ accumulation in gastric Cancer cells. We further develop a potent and selective STAT3 Inhibitor, W1131, which demonstrates significant anti-tumor effects in gastric Cancer cell xenograft model, organoids model, and patient-derived xenografts (PDX) model partly by inducing Ferroptosis, thus providing a new candidate compound for advanced gastric Cancer. Moreover, targeting the STAT3-ferroptosis circuit promotes Ferroptosis and restores sensitivity to chemotherapy. Our finding reveals that STAT3 acts as a key negative regulator of Ferroptosis in gastric Cancer through a multi-pronged mechanism and provides a new therapeutic strategy for advanced gastric Cancer and chemotherapy resistance.

Keywords

Chemotherapy resistance; Ferroptosis; Gastric cancer; STAT3 inhibitor.

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