2. Academic Validation
  3. Ecto-NOX Disulfide-Thiol Exchanger 2 (ENOX2/tNOX) Is a Potential Prognostic Marker in Primary Malignant Melanoma and May Serve as a Therapeutic Target

Ecto-NOX Disulfide-Thiol Exchanger 2 (ENOX2/tNOX) Is a Potential Prognostic Marker in Primary Malignant Melanoma and May Serve as a Therapeutic Target

  • Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Nov 4;25(21):11853. doi: 10.3390/ijms252111853.
Matti Böcker 1 2,  Eftychia Chatziioannou 1,  Heike Niessner 1 3 4,  Constanze Hirn 1,  Christian Busch 5,  Kristian Ikenberg 6,  Hubert Kalbacher 7,  Rupert Handgretinger 8,  Tobias Sinnberg 1 4 9
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Division of Dermatooncology, Department of Dermatology, University of Tuebingen, Liebermeisterstraße 25, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
  • 2 Department of Urology and Pediatric Urology, University Hospital of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
  • 3 Department of Nutritional Biochemistry, Institute of Nutritional Sciences, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstraße 30, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany.
  • 4 Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) "Image Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies", Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
  • 5 Dermatologie zum Delfin, Stadthausstraße 12, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland.
  • 6 Institute of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital Zuerich, Schmelzbergstraße 12, 8091 Zuerich, Switzerland.
  • 7 Institute of Clinical Anatomy and Cell Analysis, University of Tuebingen, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Straße 8, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
  • 8 Department of General Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Tuebingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Straße 1, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
  • 9 Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
PMID: 39519404 DOI: 10.3390/ijms252111853
Abstract

With an increasing incidence of malignant melanoma, new prognostic biomarkers for clinical decision making have become more important. In this study, we evaluated the role of ecto-NOX disulfide-thiol exchanger 2 (ENOX2/tNOX), a cancer- and growth-associated protein, in the prognosis and therapy of primary malignant melanoma. We conducted a tissue microarray analysis of immunohistochemical ENOX2 protein expression and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) ENOX2 RNA expression analysis, as well as viability assays and Western blots of melanoma cell lines treated with the ENOX2 inhibitor phenoxodiol (PXD) and BRaf Inhibitor (BRAFi) vemurafenib. We discovered that high ENOX2 expression is associated with decreased overall (OS), disease-specific (DSS) and metastasis-free survival (MFS) in primary melanoma (PM) and a reduction in electronic tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (eTILs). A gradual rise in ENOX2 expression was found with an increase in malignant potential from benign nevi (BNs) via PMs to melanoma metastases (MMs), as well as with an increasing tumor thickness and stage. These results highlight the important role of ENOX2 in Cancer growth, progression and metastasis. The ENOX2 expression was not limited to malignant cell lines but could also be found in keratinocytes, fibroblasts and melanocytes. The viability of melanoma cell lines could be inhibited by PXD. A reduced induction of phospho-AKT under PXD could prevent the development of acquired BRAFi resistance. In conclusion, ENOX2 may serve as a potential prognostic marker and therapeutic target in malignant melanoma.

Keywords

ENOX2; biomarker; ecto-NOX disulfide-thiol exchanger 2; malignant melanoma; phenoxodiol; tNOX; vemurafenib.

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