HPV-induced Nurr1 promotes cancer aggressiveness, self-renewal, and radioresistance via ERK and AKT signaling in cervical cancer

Cancer Lett. 2021 Jan 28:497:14-27. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2020.09.025. Epub 2020 Sep 30.

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the etiological agent of cervical cancer; however, the mechanisms underlying HPV-mediated carcinogenesis remain poorly understood. Here, we showed that nuclear receptor related-1 protein (Nurr1) was upregulated in primary cervical cancer tissue-derived spheroid cells and HPV-positive cell lines, and Nurr1 upregulation was correlated with cancer grade. Nurr1 promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and anchorage-independent cell growth. In addition to its effect on cancer aggressiveness, Nurr1 enhanced the self-renewal ability of cells in vitro and in vivo, underscoring the importance of Nurr1 in maintaining the stemness of cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs). Mechanistically, Nurr1 independently activated the MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling cascades. The MEK inhibitor trametinib (GSK) and PI3K/mTOR dual inhibitor dactolisib (BEZ) were shown to abrogate Nurr1-augmented tumorigenesis by upregulating p21 and p27 expression and by suppressing MMP9 and KLF4 expression. We provided further evidence that BEZ, but not GSK, could abolish Nurr1-enhanced radioresistance, suggesting its potential value for radiosensitizing CSLCs in the clinical setting. This study highlights the unprecedented roles of Nurr1 and elucidates mechanisms by which Nurr1 promotes tumor progression and radioresistance, providing a novel therapeutic strategy for cervical cancer treatment.

Keywords: Cancer aggressiveness; Cervical cancer; HPV; Nurr1; Radioresistance; Self-renewal.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism*
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic*
  • Humans
  • Kruppel-Like Factor 4
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Nude
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / genetics
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / metabolism
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 / genetics
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 / metabolism
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells / pathology*
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells / radiation effects
  • Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 4, Group A, Member 2 / genetics
  • Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 4, Group A, Member 2 / metabolism*
  • Oncogene Proteins, Viral / genetics
  • Oncogene Proteins, Viral / metabolism*
  • Papillomaviridae / physiology
  • Papillomavirus Infections / complications
  • Papillomavirus Infections / metabolism
  • Papillomavirus Infections / virology
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / genetics
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / metabolism
  • Radiation Tolerance*
  • Signal Transduction
  • Tumor Cells, Cultured
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / radiotherapy
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / virology
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • KLF4 protein, human
  • Klf4 protein, mouse
  • Kruppel-Like Factor 4
  • NR4A2 protein, human
  • Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 4, Group A, Member 2
  • Oncogene Proteins, Viral
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
  • MAPK1 protein, human
  • MAPK3 protein, human
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3