Rescuing SLAMF3 Expression Restores Sorafenib Response in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells through the Induction of Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial Transition

Fouquet, Grégory; Marié, Constance; Collet, Louison; Vilpoux, Catherine; Ouled-Haddou, Hakim; Nguyen-Khac, Eric; Bayry, Jagadeesh; Naassila, Mickaël; Marcq, Ingrid; Bouhlal, Hicham

doi:10.3390/cancers14040910

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Rescuing SLAMF3 Expression Restores Sorafenib Response in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells through the Induction of Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial Transition

^1,†,

^1,†,

²,

¹,

^1,3,

^4,5

¹,

^1,*

and

Hicham Bouhlal

^1,*

Groupe de Recherche sur l’Alcool et les Pharmacodépendances INSERM UMR1247, Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Santé CURS, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80000 Amiens, France

Laboratoire HEMATIM EA4666, Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Santé CURS, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80000 Amiens, France

Department of Hepatogastroenterology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sud, 80000 Amiens, France

⁴

Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, 75006 Paris, France

⁵

Department of Biological Sciences & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad, Palakkad 678623, India

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Academic Editors: Hamid Morjani and Mohamed Zaiou

Cancers 2022, 14(4), 910; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14040910

Received: 14 January 2022 / Revised: 7 February 2022 / Accepted: 8 February 2022 / Published: 12 February 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Links between Cancer and Metabolic Diseases: New Perspectives and Therapeutic Strategies for Cancer Prevention and Treatment by Targeting Nutritional Patterns and Metabolic Alterations)

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Sorafenib is a treatment for advanced HCC which demonstrated a poor objective response rate due to important induction of resistance. We demonstrated that induction of acquired-resistance to sorafenib in Huh-7 cell line leads to the loss of SLAMF3 expression, a tumor suppressor receptor in HCC. In these cells, the sorafenib-resistant phenotype is characterized by the increase of aggressiveness and induction of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Acquired-resistance to sorafenib induce a multipotent mesenchymal stem cells characteristic. Interestingly, SLAMF3 overexpression reversed the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and decreased metastatic potential in sorafenib-resistant cells through the control of ERK1/2 and mTOR signaling pathways. SLAMF3 seems to be a theranostics tools to the management of sorafenib treatment.

Abstract

Background: Acquired resistance to sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients results in poor prognosis. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the major mechanism implicated in the resistance to sorafenib. We have reported the tumor suppressor role of SLAMF3 (signaling lymphocytic activation molecules family 3) in HCC progression and highlighted its implication in controlling the MRP-1 transporter activity. These data suggest the implication of SLAMF3 in sorafenib resistance mechanisms. Methods: We evaluated the resistance to sorafenib in Huh-7 cells treated with progressive doses (Res cells). We investigated the link between acquired resistance to sorafenib and SLAMF3 expression by flow cytometry and Western blot methods. Furthermore, we analyzed the EMT and the stem cell potential of cells resistant to sorafenib. Results: Sorafenib resistance was confirmed in Res cells by analyzing the cell viability in the presence of sorafenib. The mesenchymal transition, in Res cells, was confirmed by high migratory index and the expression of EMT antigens. Interestingly, we found that loss of SLAMF3 expression corresponded to sorafenib-resistant phenotypes. The overexpression of SLAMF3 reversed EMT, decreased metastatic potential and inhibited mTOR/ERK1/2 in Res cells. Conclusions: We propose that rescuing SLAMF3 expression in resistant cells could represent a potential therapeutic strategy to enhance sorafenib efficacy in HCC patients. View Full-Text

Keywords: SLAMF3; sorafenib resistance; EMT; CSCs; HCC

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Fouquet, G.; Marié, C.; Collet, L.; Vilpoux, C.; Ouled-Haddou, H.; Nguyen-Khac, E.; Bayry, J.; Naassila, M.; Marcq, I.; Bouhlal, H. Rescuing SLAMF3 Expression Restores Sorafenib Response in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells through the Induction of Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial Transition. Cancers 2022, 14, 910. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14040910

AMA Style

Fouquet G, Marié C, Collet L, Vilpoux C, Ouled-Haddou H, Nguyen-Khac E, Bayry J, Naassila M, Marcq I, Bouhlal H. Rescuing SLAMF3 Expression Restores Sorafenib Response in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells through the Induction of Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial Transition. Cancers. 2022; 14(4):910. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14040910

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fouquet, Grégory, Constance Marié, Louison Collet, Catherine Vilpoux, Hakim Ouled-Haddou, Eric Nguyen-Khac, Jagadeesh Bayry, Mickaël Naassila, Ingrid Marcq, and Hicham Bouhlal. 2022. "Rescuing SLAMF3 Expression Restores Sorafenib Response in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells through the Induction of Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial Transition" Cancers 14, no. 4: 910. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14040910

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Rescuing SLAMF3 Expression Restores Sorafenib Response in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells through the Induction of Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial Transition

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