Category

Archives

FOXM1 confers resistance to gefitinib in lung adenocarcinoma via a MET/AKT-dependent positive feedback loop

Gefitinib resistance remains a major problem in the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. However, the molecular mechanisms of gefitinib resistance are not fully understood. In this study, we characterized the critical role of transcription factor Forkhead box protein M1 (FOXM1) in gefitinib resistance of lung adenocarcinoma cells. In vitro drug sensitivity assays demonstrated that FOXM1 inhibition sensitized PC9/GR and HCC827/GR cells to gefitinib, whereas FOXM1 overexpression enhanced PC9 and HCC827 cell resistance to gefitinib. Increased FOXM1 resulted in the upregulation of hepatocyte growth factor receptor (MET), which led to activation of the protein kinase B (AKT) pathway, whereas knockdown of FOXM1 did the opposite. FOXM1 bound directly to the MET promoter regions and regulated the promoter activities and the expression of MET at the transcriptional level. Moreover, MET/AKT pathway upregulated the expression of FOXM1 in lung adenocarcinoma cells. Inhibition of pAKT by LY294002 or inhibition of pMET by PHA-665752 significantly inhibited the expression of FOXM1 in lung adenocarcinoma cells. Importantly, we further demonstrated that the expression levels of FOXM1, pAKT and MET were significantly increased in lung adenocarcinoma tissues relative to normal lung tissues, and these three biomarkers were concomitantly overexpressed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues. Taken together, our results indicate that FOXM1 promotes acquired resistance to gefitinib of lung adenocarcinoma cells, and FOXM1 crosstalks with MET/AKT signaling to form a positive feedback loop to promote lung adenocarcinoma development.

Related Products

Cat.No. Product Name Information
S1070 PHA-665752 PHA-665752 is a potent, selective and ATP-competitive c-Met inhibitor with IC50 of 9 nM in cell-free assays, >50-fold selectivity for c-Met than RTKs or STKs.

Related Targets

c-Met