Theranostics 2022; 12(9):4386-4398. doi:10.7150/thno.69863 This issue Cite
Research Paper
1. Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200217, P.R. China
2. Department of Oncology, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200123, P.R. China
3. Department of General Surgery, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200217, P.R. China
4. Institute of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212001, P.R. China
5. State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P.R. China
*Minhao Yu, Hao Wang and Wei Zhao contributed equally to this work.
Rationale: Oxaliplatin is a widely used chemotherapy drug for advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) and its resistance is a major challenge for disease treatment. However, the molecular mechanism underlying oxaliplatin resistance remains largely elusive.
Methods: An integrative analysis was performed to determine differentially expressed genes involved in oxaliplatin resistance. Loss- and gain-of-function studies were employed to investigate the roles of type Iγ phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase (PIPKIγ) on oxaliplatin resistance in CRC cells. Exosomes derived from CRC cell lines were assessed for PD-L1 level and the ability to promote oxaliplatin resistance. Quantitative real-time PCR, immunofluorescence, luciferase reporter assay, Western blotting and other techniques were conducted to decipher the molecular mechanism.
Results: PIPKIγ was identified as a critical gene related to oxaliplatin resistance in CRC. Genetic manipulation studies revealed that PIPKIγ profoundly facilitated oxaliplatin resistance and affected the expression of DNA damage repair proteins. Mechanistically, PIPKIγ promoted the expression of the immune checkpoint molecule PD-L1 via activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. Genetic silencing of PD-L1 did not affect CRC cell proliferation but significantly sensitized CRC cells to oxaliplatin. Notably, PD-L1 was revealed to be encapsulated in the exosomes, and the addition of exosomal PD-L1 to sh-PD-L1 CRC cells restored oxaliplatin resistance. Pharmacological hijacking PIPKIγ-exosomal PD-L1 axis largely reduced oxaliplatin resistance in CRC cells. In vivo experiments showed that PD-L1 loss significantly blocked oxaliplatin resistance and the addition of PD-L1-enriched exosomes promoted tumor growth and reduced mouse survival time.
Conclusion: Our findings reveal a previous unprecedented role of PIPKIγ in oxaliplatin resistance and provide a key mechanism of exosomal PD-L1 in CRC with potential therapeutics.
Keywords: Chemotherapy resistance, PIP5K1C, Phosphatidylinositol kinase, Exosome, DNA damage, CD274