Effective Synergy of Sorafenib and Nutrient Shortage in Inducing Melanoma Cell Death through Energy Stress

Author(s):Show less -

Antunes, Fernanda ^[1] ; Pereira, Gustavo J. S. ^[1] ; Saito, Renata F. ^{[2, 3]} ; Buri, V, Marcus ; Gagliardi, Mara ^{[4, 5]} ; Bincoletto, Claudia ^[1] ; Chammas, Roger ^{[2, 3]} ; Fimia, Gian Maria ^{[6, 7]} ; Piacentini, Mauro ^{[6, 8]} ; Corazzari, Marco ^{[4, 5, 9, 10]} ; Smaili, Soraya Soubhi ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Paulista Sch Med, Dept Pharmacol, BR-04021001 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Translat Res Oncol, Dept Radiol & Oncol, Fac Med, BR-04021001 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Canc Inst State Sao Paulo, BR-04021001 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Piemonte Orientale, Dept Hlth Sci DISS, I-28100 Novara - Italy

^[5] Ctr Translat Res Autoimmune & Allerg Dis CAAD, I-28100 Novara - Italy

^[6] Natl Inst Infect Dis IRCCS Lazzaro Spallanzani, Dept Epidemiol & Preclin Res, I-00149 Rome - Italy

^[7] Univ Roma La Sapienza, Dept Mol Med, I-00185 Rome - Italy

^[8] Russian Acad Sci, Inst Cytol, St Petersburg 199034 - Russia

^[9] Univ Piemonte Orientale, Dept Hlth Sci, I-28100 Novara - Italy

^[10] Univ Piemonte Orientale, IRCAD, I-28100 Novara - Italy

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: CELLS; v. 9, n. 3 MAR 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Skin melanoma is one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat human malignancies, characterized by poor survival rates, thus requiring urgent novel therapeutic approaches. Although metabolic reprogramming has represented so far, a cancer hallmark, accumulating data indicate a high plasticity of cancer cells in modulating cellular metabolism to adapt to a heterogeneous and continuously changing microenvironment, suggesting a novel therapeutic approach for dietary manipulation in cancer therapy. To this aim, we exposed melanoma cells to combined nutrient-restriction/sorafenib. Results indicate that cell death was efficiently induced, with apoptosis representing the prominent feature. In contrast, autophagy was blocked in the final stage by this treatment, similarly to chloroquine, which also enhanced melanoma cell sensitization to combined treatment. Energy stress was evidenced by associated treatment with mitochondrial dysfunction and glycolysis impairment, suggesting metabolic stress determining melanoma cell death. A reduction of tumor growth after cycles of intermittent fasting together with sorafenib treatment was also observed in vivo, reinforcing that the nutrient shortage can potentiate anti-melanoma therapy. Our findings showed that the restriction of nutrients by intermittent fasting potentiates the effects of sorafenib due to the modulation of cellular metabolism, suggesting that it is possible to harness the energy of cancer cells for the treatment of melanoma. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/20073-2 - Autophagy as a protective mechanism in senescent rats
• Grantee: Soraya Soubhi Smaili
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/10863-7 - Study of lipophagy mediated by two-pore channels receptors
• Grantee: Gustavo José da Silva Pereira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 12/08273-3 - Study of autophagy and neuroprotection in aging and in a Parkinson's Disease animal model
• Grantee: Rodrigo Portes Ureshino
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral