Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) inhibitor ibrutinib suppresses stem-like traits in ovarian cancer

Oncotarget. 2015 May 30;6(15):13255-68. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.3658.

Abstract

According to a Prognoscan database, upregulation of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) is associated with low overall survival in ovarian cancer patients. We found that spheroids-forming ovarian cancer cell, which highly expressed cancer stem-like cell (CSC) markers and Btk, were cisplatin resistant. We next treated CSCs and non-CSCs by a combination of ibrutinib and cisplatin. We found that chemoresistance was dependent on Btk and JAK2/STAT3, which maintained CSC by inducing Sox-2 and prosurvival genes. We suggest that addition of ibrutinib to cisplatin may improve treatment outcome in ovarian cancer.

Keywords: Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (Btk); cancer stem cell (CSC); cisplatin; ibrutinib; ovarian cancer; spheroids.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenine / analogs & derivatives
  • Adult
  • Agammaglobulinaemia Tyrosine Kinase
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Cisplatin / therapeutic use
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Janus Kinase 2 / metabolism
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells / drug effects*
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / mortality
  • Piperidines
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Pyrazoles / therapeutic use*
  • Pyrimidines / therapeutic use*
  • STAT3 Transcription Factor / metabolism
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Piperidines
  • Pyrazoles
  • Pyrimidines
  • STAT3 Transcription Factor
  • STAT3 protein, human
  • ibrutinib
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
  • Agammaglobulinaemia Tyrosine Kinase
  • BTK protein, human
  • JAK2 protein, human
  • Janus Kinase 2
  • Adenine
  • Cisplatin