Regulation of pancreatic cancer TRAIL resistance by protein O-GlcNAcylation

Lab Invest. 2020 May;100(5):777-785. doi: 10.1038/s41374-019-0365-z. Epub 2020 Jan 2.

Abstract

TRAIL-activating therapy is promising in treating various cancers, including pancreatic cancer, a highly malignant neoplasm with poor prognosis. However, many pancreatic cancer cells are resistant to TRAIL-induced apoptosis despite their expression of intact death receptors (DRs). Protein O-GlcNAcylation is a versatile posttranslational modification that regulates various biological processes. Elevated protein O-GlcNAcylation has been recently linked to cancer cell growth and survival. In this study, we evaluated the role of protein O-GlcNAcylation in pancreatic cancer TRAIL resistance, and identified higher levels of O-GlcNAcylation in TRAIL-resistant pancreatic cancer cells. With gain- and loss-of-function of the O-GlcNAc-adding enzyme, O-GlcNActransferase (OGT), we determined that increasing O-GlcNAcylation rendered TRAIL-sensitive cells more resistant to TRA-8-induced apoptosis, while inhibiting O-GlcNAcylation promoted TRA-8-induced apoptosis in TRAIL-resistance cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that OGT knockdown sensitized TRAIL-resistant cells to TRA-8 therapy in a mouse model in vivo. Mechanistic studies revealed direct O-GlcNAc modifications of DR5, which regulated TRA-8-induced DR5 oligomerization. We further defined that DR5 O-GlcNAcylation was independent of FADD, the adapter protein for the downstream death-inducing signaling. These studies have demonstrated an important role of protein O-GlcNAcylation in regulating TRAIL resistance of pancreatic cancer cells; and uncovered the contribution of O-GlcNAcylation to DR5 oligomerization and thus mediating DR-inducing signaling.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Acetylglucosamine / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Mice, Nude
  • N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases* / genetics
  • N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases* / metabolism
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction / genetics
  • TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand* / genetics
  • TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand* / metabolism

Substances

  • TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand
  • TNFSF10 protein, human
  • Tnfsf10 protein, mouse
  • N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases
  • Acetylglucosamine