Ubiquitin-specific protease 7 inhibitors (USP7i) are considered a novel class of anticancer drugs. Cancer cells occasionally become insensitive to anticancer drugs, known as chemoresistance, by acquiring multidrug resistance, resulting in poor clinical outcomes in patients with cancer. However, the chemoresistance of cancer cells to USP7i (P22077 and P5091) and mechanisms to overcome it have not yet been investigated. In the present study, we generated human cancer cells with acquired resistance to USP7i-induced cell death. Gene expression profiling showed that heat stress response (HSR)- and unfolded protein response (UPR)-related genes were largely upregulated in USP7i-resistant cancer cells. Biochemical studies showed that USP7i induced the phosphorylation and activation of heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1), mediated by the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress protein kinase R-like ER kinase (PERK) signaling pathway. Inhibition of HSF1 and PERK significantly sensitized cancer cells to USP7i-induced cytotoxicity. Our study demonstrated that the ER stress-PERK axis is responsible for chemoresistance to USP7i, and inhibiting PERK is a potential strategy for improving the anticancer efficacy of USP7i.
Keywords: chemoresistance; endoplasmic reticulum stress; heat shock transcription factor 1; ubiquitin-specific protease 7 inhibitor.