Canonical Wnt Pathway Is Involved in Chemoresistance and Cell Cycle Arrest Induction in Colon Cancer Cell Line Spheroids

The presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) has been associated with the induction of drug resistance and disease recurrence after therapy. 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) is widely used as the first-line treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, its effectiveness may be limited by the induction of drug resi...

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Main Authors: Angela Patricia Moreno-Londoño, María Cristina Castañeda-Patlán, Miguel Angel Sarabia-Sánchez, Marina Macías-Silva, Martha Robles-Flores
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-03-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/6/5252
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author Angela Patricia Moreno-Londoño
María Cristina Castañeda-Patlán
Miguel Angel Sarabia-Sánchez
Marina Macías-Silva
Martha Robles-Flores
author_facet Angela Patricia Moreno-Londoño
María Cristina Castañeda-Patlán
Miguel Angel Sarabia-Sánchez
Marina Macías-Silva
Martha Robles-Flores
author_sort Angela Patricia Moreno-Londoño
collection DOAJ
description The presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) has been associated with the induction of drug resistance and disease recurrence after therapy. 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) is widely used as the first-line treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, its effectiveness may be limited by the induction of drug resistance in tumor cells. The Wnt pathway plays a key role in the development and CRC progression, but it is not clearly established how it is involved in CSCs resistance to treatment. This work aimed to investigate the role played by the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway in CSCs resistance to 5FU treatment. Using tumor spheroids as a model of CSCs enrichment of CRC cell lines with different Wnt/β-catenin contexts, we found that 5FU induces in all CRC spheroids tested cell death, DNA damage, and quiescence, but in different proportions for each one: RKO spheroids were very sensitive to 5FU, while SW480 were less susceptible, and the SW620 spheroids, the metastatic derivative of SW480 cells, displayed the highest resistance to death, high clonogenic capacity, and the highest ability for regrowth after 5FU treatment. Activating the canonical Wnt pathway with Wnt3a in RKO spheroids decreased the 5FU-induced cell death. But the Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibition with Adavivint alone or in combination with 5FU in spheroids with aberrant activation of this pathway produced a severe cytostatic effect compromising their clonogenic capacity and diminishing the stem cell markers expression. Remarkably, this combined treatment also induced the survival of a small cell subpopulation that could exit the arrest, recover SOX2 levels, and re-grow after treatment.
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spelling doaj.art-a8730495c9834e798c1d4c60b33919212023-11-17T11:31:21ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672023-03-01246525210.3390/ijms24065252Canonical Wnt Pathway Is Involved in Chemoresistance and Cell Cycle Arrest Induction in Colon Cancer Cell Line SpheroidsAngela Patricia Moreno-Londoño0María Cristina Castañeda-Patlán1Miguel Angel Sarabia-Sánchez2Marina Macías-Silva3Martha Robles-Flores4Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City 04510, MexicoDepartamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City 04510, MexicoDepartamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City 04510, MexicoInstituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City 04510, MexicoDepartamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City 04510, MexicoThe presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) has been associated with the induction of drug resistance and disease recurrence after therapy. 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) is widely used as the first-line treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, its effectiveness may be limited by the induction of drug resistance in tumor cells. The Wnt pathway plays a key role in the development and CRC progression, but it is not clearly established how it is involved in CSCs resistance to treatment. This work aimed to investigate the role played by the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway in CSCs resistance to 5FU treatment. Using tumor spheroids as a model of CSCs enrichment of CRC cell lines with different Wnt/β-catenin contexts, we found that 5FU induces in all CRC spheroids tested cell death, DNA damage, and quiescence, but in different proportions for each one: RKO spheroids were very sensitive to 5FU, while SW480 were less susceptible, and the SW620 spheroids, the metastatic derivative of SW480 cells, displayed the highest resistance to death, high clonogenic capacity, and the highest ability for regrowth after 5FU treatment. Activating the canonical Wnt pathway with Wnt3a in RKO spheroids decreased the 5FU-induced cell death. But the Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibition with Adavivint alone or in combination with 5FU in spheroids with aberrant activation of this pathway produced a severe cytostatic effect compromising their clonogenic capacity and diminishing the stem cell markers expression. Remarkably, this combined treatment also induced the survival of a small cell subpopulation that could exit the arrest, recover SOX2 levels, and re-grow after treatment.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/6/5252canonical Wnt signalingcolon cancercancer stem cellschemoresistancequiescence inductiontumor spheroids
spellingShingle Angela Patricia Moreno-Londoño
María Cristina Castañeda-Patlán
Miguel Angel Sarabia-Sánchez
Marina Macías-Silva
Martha Robles-Flores
Canonical Wnt Pathway Is Involved in Chemoresistance and Cell Cycle Arrest Induction in Colon Cancer Cell Line Spheroids
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
canonical Wnt signaling
colon cancer
cancer stem cells
chemoresistance
quiescence induction
tumor spheroids
title Canonical Wnt Pathway Is Involved in Chemoresistance and Cell Cycle Arrest Induction in Colon Cancer Cell Line Spheroids
title_full Canonical Wnt Pathway Is Involved in Chemoresistance and Cell Cycle Arrest Induction in Colon Cancer Cell Line Spheroids
title_fullStr Canonical Wnt Pathway Is Involved in Chemoresistance and Cell Cycle Arrest Induction in Colon Cancer Cell Line Spheroids
title_full_unstemmed Canonical Wnt Pathway Is Involved in Chemoresistance and Cell Cycle Arrest Induction in Colon Cancer Cell Line Spheroids
title_short Canonical Wnt Pathway Is Involved in Chemoresistance and Cell Cycle Arrest Induction in Colon Cancer Cell Line Spheroids
title_sort canonical wnt pathway is involved in chemoresistance and cell cycle arrest induction in colon cancer cell line spheroids
topic canonical Wnt signaling
colon cancer
cancer stem cells
chemoresistance
quiescence induction
tumor spheroids
url https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/6/5252
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