Continuous ultraviolet irradiation induces the development of irreversible resistance of melanoma cells to anticancer drugs

Introduction. Melanoma belongs to the group of the most malignant tumors characterized by aggressive growth and active metastasis. At the same time, the effectiveness of therapy, primarily targeted therapy, is largely limited by the rapid development of drug resistance.

Aim. To study the effect of chronic ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on the formation of a population of radiation-resistant melanoma cells; to study the features of cell signaling and the sensitivity of UV-resistant melanoma cells to the antitumor drugs.

Materials and methods. The experiments were carried out on in vitro cultured A375 melanoma cells. Cells were cultured in a standard DMEM + 10 % FBS medium; cell growth rate was analyzed using the MTT assay; cell survival after irradiation was analyzed using a colony-forming test. Determination of the transcriptional activity of the estrogen receptor (ER) was performed by reporter analysis upon transfection into cells of a plasmid containing the luciferase reporter gene controlled by estrogen responsive element. The immunoblotting method was used to analyze the expression of cellular proteins; comparative analysis of ERα and ERβ expression was performed by immunofluorescent method.

Results. Long-term UV irradiation leads to the formation of a UV-resistant subpopulation of A375 melanoma cells, which is characterized by decreased sensitivity to targeted (vemurafenib) and hormonal (tamoxifen) drugs, increased expression of Snail, an activator of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and in the absence of noticeable changes in the expression of PI3K / mTOR signaling. Metformin reduces Snail expression in both parental and UV-resistant A375 cells and enhances the cytostatic effect in combination with vemurafenib or tamoxifen.

Conclusion. The data obtained demonstrate a decrease in the sensitivity of melanoma cells to targeted drugs under the long-term exposure to UV. The ability of metformin to potentiate the action of targeted drugs and inhibit Snail allows us to consider metformin not only as an antitumor agent, but also as a potential inhibitor of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

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