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Pannexin 1 inhibition reduces tumorigenic properties of patient-derived glioblastoma cells through the HIPPO and Wnt signalling pathways

ABSTRACT: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumour, with a median survival of 12-18 months, highlighting a need for new treatment targets. We observed that pannexin 1 (PANX1), a channel-forming glycoprotein important in purinergic signalling, is upregulated in GBM compared to normal tissue and expressed throughout patient tumours. Western blot analysis of patient-derived GBM cell lines revealed significantly increased PANX1 expression in these primary lines compared to brain tissue and control glial cells. Immunofluorescent staining indicated mostly intracellular localization of PANX1 in GBM cells. Bulk RNA-sequencing compared the gene expression of GBM cells devoid of PANX1 via CRISPR/Cas9 deletion (PANX1-KO) compared to controls. Gene Ontology and KEGG gene set analyses revealed PANX1-KO in GBM cells affects cell surface and cell junction components, processes, and pathways, including the HIPPO pathway, in addition to critically downregulating β-catenin mRNA and other components of the Wnt pathway. The deletion of PANX1 resulted in a disruption of the β-catenin protein and a dramatic reduction in migration and cell growth. Pharmacological inhibition of PANX1 in GBM cells with Probenecid (PBN) and Spironolactone (SPIR) demonstrated a significant reduction in live cell numbers and migration via scratch assay. The intracellular PANX1 staining was unaffected by channel inhibition; however, both blockers dramatically decreased F-actin filament formation. PANX1 and b-actin protein levels remained unchanged with blocker treatment, but the cellular localization of b-catenin became more intracellular compared to controls upon drug treatments. Xenografted GBM tumours grown on a chick chorioallantoic membrane model showed a reduction in tumour cell viability by bioluminescent imaging and reduced hemorrhaging incidence when treated with PBN. PBN-treated tumours had reduced pro-inflammatory IL-8 mRNA expression, a cytokine involved in vascular leakage. We provide evidence that PANX1 is upregulated in GBM, and PANX1 inhibition or deletion reduces several tumorigenic properties of GBM cells across multiple model systems. These new insights support further investigation of PANX1 as a potential GBM therapeutic target and its role in multiple cancer signaling pathways that regulate this devastating disease.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE337204 | GEO | 2026/07/08

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Next-generation sequencing has revolutionized cancer biology by accelerating the unbiased discovery of novel mutations across human cancers. Transforming such discoveries into a conceptual framework of cancer progression requires narrowing the vast number of mutations down to the driver elements, and further reducing these to mutations that govern cancer progression as opposed to tumor initiation. By integrating next-generation RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) with in vivo selection, we devise an approach that identifies a series of novel recurrent non-synonymous amino acid mutations that are enriched in metastatic breast cancer cells and predicted to significantly alter protein function. These mutations, found in PANX1, RBFA, REST, KRIT1 and ZSWIM6, are detected at higher frequencies in the transcriptomes of two patients’ highly metastatic sub-lines relative to their poorly metastatic parental lines. We functionally characterize the cellular and molecular roles of one of these mutations—a nonsense alteration that yields a truncated pannexin-1 (PANX11-89) plasma membrane megachannel subunit—in metastatic progression. PANX11-89 interacts with full-length PANX1 and augments PANX1 channel activity to promote the survival of cancer cells as they are mechanically deformed. Protection from deformation-induced cell death requires PANX1 channels to release ATP, which acts as a cell autonomous survival signal during mechanical stress. Functional characterization of additional nonsense and missense PANX1 mutations detected in epithelial cancers of the colon, lung, and prostate reveals that these mutants also enhance PANX1-mediated ATP release. In vivo testing of one such truncating mutation detected in a metastatic colorectal tumor also enhances early survival, dissemination and liver metastatic colonization by human colon cancer cells. Finally, pharmacological inhibition of PANX1 inhibits breast cancer metastasis, implicating PANX1 as a novel therapeutic target in cancer. Our findings reveal that ATP release through mechanosensitive PANX1 channels enables cancer cells to overcome a major metastasis suppressive barrier—deformation-induced death in the microvasculature.

Project description:Next-generation sequencing has revolutionized cancer biology by accelerating the unbiased discovery of novel mutations across human cancers. Transforming such discoveries into a conceptual framework of cancer progression requires narrowing the vast number of mutations down to the driver elements, and further reducing these to mutations that govern cancer progression as opposed to tumor initiation. By integrating next-generation RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) with in vivo selection, we devise an approach that identifies a series of novel recurrent non-synonymous amino acid mutations that are enriched in metastatic breast cancer cells and predicted to significantly alter protein function. These mutations, found in PANX1, RBFA, REST, KRIT1 and ZSWIM6, are detected at higher frequencies in the transcriptomes of two patientsâ highly metastatic sub-lines relative to their poorly metastatic parental lines. We functionally characterize the cellular and molecular roles of one of these mutationsâa nonsense alteration that yields a truncated pannexin-1 (PANX11-89) plasma membrane megachannel subunitâin metastatic progression. PANX11-89 interacts with full-length PANX1 and augments PANX1 channel activity to promote the survival of cancer cells as they are mechanically deformed. Protection from deformation-induced cell death requires PANX1 channels to release ATP, which acts as a cell autonomous survival signal during mechanical stress. Functional characterization of additional nonsense and missense PANX1 mutations detected in epithelial cancers of the colon, lung, and prostate reveals that these mutants also enhance PANX1-mediated ATP release. In vivo testing of one such truncating mutation detected in a metastatic colorectal tumor also enhances early survival, dissemination and liver metastatic colonization by human colon cancer cells. Finally, pharmacological inhibition of PANX1 inhibits breast cancer metastasis, implicating PANX1 as a novel therapeutic target in cancer. Our findings reveal that ATP release through mechanosensitive PANX1 channels enables cancer cells to overcome a major metastasis suppressive barrier—deformation-induced death in the microvasculature. To systematically identify base-pair mutations present in metastatic cells that may drive cancer progression, we performed whole-transcriptome RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) of in vivo-selected, highly metastatic human breast cancer cell sub-lines, CN-LM1A and MDA-LM2, as well as the CN34 and MDA-MB-231 parental lines from which they were derived. To minimize the false positive rate and allow for subsequent statistical analysis, we sequenced biological replicates of each cell line. Mutations conferring enhanced metastatic capacity should be enriched in the transcriptomes of highly metastatic cells relative to their less metastatic parental populations.

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Pannexin 1 inhibition reduces tumorigenic properties of patient-derived glioblastoma cells through the HIPPO and Wnt signalling pathways

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