GSE134190
Regulation of stem cell property and drug resistance of cancer cells by targeting transcriptional machinery via inhibition of neddylation
MLN4924, also known as pevonedistat, is a small molecule inhibitor of NEDD8 activating enzyme (NAE), that inhibits the entire neddylation pathway. As the first-in-class neddylation inhibitor, MLN4924 is currently in Phase I/II clinical trials for anticancer application as a single agent or in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs. MLN4924 has shown impressive anticancer activity by inactivating Cullin-RING ligases (CRLs) to cause accumulation of tumor suppressor substrates.  Whether MLN4924 regulates the RNA expression by modulating the levels of transcription factor/repressor remain elusive.  In this study, we treated A549 lung cancer cells with MLN4924 at 0.25 or 0.5 µM for 8 or 24 hrs, respectively, followed by RNAseq analysis.  Here we found that MLN4924 significantly decreases the SOX2 mRNA level.  The mechanistic study revealed that MLN4924 inhibits FBXW2 E3 to cause MSX2 accumulation, which in turn transcriptionally represses SOX2, leading to suppression of stem cell property and sensitization of cancer cells to tamoxifen. Overall design: Transcriptome analysis was performed in A549 cells after MLN4924 treatment for 8 or 24 hrs (6 groups, n=2 per group).