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Inhibition of Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) triggers cell apoptosis via ROS-caused mitochondrial dysfunction in colorectal carcinoma

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Abstract

Background

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers. Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), a member of the serine/threonine kinase PLK family, is the most investigated and essential in the regulation of cell cycle progression, including chromosome segregation, centrosome maturation and cytokinesis. However, the nonmitotic role of PLK1 in CRC is poorly understood. In this study, we explored the tumorigenic effects of PLK1 and its potential as a therapeutic target in CRC.

Methods

GEPIA database and immunohistochemistry analysis were performed to evaluate the abnormal expression of PLK1 in CRC patients. MTT assay, colony formation and transwell assay were performed to assess cell viability, colony formation ability and migration ability after inhibiting PLK1 by RNAi or the small molecule inhibitor BI6727. Cell apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and ROS levels were evaluated by flow cytometry. Bioluminescence imaging was performed to evaluate the impact of PLK1 on CRC cell survival in a preclinical model. Finally, xenograft tumor model was established to study the effect of PLK1 inhibition on tumor growth.

Results

First, immunohistochemistry analysis revealed the significant accumulation of PLK1 in patient-derived CRC tissues compared with adjacent healthy tissues. Furthermore, PLK1 inhibition genetically or pharmacologically significantly reduced cell viability, migration and colony formation, and triggered apoptosis of CRC cells. Additionally, we found that PLK1 inhibition elevated cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and decreased the Bcl2/Bax ratio, which led to mitochondrial dysfunction and the release of Cytochrome c, a key process in initiating cell apoptosis.

Conclusion

These data provide new insights into the pathogenesis of CRC and support the potential value of PLK1 as an appealing target for CRC treatment. Overall, the underlying mechanism of inhibiting PLK1-induced apoptosis indicates that the PLK1 inhibitor BI6727 may be a novel potential therapeutic strategy in the treatment of CRC.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

CRC:

Colorectal cancer

COAD:

Colon adenocarcinoma

HCT116 and DLD-1:

Human colorectal cell lines

FHC:

Normal colon epithelium cell line

PLK1:

Polo-like kinase 1

Bcl2:

B-cell lymphoma-2

Bax:

Bcl2-associated X protein

Cyt-c:

Cytochrome c

cl-cas3:

Cleaved caspase-3

cl-PARP:

Cleaved PARP

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

H&E:

Hematoxylin and eosin

DAPI:

4′,6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered saline

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

FBS:

Fetal bovine serum

MTT:

Thiazolyl blue

CCK8:

Cholecystokinin-8

TUNEL:

TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Xinying Wu (Animal Center of Nankai University) for technical support of imaging in vivo. This work was supported by the “The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nankai University, #ZB19100128)” to C.L, “Chongqing Science and Technology Bureau of China (#cstc2019jcyj-msxm1819)” and “National Natural Science Foundation of China (#81901427)” to D.S.

Funding

“The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nankai University, #ZB19100128)” to C.L., “Chongqing Science and Technology Bureau of China (#cstc2019jcyj-msxm1819)” and “National Natural Science Foundation of China (#81901427)” to D.S.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, No. 38 Tongyan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin, 300350, People’s Republic of China

    Ya Feng, Tianjiao Li, Zhoujun Lin, Yin Li, Xiao Han, Xiaolin Pei, Zhenkun Fu & Chenggang Li

  2. Department of Immunology & Wu Lien-Teh Institute & Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Infection and Immunity, Harbin Medical University & Heilongjiang Academy of Medical Science, Harbin, 150081, People’s Republic of China

    Zhenkun Fu

  3. Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Beijing Chao Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 10020, People’s Republic of China

    Qiao Wu

  4. Chongqing Emergency Medical Center, Chongqing University Central Hospital, No. 1 Health Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400014, People’s Republic of China

    Di Shao

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  1. Ya Feng
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  2. Tianjiao Li
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  3. Zhoujun Lin
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Contributions

YF and TL designed, performed, and analyzed in vitro and in vivo experiments. ZL, YL and XH performed PLK1 knockdown experiments in vitro and a xenograft tumor model establish in vivo. XP and ZF performed xenograft tumor collection. QW provided CRC patient-derived tissues. CL, YF, and TL contributed to the study design, implementation, and supervision of the study. YF and CL wrote the manuscript. DS and CL contributed to review the manuscript and supported funding. All authors had full access to the data and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Di Shao or Chenggang Li.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Ethics approval

Animal experiments were performed according to the Guidelines on Laboratory Animals of Nankai University and were approved by the Institute Research Ethics Committee at Nankai University (No: 2021-SYDWLL-000462). All relevant human studies were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institute Research Ethics Committee at Nankai University (No. NKUIRB2021107).

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Feng, Y., Li, T., Lin, Z. et al. Inhibition of Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) triggers cell apoptosis via ROS-caused mitochondrial dysfunction in colorectal carcinoma. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 149, 6883–6899 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-023-04624-2

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