Journal
AUTOPHAGY
Volume 17, Issue 10, Pages 2842-2855Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2020.1847444
Keywords
AMBRA1; autophagy; calpains; hpv-E7; oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma
Categories
Funding
- Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro [17404, 21880]
- Cancer Research UK
- European Cooperation in Science and Technology [CA15138]
- FP7 People: Marie-Curie Actions
- Fondazione Umberto Veronesi
- Fondazione per la Ricerca sulla Fibrosi Cistica [8/2018]
- Medical Research Council
- Ministero della Salute [GR-2013-02359524]
- Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Universita e della Ricerca [20152CB22L]
- Regione Lazio
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Research has shown that HPV-positive OPSCC cells have reduced autophagy activity and lower expression of AMBRA1, possibly due to the interaction between HPV-E7 and AMBRA1 leading to calpain-dependent degradation. Inhibiting autophagy can increase the sensitivity of HPV-negative OPSCC cells to chemotherapy, suggesting that targeting autophagy could improve treatment response in HPV-negative OPSCC.
Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is an increasing world health problem with a more favorable prognosis for patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive tumors compared to those with HPV-negative OPSCC. How HPV confers a less aggressive phenotype, however, remains undefined. We demonstrated that HPV-positive OPSCC cells display reduced macroautophagy/autophagy activity, mediated by the ability of HPV-E7 to interact with AMBRA1, to compete with its binding to BECN1 and to trigger its calpain-dependent degradation. Moreover, we have shown that AMBRA1 downregulation and pharmacological inhibition of autophagy sensitized HPV-negative OPSCC cells to the cytotoxic effects of cisplatin. Importantly, semi-quantitative immunohistochemical analysis in primary OPSCCs confirmed that AMBRA1 expression is reduced in HPV-positive compared to HPV-negative tumors. Collectively, these data identify AMBRA1 as a key target of HPV to impair autophagy and propose the targeting of autophagy as a viable therapeutic strategy to improve treatment response of HPV-negative OPSCC.
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