Saucerneol attenuates nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells proliferation and metastasis through selectively targeting Grp94

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is highly prevalent in southern China. The remote metastasis of advanced NPC requires chemotherapeutic treatments to reduce the mortality. Our previous work revealed that saucerneol (SN) showed cytotoxicity against several nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells. This work aims to investigate the effect of SN in NPC growth and exploring the mechanism of action. Study design: Applying in vivo study, in vitro study and in silico study to indicate the mechanism of SN in inhibiting NPC growth. Methods: Saucerneol (SN) toxicity was measured with MTT assay. NPC proliferation was measured with EdU and colony formation assays, cell cycle was detected with flow cytometry. NPC migration and invasion were measured with scratch assay and matrigel transwell method. Further, human NPC xenograft tumor models were established in nude mice to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of SN in vivo. Toxicological analysis was performed on H & E staining and IHC. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analyses were used to evaluate the expression levels of key molecules in PI3K/AKT/mTOR, MAPK, NF-kappa B, and HIF-1 alpha signal pathways. Target predicting was conducted using computational method, and target identification was carried out by ATPase assay and TSA. Results: SN, a potent NPC inhibitor that was previously isolated from Saururus chinensis in our lab, is proven to inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of HONE1 cell lines and inhibit the growth of human NPC xenografts in nude mice. Moreover, we further articulate the molecular mechanism of action for SN and, reveal that SN promotes the expression of cell cycle-dependent kinase inhibitory protein p21 Waf1/Cip1 through targeting Grp94 and then inhibiting PI3K/AKT signaling pathway as well as up-regulating p53 to disrupt the progression of HONE1 cells. Conclusion: SN significantly inhibits NPC cells proliferation and metastasis in vitro and in vivo via selectively inhibit Grp94 and then blocking PI3K/AKT/mTOR/HIF-1 alpha signaling pathway. This study firstly provides a novel selective Grp94 inhibitor as a NPC candidate.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates that saucerneol (SN) inhibits the growth and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells by targeting Grp94 and blocking the PI3K/AKT/mTOR/HIF-1 alpha signaling pathway. SN has been identified as a selective Grp94 inhibitor and a potential candidate for NPC treatment.