EIF2A promotes cell survival during paclitaxel treatment in vitro and in vivo

The integrated stress response (ISR) is critical for cancer cell survival during stress stimuli and has been implicated in the resistance to cancer therapeutics, in which the mechanism, however, is poorly understood. Here, we showed that paclitaxel, the major chemotherapy drug for breast cancer, induced ISR and phosphorylated ser51 residue of EIF2S1 by EIF2AK3 and EIF2AK4. When exposed to paclitaxel, cancer cells activated the EIF2AK3/EIF2AK4-pEIF2S1-ATF4 axis and maintained redox homoeostasis by inducing expression of the major antioxidant enzymes HMOX1, SHMT2 and SLC7A11. Paclitaxel-mediated cell death was significantly increased following loss of ISR or ATF4 expression. This sensitizing effect could be partially rescued by Trolox, a ROS scavenger. We demonstrated that the alternative initiation factor EIF2A was essential for cancer cell survival after paclitaxel-mediated ISR both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, patients with breast cancer exhibited higher ISR after chemotherapy, and the elevated mRNA levels of HMOX1, SHMT2 and EIF2A were correlated with poor prognosis. Collectively, our findings reveal a novel mechanism for paclitaxel resistance and suggest that targeting EIF2A combined with ISR agonist may be a potential treatment regimen to overcome drug resistance for breast cancer.