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Epithelial-mesenchymal transition and H2O2 signaling - a driver of disease progression and a vulnerability in cancers

Anna V Milton1, David B Konrad1

  • 1Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Butenandtstr. 5-13, Haus C, D-81377 Munich, Germany.

Biological Chemistry
|January 15, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Targeted cancer therapies improve survival, but drug resistance leads to metastasis. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) involves hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) signaling, increasing cancer

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Personalized anticancer treatments, including mutation-selective drugs, enhance patient quality of life and survival.
  • Cancer's adaptability drives disease progression, drug resistance, recurrence, and metastasis.
  • Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a hallmark of advanced cancers, linked to increased motility, invasiveness, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) signaling.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the role of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) signaling in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its implications for cancer treatment.
  • To investigate the connection between EMT-associated H2O2 signaling and cancer's vulnerability to ferroptosis.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of signaling pathways involving hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and oxidative posttranslational modifications on cysteines.
  • Investigation of the relationship between epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cellular sensitivity to ferroptosis induction.

Main Results:

  • Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) signaling, mediated by cysteine modifications, is integral to EMT.
  • Elevated H2O2 levels during EMT create a vulnerability to ferroptosis.
  • Ferroptosis induction represents a potential therapeutic strategy for advanced cancers exhibiting EMT.

Conclusions:

  • Targeting H2O2 signaling in EMT could overcome drug resistance in advanced cancers.
  • Ferroptosis represents a novel therapeutic vulnerability exploitable in EMT-driven cancers.
  • Understanding EMT-H2O2-ferroptosis axis offers new avenues for personalized anticancer therapies.
Keywords:
cysteine modificationsferroptosishydrogen peroxide signalingoxidative posttranslational modificationsreactive oxygen speciestargeted therapy

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