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Enhancement of Apoptotic and Autophagic Induction by a Novel Synthetic C-1 Analogue of 7-deoxypancratistatin in Human Breast Adenocarcinoma and Neuroblastoma Cells with Tamoxifen

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Pannexin 1 induces Rhabdomyosarcoma cell fusion by downregulating APOBEC2.

Alexandra Welten^1,2, Amit Bera¹, Stéphanie Langlois^1,3

¹Molecular Biomedicine Program, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

|November 18, 2025

Summary

Pannexin 1 (PANX1) suppresses rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) by downregulating APOBEC2, promoting cell fusion. Restoring APOBEC2 levels blocks this PANX1-induced fusion, offering therapeutic insights for RMS cancer.

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Area of Science:

Oncology
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Background:

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is an aggressive cancer linked to faulty muscle development (myogenesis).
Pannexin 1 (PANX1) shows potential in overcoming RMS, but its mechanism is unclear.
APOBEC2 (apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic subunit 2) is a myogenic modulator downregulated by PANX1 in RMS.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of APOBEC2 in PANX1-mediated suppression of RMS.
To understand how PANX1 affects APOBEC2 levels and RMS cell behavior.
To explore the link between PANX1, APOBEC2, and cell fusion in RMS.

Main Methods:

RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyze transcriptomic changes.
Analysis of patient-derived RMS cell lines and tumor specimens.
Overexpression studies of PANX1 and APOBEC2 in RMS cells.

Main Results:

APOBEC2 levels are lower in RMS compared to normal muscle cells.
APOBEC2 promotes stem-like characteristics and spheroid growth in RMS cells.
PANX1 overexpression downregulates APOBEC2 and triggers multinucleation via cell fusion in RMS.
Restoring APOBEC2 inhibits PANX1-induced cell fusion while preserving other anti-tumor effects.

Conclusions:

PANX1 promotes RMS cell fusion by reducing APOBEC2 expression.
This downregulation drives RMS cells towards a myogenic program.
Targeting the PANX1-APOBEC2 pathway may offer new therapeutic strategies for RMS.