Up-regulation of ABCG2 by MYBL2 deletion drives Chlorin e6-mediated photodynamic therapy resistance in colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE:Photodynamic therapy (PDT) may be an effective therapeutic strategy for colorectal cancer at an early stage. However, malignant cells' resistance to photodynamic agents can lead to treatment failure. MYBL2 (B-Myb) is an oncogene in colorectal carcinogenesis and development, for which little research has focused on its effect on drug resistance. MATERIALS AND METHODS:In the present work, a colorectal cancer cell line with a stable knockdown of MYBL2 (ShB-Myb) was constructed first. Chlorin e6 (Ce6) was utilized to induced PDT. The anti-cancer efficacy was measured by CCK-8, PI staining, and Western blots. The drug uptake of Ce6 was assayed by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The ROS generation was detected by the CellROX probe. DDSB and DNA damage were assayed through comet experiment and Western blots. The over-expression of MYBL2 was conducted by MYBL2 plasmid. RESULTS:The findings indicated that the viability of ShB-Myb treated with Ce6-PDT was not decreased compared to control SW480 cells (ShNC), which were resistant to PDT. Further investigation revealed reduced photosensitizer enrichment and mitigated oxidative DNA damage in colorectal cancer cells with depressed MYBL2. It turned out that SW480 cells knocking down MYBL2 showed phosphorylation of NF-κB and led to up-regulation of ABCG2 expression thereupon. When MYBL2 was replenished back in MYBL2-deficient colorectal cancer cells, phosphorylation of NF-κB was blocked and ABCG2 expression up-regulation was suppressed. Additionally, replenishment of MYBL2 also increased the enrichment of Ce6 and the efficacy of PDT. CONCLUSION:In summary, MYBL2 absence in colorectal cancer contributes to drug resistance by activating NF-κB to up-regulate ABCG2 and thereby leading to photosensitizer Ce6 efflux. This study provides a novel theoretical basis and strategy for how to effectively improve the anti-tumor efficacy of PDT.