1,4-dihydroxy quininib activates ferroptosis pathways in metastatic uveal melanoma and reveals a novel prognostic biomarker signature

• Published in: Cell death discovery 2024-02, Vol.10 (1), p.70-70, Article 70
• Main Authors: Tonelotto, Valentina, Costa-Garcia, Marcel, O’Reilly, Eve, Smith, Kaelin Francis, Slater, Kayleigh, Dillon, Eugene T., Pendino, Marzia, Higgins, Catherine, Sist, Paola, Bosch, Rosa, Passamonti, Sabina, Piulats, Josep M., Villanueva, Alberto, Tramer, Federica, Vanella, Luca, Carey, Michelle, Kennedy, Breandán N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/53/2422; 692/699/67/322; Apoptosis; Biliverdin; Biochemistry; Biomarkers; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Biology; Cell Cycle Analysis; Cell death; Chromosome 3; Explants; Ferroptosis; Glutamate-cysteine ligase; Glutathione peroxidase; Heme oxygenase (decyclizing); Life Sciences; Medical prognosis; Melanoma; Metastases; Metastasis; Monosomy; Patients; Peroxidation; Phospholipids; Proteomics; Stem Cells; Therapeutic targets
• ISSN: 2058-7716; 2058-7716
• DOI: 10.1038/s41420-023-01773-8

Uveal melanoma (UM) is an ocular cancer, with propensity for lethal liver metastases. When metastatic UM (MUM) occurs, as few as 8% of patients survive beyond two years. Efficacious treatments for MUM are urgently needed. 1,4-dihydroxy quininib, a cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (CysLT 1 ) antagonist, alters UM cancer hallmarks in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo. Here, we investigated the 1,4-dihydroxy quininib mechanism of action and its translational potential in MUM. Proteomic profiling of OMM2.5 cells identified proteins differentially expressed after 1,4-dihydroxy quininib treatment. Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit (GCLM), heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and 4 hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) expression were assessed by immunoblots. Biliverdin, glutathione and lipid hydroperoxide were measured biochemically. Association between the expression of a specific ferroptosis signature and UM patient survival was performed using public databases. Our data revealed that 1,4-dihydroxy quininib modulates the expression of ferroptosis markers in OMM2.5 cells. Biochemical assays validated that GPX4, biliverdin, GCLM, glutathione and lipid hydroperoxide were significantly altered. HO-1 and 4-HNE levels were significantly increased in MUM tumor explants from orthotopic patient-derived xenografts (OPDX). Expression of genes inhibiting ferroptosis is significantly increased in UM patients with chromosome 3 monosomy. We identified IFerr, a novel ferroptosis signature correlating with UM patient survival. Altogether, we demontrated that in MUM cells and tissues, 1,4-dihydroxy quininib modulates key markers that induce ferroptosis, a relatively new type of cell death driven by iron-dependent peroxidation of phospholipids. Furthermore, we showed that high expression of specific genes inhibiting ferroptosis is associated with a worse UM prognosis, thus, the IFerr signature is a potential prognosticator for which patients develop MUM. All in all, ferroptosis has potential as a clinical biomarker and therapeutic target for MUM.