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Trapping of 5-Fluorodeoxyuridine Monophosphate by Thymidylate Synthase Confers Resistance to 5-Fluorouracil
Author(s) -
Chinatsu Kurasaka,
Naishizawa,
Yoko Ogino,
Akira Sato
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
acs omega
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2470-1343
DOI - 10.1021/acsomega.1c06394
Subject(s) - thymidylate synthase , biology , gene silencing , fluorouracil , gene , chemistry , biochemistry , cancer research , microbiology and biotechnology , cancer , genetics
The major metabolite of the anticancer agent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is 5-fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate (FdUMP), which is a potent inhibitor of thymidylate synthase (TS). Recently, we hypothesized that 5-FU-resistant colorectal cancer (CRC) cells have increased levels of TS protein relative to 5-FU-sensitive CRC cells and use a fraction of their TS to trap FdUMP, which results in resistance to 5-FU. In this study, we analyzed the difference between the regulation of the balance of the free, active form of TS and the inactive FdUMP-TS form in 5-FU-resistant HCT116 cells and parental HCT116 cells. Silencing of TYMS , the gene that encodes TS, resulted in greater enhancement of the anticancer effect of 5-FU in the 5-FU-resistant HCT116R F10 cells than in the parental HCT116 cells. In addition, the trapping of FdUMP by TS was more effective in the 5-FU-resistant HCT116R F10 cells than in the parental HCT116 cells. Our observations suggest that the regulation of the balance between the storage of the active TS form and the accumulation of FdUMP-TS is responsible for direct resistance to 5-FU. The findings provide a better understanding of 5-FU resistance mechanisms and may enable the development of anticancer strategies that reverse the sensitivity of 5-FU resistance in CRC cells.

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