Anti-EFNB3 polyclonal antibody

A major problem of colorectal cancer (CRC) targeted therapies is relapse caused by drug resistance. In most cases of CRC, patients develop resistance to anticancer drugs. Cetuximab does not show many of the side effects of other anticancer drugs and improves the survival of patients with metastatic CRC. However, the molecular mechanism of cetuximab resistance is not fully understood. Methods: EPHB3-mediated cetuximab resistance was confirmed by in vitro western blotting, colony-forming assays, WST-1 colorimetric assay, and in vivo xenograft models (n = 7 per group). RNA-seq analysis and receptor tyrosine kinase assays were performed to identify the cetuximab resistance mechanism of EPHB3. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: The expression of EFNB3, which upregulates the EPHB3 receptor, was shown to be increased via microarray analysis. When resistance to cetuximab was acquired, EPHB3 protein levels increased. Hedgehog signaling, cancer stemness, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition signaling proteins were also increased in the cetuximab-resistant human colon cancer cell line SW48R. Despite cells acquiring resistance to cetuximab, STAT3 was still responsive to EGF and cetuximab treatment. Moreover, inhibition of EPHB3 was associated with decreased STAT3 activity. Co-immunoprecipitation confirmed that EGFR and EPHB3 bind to each other and this binding increases upon resistance acquisition, suggesting that STAT3 is activated by the binding between EGFR and EPHB3. Protein levels of GLI-1, SOX2, and Vimentin, which are affected by STAT3, also increased. Similar results were obtained in samples from patients with CRC. Conclusion: EPHB3 expression is associated with anticancer drug resistance.

MYCN gene amplification is a negative prognostic indicator in neuroblastoma and high level MycN expression in Stage IV neuroblastoma is generally a hallmark of poor patient outcome. However, high level expression of the MycN protein in neuroblastoma cells lacking MYCN amplification suppresses growth and drives, apoptosis; this, in part, explains the absence of clinical observations of high level MycN in neuroblastoma lacking MYCN amplification. In the current study, we found that combination treatment with nutlin-3 and doxorubicin upregulated MycN expression in non-MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cells at both the protein and mRNA levels. The induced expression of MycN in non-MYCN-amplified cells inhibited cell proliferation and increased apoptosis. MycN induction also upregulated p53, p21 and Bax protein levels, as well as mRNA levels for the positive neuroblastoma prognostic factors CD44 and EFNB3. Blocking MycN reversed these effects. These results were corroborated by findings using a MycN-inducible system in SHEP cells, another MYCN non-amplified neuroblastoma cell line. Our results indicate that doxorubicin/nutlin-3 combination treatment both induces expression of MycN in a non-MYCN-amplified background and sensitizes neuroblastoma cells to chemotherapy. These findings support the idea that induction of MycN in non-MYCN-arnplified cells drives neuroblastoma cells toward apoptosis and suggest that combination nutlin-3/doxorubicin treatment may be clinically important.