High Expression of the Lysosomal Protease Cathepsin D Confers Better Prognosis in Neuroblastoma Patients by Contrasting EGF-Induced Neuroblastoma Cell Growth

oleh: Eleonora Secomandi, Amreen Salwa, Chiara Vidoni, Alessandra Ferraresi, Carlo Follo, Ciro Isidoro

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-04-01

Deskripsi

Neuroblastoma is a malignant extracranial solid tumor arising from the sympathoadrenal lineage of the neural crest and is often associated with <i>N-MYC</i> amplification. Cathepsin D has been associated with chemoresistance in N-MYC-overexpressing neuroblastomas. Increased EGFR expression also has been associated with the aggressive behavior of neuroblastomas. This work aimed to understand the mechanisms linking EGFR stimulation and cathepsin D expression with neuroblastoma progression and prognosis. Gene correlation analysis in pediatric neuroblastoma patients revealed that individuals bearing a high <i>EGFR</i> transcript level have a good prognosis only when <i>CTSD</i> (the gene coding for the lysosomal protease Cathepsin D, CD) is highly expressed. Low <i>CTSD</i> expression was associated with poor clinical outcome. <i>CTSD</i> expression was negatively correlated with <i>CCNB2</i>, <i>CCNA2</i>, <i>CDK1</i> and <i>CDK6</i> genes involved in cell cycle division. We investigated the biochemical pathways downstream to EGFR stimulation in human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells engineered for overexpressing or silencing of CD expression. Cathepsin D overexpression decreased the proliferative potential of neuroblastoma cells through downregulation of the pro-oncogenic MAPK signaling pathway. EGFR stimulation downregulated cathepsin D expression, thus favoring cell cycle division. Our data suggest that chemotherapeutics that inhibit the EGFR pathway, along with stimulators of cathepsin D synthesis and activity, could benefit neuroblastoma prognosis.