Disruption of TCF/b-Catenin binding impairs Wnt signaling & induces apoptosis in soft tissue sarcoma cells

Abstract

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are malignant tumors of mesenchymal origin and represent around 1% of adult cancers, being a very heterogeneous group of tumors with more than 50 different subtypes. The Wnt signaling pathway is involved in the development and in the regulation, self-renewal, and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, and plays a role in sarcomagenesis. In this study, we have tested pharmacologic inhibition of Wnt signaling mediated by disruption of TCF/ b-catenin binding and AXIN stabilization, being the first strategy more efficient in reducing cell viability and downstream effects. We have shown that disruption of TCF/b-catenin binding with PKF118-310 produces in vitro antitumor activity in a panel of prevalent representative STS cell lines and primary cultures. At the molecular level, PKF118-310 treatment reduced b-catenin nuclear localization, reporter activity, and target genes, resulting in an increase in apoptosis. Importantly, combination of PKF118-310 with doxorubicin resulted in enhanced reduction of cell viability, suggesting that Wnt inhibition could be a new combination regime in these patients. Our findings support the usefulness of Wnt inhibitors as new therapeutic strategies for the prevalent STS.