Functional screening implicates miR-371-3p and peroxiredoxin 6 in reversible tolerance to cancer drugs [SPR1108]

Acquired resistance to cancer drug therapies almost always occurs in advanced-stage patients even following a significant response to treatment. In addition to mutational mechanisms, various non-mutational resistance mechanisms have now been recognized. We previously described a chromatin-mediated subpopulation of reversibly drug-tolerant persisters (DTPs) that is dynamically maintained within a wide variety of tumor cell populations. Here, we explored a potential role for microRNAs in such transient drug tolerance. Functional screening of 879 human microRNAs revealed miR-371-3p as a potent suppressor of drug tolerance. PRDX6 (peroxiredoxin 6) was identified as a key target of miR-371-3p in establishing drug tolerance by regulating PLA2/PKC activity and reactive oxygen species. PRDX6 expression is associated with poor prognosis in cancers of multiple tissue origins. These findings implicate miR-371-3p as a suppressor of PRDX6 and suggest that co-targeting of PRDX6 or modulating miR-371-3p expression together with targeted cancer therapies may delay or prevent acquired drug resistance.

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Sahu N, Stephan JP, Cruz DD, Merchant M, Haley B, Bourgon R, Classon M, Settleman J