Identification de composé sensibilisant préférentiellement les cellules exprimant les protéines E6 et E7 du VPH à l'irradiation

More than 99% of uterine cervical cancer (UCC) are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. The oncogenic potential of this virus lies in the expression of the proto-oncogenes E6/E7. These viral proteins are considered carcinogenic because of their effects on tumor suppressor proteins p53 and Rb. E6 and E7 promote p53 and Rb inactivation resulting in a loss of function in the DNA damage response pathways (DDR), genomic instability, and cancer development. The E6 and E7 proteins are expressed constitutively and specifically in cervical cancer cells and in the cells of other HPV-induced cancers. The treatment of advanced UCC is based on simultaneous radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Although these strategies are somewhat efficacious, there are still significant co-morbidities and cancer relapses. We hypothesized that the specific expression of E6 and E7 in cervical cancer cells can be exploited in a synthetic lethality strategy to amplify the lethal effect of irradiation. Thus, the efficacy of treatment could be increased, while reducing the cancer recurrence and treatment-related morbidities. Our objective is to identify chemical compounds that if used alone or coupled with irradiation, would preferentially induce the death of cells expressing proteins E6 and E7 of HPV. We used a cellular model of human keratinocytes that were modified to obtain the genetic signature associated with cervical cancer cells (the expression of E6 and E7). We then proceeded to the optimization and validation of the methods used to evaluate the sensitization of the tested cells. To measure sensitization, we evaluated the quantity of cellular ATP by ATPlite assay and the cellular DNA content with the DNA stain DRAQ5. After establishing a screening protocol, we proceeded to a low-density screening to identify a compound that can sensitize or radio-sensitize cervical cancer cells expressing the HPV proteins E6 and E7. We identified Nutlin-3 a mdm2, inhibitor, as a radio-sensitizing component for cells expressing E6 and E7 of HPV. Nutlin-3 was tested and sensitization confirmed in HEKn-hTERT-E6-E7 and in the cervical cancer cell lines HeLa and CaSki. We confirmed by Western-Blot the stabilisation of p53 in HEKn-hTERT-E6-E7 and CaSki cells treated with Nutlin-3. Moreover, Nutlin-3 promotes p53 reactivation in the HeLa and CaSki cell lines. Surprisingly, the effect of Nutlin-3 on the sensitization and radio-sensitization of the HeLa and CaSki cell lines appears to be p53-independent. This is based on the observations made using p53-deficient HeLa-GSE and CaSki-GSE cell lines, which were also sensitized by Nutlin-3. In addition, preliminary experiments showed that Nutlin-3a inhibits in vivo tumor growth, as seen using xenografts of HeLa in mice with a RAG2γc genetic background. This remains to be confirmed using an extended cohort of mice. In the future, it will be important to examine the implication of mdm2 in the sensitization effect of Nutlin-3 in cervical cancer cells and to find others possible targets that may play a role in the sensitization effect of Nutlin-3 observed in cervical cancer cells.

Keyphrases: Nutlin-3, E6, E7, HPV, Cervical cancer, p53 reactivation, Radiotherapy