# Activation of MEK1/2/Nrf-2 Signaling Pathway by Epstein-Barr Virus-Latent Membrane Protein 1 Enhances Autophagy and Cisplatin Resistance in T-Cell Lymphoma

Authors: Xintao Jia; Qiuyu He; Mei Zeng; Yuhua Chen; Yan Liu
Journal: Analytical Cellular Pathology
 (2021)

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## Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus-latent membrane protein 1 (EBV-LMP1) was associated with lymphoma, but its specific mechanism is still controversial. The study is aimed at studying the regulation of lymphoma resistance by EBV-LMP1 through the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signaling pathway. First, LMP1 was knocked down in EBV-positive SNK-6 cells and overexpressed in EBV-negative KHYG-1 cells. First, we found that overexpression of LMP1 significantly promoted the resistance of KHYG-1 cells to cisplatin (DDP), which was related to increased autophagy in the cells. In contrast, knockdown of LMP1 expression in SNK-6 cells promoted cellular sensitivity to DDP and reduced the autophagy of cells after DDP treatment. Moreover, specific inhibition of autophagy in KHYG-1 cells significantly attenuated the resistance to DDP caused by overexpression of LMP1, but treatment with rapamycin in SNK-6 cells significantly promoted the autophagy in the cells. Subsequently, overexpression of LMP1 promoted the activation of the MEK1/2-Nrf2 pathway in KYHG-1 cells, whereas knockdown of LMP1 in SNK-6 cells inhibited the activation of the MEK1/2-Nrf2 pathway. Inhibition of MEK1/2/Nrf-2 blocked the promoting effects of LMP1 on lymphoma cell resistance. In conclusion, EBV-LMP1 promotes cell autophagy after DDP treatment by activating the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signaling pathway in lymphoma cells, thus, enhancing the resistance of lymphoma cells to DDP.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

Since the discovery of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in African Burkitt lymphoma in 1964, it has been associated with a diverse range of cancer types, including B-cell lymphomas, T-cell/natural killer cell lymphomas, and epithelial malignancies [1]. Nasal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NNKTL) exhibits special etiologic, histologic, epidemiological, and clinical features, which are frequently detected in Latin America and Eastern Asia but quite infrequent in Europe and the United States [2, 3]. Drug resistance is connected with all kinds of antilymphoma treatment, including antibody-drug conjugates, genotoxic agents, targeted agents, mAbs, or varied drug combinations [4]. Cisplatin (DDP) is a conventional cytotoxic medicine applied for the treatment of various tumors, including NNKTL, but DDP administration is restricted by its side effects and progress of resistance [5, 6]. However, it is still unclear whether the EBV-related mechanism is responsible for the resistance of lymphoma cells to DDP-based chemotherapy. Moreover, autophagy is a catabolic process where cytoplasmic materials are directed to the lysosomes for degradation [7]. The association between cancer cell survival and autophagy can be explained, at least partly, by the role of autophagy in protecting cells from experiencing programmed cell death, which provides a rationale for why the suppression of autophagy could improve the response of other treatment, such as DDP [8]. Therefore, we sought to link the DDP resistance with autophagy in lymphoma in the present study and to explore the underlying mechanism.Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) is the main oncogene of EBV expressed in NNKTL, which is critical for EBV to infect, transform, and regulate cell growth and was proposed to exert an oncogenic role in the growth of EBV-related lymphomas [9, 10]. The EBV-positive cell line SNK6 and EBV-negative cell line KHYG-1 were established from initial lesions of NNKTL [11]. EBV-microRNA-BART22 was reported to promote metastasis and stemness and weaken the sensitivity to DDP of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells [12]. Interestingly, EBV-LMP1 has been suggested to promote radio-resistance by inducing autophagy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma [13]. Moreover, cells that express low levels of LMP1 displayed early stages of autophagy, autophagosomes; while those that express high levels of LMP1 exhibited late stages of autophagy, autolysosomes [14], indicating the possible association between LMP1 expression and autophagy. However, whether EBV-LMP1 connects autophagy in DDP resistance in lymphoma, to the best of our knowledge, has rarely been investigated before.Above all, we assumed that EBV-LMP1 influenced the DDP resistance of NNKTL cells. Therefore, we aim to investigate the mechanism of EBV-LMP1 in DDP resistance of lymphoma SNK-6 and KHYG-1 cells to establish a novel therapeutic for NNKTL.


## 2. Materials and Methods

### 2.1. Cell Culture

EBV-positive cell line SNK-6 (RRID: CVCL_A673) and EBV-negative cell line KHYG-1 (RRID: CVCL_2976) were obtained from the cell bank (https://cellbank.nibiohn.go.jp/english/). The two cell lines were incubated in the RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with recombinant human interleukin- (IL-) 2, 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 100 U/mL penicillin, and 100 g/mL streptomycin. EBV-LMP1 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) or its negative control scramble shRNA (GenePharma, Shanghai, China) was transfected into the SNK-6 cells. Lentivirus overexpression vector containing EBV-LMP1 (GenePharma, Shanghai, China) or its negative control (NC) was used to infect the KHYG-1 cells. The expression of LMP1 was measured by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis to determine the transfection/infection efficiency. The cells were collected after 48 h of transfection and 24 h of infection for subsequent experiment.The SNK-6 cells in good growth condition with stable low expression of LMP1 were cultured with the autophagy activator rapamycin (0.5 nM, ab120224, Abcam, Cambridge, UK), nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2- (Nrf-2-) specific activator cheirolin (10 ng/mL, ab142855, Abcam), or the control dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) for 12 h. The KHYG-1 cells in good growth condition with stable overexpression of LMP1 were treated with autophagy inhibitor 3-MA (5 mM, HY-19312, MedChemExpress, Monmouth Junction, NJ, USA), Mitogen-activated protein kinase 1/2- (MEK1/2-) specific inhibitor SL327 (20 ng/mL, #HY-15437, MedChemExpress), or the control DMSO for 24 h. The cells were collected for subsequent experiments.


### 2.2. RNA Isolation and Quantitation

EBV-LMP1 expression was detected using RT-qPCR. With the help of Trizol reagent (Beyotime, Shanghai, China), total RNA was collected. Using TaqMan® microRNA kit (Biosystems, Forster City, CA, USA), RNA was reversely transcribed into complementary DNA. Later, the reverse transcription was performed as the Prime Script™ RT kit (Takara, Dalian, Liaoning, China) instructed to quantify mRNA expression. After that, PCR was conducted using the SYBR Green kit (Takara). The relative expression of LMP1 was calculated using the 2-ΔΔCt method with the internal template of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). The primer sequences were as follows:LMP1: forward, 5′-AGCTGCCGTTATACTGTTCT-3′; reverse, 5′-TGTGTCTTCAATCTTGCCTT-3′.GAPDH: forward, 5′-ATCACCATCTTCCA-GGAGCG-3′, reverse, 5′-GTTCTTCCACCACTTCGTCC-3′.


### 2.3. Colony Formation Assay

The cells were seeded in the 96-well plate with a density of 100 cells/300μL complete medium and Matrigel in each well (BD Biosciences, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) and incubated with 5% CO2 at 37°C. On the 8th d, after being stained with crystal violet, the number of colonies was counted by the AID iSpot Reader System.


### 2.4. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) Assay

The SNK-6 and KHYG-1 cells were treated with DDP at different concentrations (0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, 10.0, and 20.0 μM, MedChemExpress). Then, the cells were incubated with CCK-8 solution (10 mg/mL) and Formazan reagent (Beyotime, Shanghai, China) for 4 h in 5% CO2 at 37°C. The optical density (OD) at 490 nm and half of the maximum inhibition concentration (IC50) were measured by a spectrophotometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA, USA).


### 2.5. Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) Cytotoxicity Test

Cytotoxicity was tested by a LDH kit (Beyotime, Shanghai, China). The SNK-6 and KHYG-1 cells were cultured in the 96-well plate at1×104 cells/well in triplicate. The cells were then cultured with 5 μmol/mL DDP at 37°C for 24 h and 20 μL LDH release solution for 1 h. After that, the cells were centrifuged for 5 min at 400 × g using a perforated plate centrifuge. The 120 μL supernatant in each well were transferred into the corresponding well of a new 96-well plate. The OD at 490 nm was measured.


### 2.6. Monodansylcadaverine (MDC) Staining

Suspension containing 90μL cells (106 cells/mL) was collected and stained with 10 μL MDC staining solution (OKWB00363, Beijing Yingjiehua Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Beijing, China) at room temperature for 30 min. After that, the cell suspension was centrifuged at 715 × g for 5 min and observed under a fluorescence microscope with 355 nm emission filter and 512 nm block filter (F36914, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA, USA).


### 2.7. Immunofluorescence Assay

The expression of LC3 and p62 in the cells was detected by immunostaining. In short, the cells were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and incubated overnight with rabbit antibodies against LC3 (#3868, Cell Signaling Technologies, Beverly, MA, USA) and p62 (ab56416, Abcam). Then, the cells were incubated with goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody labeled by Alexa Fluor 488 (#A32723, Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA, USA) for 1 h. The nuclei were stained with 4′6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. The images were observed under a laser scanning confocal microscope (Carl Zeiss, Jena, Germany).


### 2.8. Western Blot Analysis

The protein lysates were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in 10% polyacrylamide gel and then transferred to a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (Merck Millipore, Billerica, MA, USA). The membrane was incubated with antibodies against human LC3B (ab192890, Abcam), Beclin-1 (#4122, Cell Signaling Technologies), MEK1/2 (ab178876, Abcam), phosphorylated (p)-MEK1/2 (ab194754, Abcam), Nrf-2 (#12721, Cell Signaling Technologies), and GAPDH (KC-5G4, Aksomics, Shanghai, China). Goat anti-mouse IgG (H + L) (KC-5G4, Southern Biotech, Birmingham, AL, USA) coupled with peroxidase was used as the second antibody. The intensity of staining was visualized using an X-ray image film processor (Kodak, Rochester, NY, USA).


### 2.9. Statistical Analysis

SPSS 22.0 software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was utilized for data analyses. Measurement data were presented asmean±standarddeviation. Comparisons between two groups were performed using an unpaired t test. Comparisons amongst multiple groups were tested by one-way or two-way analysis of variation (ANOVA). The normality test was accomplished using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov method. Normally scattered data amongst manifold groups were compared using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test, while skewed data scattered amongst multiple groups were evaluated using Dunn’s multiple comparison for post hoc tests after Kruskal–Wallis tests. p<0.05 was indicative of statistical significance.


## 2.1. Cell Culture

EBV-positive cell line SNK-6 (RRID: CVCL_A673) and EBV-negative cell line KHYG-1 (RRID: CVCL_2976) were obtained from the cell bank (https://cellbank.nibiohn.go.jp/english/). The two cell lines were incubated in the RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with recombinant human interleukin- (IL-) 2, 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 100 U/mL penicillin, and 100 g/mL streptomycin. EBV-LMP1 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) or its negative control scramble shRNA (GenePharma, Shanghai, China) was transfected into the SNK-6 cells. Lentivirus overexpression vector containing EBV-LMP1 (GenePharma, Shanghai, China) or its negative control (NC) was used to infect the KHYG-1 cells. The expression of LMP1 was measured by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis to determine the transfection/infection efficiency. The cells were collected after 48 h of transfection and 24 h of infection for subsequent experiment.The SNK-6 cells in good growth condition with stable low expression of LMP1 were cultured with the autophagy activator rapamycin (0.5 nM, ab120224, Abcam, Cambridge, UK), nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2- (Nrf-2-) specific activator cheirolin (10 ng/mL, ab142855, Abcam), or the control dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) for 12 h. The KHYG-1 cells in good growth condition with stable overexpression of LMP1 were treated with autophagy inhibitor 3-MA (5 mM, HY-19312, MedChemExpress, Monmouth Junction, NJ, USA), Mitogen-activated protein kinase 1/2- (MEK1/2-) specific inhibitor SL327 (20 ng/mL, #HY-15437, MedChemExpress), or the control DMSO for 24 h. The cells were collected for subsequent experiments.


## 2.2. RNA Isolation and Quantitation

EBV-LMP1 expression was detected using RT-qPCR. With the help of Trizol reagent (Beyotime, Shanghai, China), total RNA was collected. Using TaqMan® microRNA kit (Biosystems, Forster City, CA, USA), RNA was reversely transcribed into complementary DNA. Later, the reverse transcription was performed as the Prime Script™ RT kit (Takara, Dalian, Liaoning, China) instructed to quantify mRNA expression. After that, PCR was conducted using the SYBR Green kit (Takara). The relative expression of LMP1 was calculated using the 2-ΔΔCt method with the internal template of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). The primer sequences were as follows:LMP1: forward, 5′-AGCTGCCGTTATACTGTTCT-3′; reverse, 5′-TGTGTCTTCAATCTTGCCTT-3′.GAPDH: forward, 5′-ATCACCATCTTCCA-GGAGCG-3′, reverse, 5′-GTTCTTCCACCACTTCGTCC-3′.


## 2.3. Colony Formation Assay

The cells were seeded in the 96-well plate with a density of 100 cells/300μL complete medium and Matrigel in each well (BD Biosciences, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) and incubated with 5% CO2 at 37°C. On the 8th d, after being stained with crystal violet, the number of colonies was counted by the AID iSpot Reader System.


## 2.4. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) Assay

The SNK-6 and KHYG-1 cells were treated with DDP at different concentrations (0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, 10.0, and 20.0 μM, MedChemExpress). Then, the cells were incubated with CCK-8 solution (10 mg/mL) and Formazan reagent (Beyotime, Shanghai, China) for 4 h in 5% CO2 at 37°C. The optical density (OD) at 490 nm and half of the maximum inhibition concentration (IC50) were measured by a spectrophotometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA, USA).


## 2.5. Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) Cytotoxicity Test

Cytotoxicity was tested by a LDH kit (Beyotime, Shanghai, China). The SNK-6 and KHYG-1 cells were cultured in the 96-well plate at1×104 cells/well in triplicate. The cells were then cultured with 5 μmol/mL DDP at 37°C for 24 h and 20 μL LDH release solution for 1 h. After that, the cells were centrifuged for 5 min at 400 × g using a perforated plate centrifuge. The 120 μL supernatant in each well were transferred into the corresponding well of a new 96-well plate. The OD at 490 nm was measured.


## 2.6. Monodansylcadaverine (MDC) Staining

Suspension containing 90μL cells (106 cells/mL) was collected and stained with 10 μL MDC staining solution (OKWB00363, Beijing Yingjiehua Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Beijing, China) at room temperature for 30 min. After that, the cell suspension was centrifuged at 715 × g for 5 min and observed under a fluorescence microscope with 355 nm emission filter and 512 nm block filter (F36914, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA, USA).


## 2.7. Immunofluorescence Assay

The expression of LC3 and p62 in the cells was detected by immunostaining. In short, the cells were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and incubated overnight with rabbit antibodies against LC3 (#3868, Cell Signaling Technologies, Beverly, MA, USA) and p62 (ab56416, Abcam). Then, the cells were incubated with goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody labeled by Alexa Fluor 488 (#A32723, Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA, USA) for 1 h. The nuclei were stained with 4′6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. The images were observed under a laser scanning confocal microscope (Carl Zeiss, Jena, Germany).


## 2.8. Western Blot Analysis

The protein lysates were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in 10% polyacrylamide gel and then transferred to a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (Merck Millipore, Billerica, MA, USA). The membrane was incubated with antibodies against human LC3B (ab192890, Abcam), Beclin-1 (#4122, Cell Signaling Technologies), MEK1/2 (ab178876, Abcam), phosphorylated (p)-MEK1/2 (ab194754, Abcam), Nrf-2 (#12721, Cell Signaling Technologies), and GAPDH (KC-5G4, Aksomics, Shanghai, China). Goat anti-mouse IgG (H + L) (KC-5G4, Southern Biotech, Birmingham, AL, USA) coupled with peroxidase was used as the second antibody. The intensity of staining was visualized using an X-ray image film processor (Kodak, Rochester, NY, USA).


## 2.9. Statistical Analysis

SPSS 22.0 software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was utilized for data analyses. Measurement data were presented asmean±standarddeviation. Comparisons between two groups were performed using an unpaired t test. Comparisons amongst multiple groups were tested by one-way or two-way analysis of variation (ANOVA). The normality test was accomplished using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov method. Normally scattered data amongst manifold groups were compared using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test, while skewed data scattered amongst multiple groups were evaluated using Dunn’s multiple comparison for post hoc tests after Kruskal–Wallis tests. p<0.05 was indicative of statistical significance.


## 3. Results

### 3.1. LMP1 Promotes DDP Resistance in Lymphoma Cells

EBV-LMP1 shRNA was transfected into the SNK-6 cells, and lentivirus overexpression vector containing EBV-LMP1 was used to infect the KHYG-1 cells. RT-qPCR verified that the SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1 and the KHYG-1 cells highly expressing LMP1 were successfully constructed (Figures1(a) and 1(b)). After DDP treatments, inhibition of LMP1 expression reduced the IC50 of SNK-6 cells relative to Scramble, while overexpression of LMP1 increased the resistance of KHYG-1 cells to DDP versus NC (Figure 1(c)). Then, the SNK-6 cells and KHYG-1 cells were treated with DDP at 2.5 μM and 5 μM, respectively. Colony formation assay found that depletion of LMP1 expression could inhibit the proliferation of SNK-6 cells relative to Scramble, while overexpression of LMP1 could promote the proliferation of KYHG-1 cells versus NC (Figure 1(d)). In addition, we further used LDH cytotoxic kit to detect the cytotoxicity of DDP in cells with different treatments. We found that LMP1 silencing increased the cytotoxicity of SNK-6 cells in response to DDP relative to Scramble, but LMP1 overexpression decreased the cytotoxicity of KHYG-1 cells versus NC (Figure 1(e)).Figure 1
LMP1 strengthens DDP resistance in the SNK-6 and KHYG-1 cells. EBV-LMP1 shRNA was transfected into the SNK-6 cells, and lentivirus overexpression vector containing EBV-LMP1 was used to infect the KHYG-1 cells. (a) The SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1 and the KHYG-1 cells highly expressing LMP1 were successfully constructed as detected by RT-qPCR. (b) LMP1 expression in the KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells as detected by western blot analysis. (c) IC50 value of KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells to DDP detected by CCK-8 assay. (d) Cell proliferation ability detected by colony formation assay. (e) The toxicity of DDP to each group of cells detected by LDH cytotoxicity test. All data are displayed in the form ofmean±standarddeviation. (a, b, d, and e) One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. (c) Two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. ∗p<0.05, ∗∗p<0.01.
(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)


### 3.2. LMP1 Overexpression Promotes the Lymphoma Cell Autophagy after DDP Treatment

Then, we used MDC staining to observe the autophagy of the cells. We found that after overexpression of LMP1, the autophagy level of KHYG-1 cells increased after DDP treatment versus NC, while knockdown of LMP1 reduced the autophagy of the SNK-6 cells relative to Scramble (Figure2(a)). In addition, we detected the expression of LC3 and p62 in the cells by immunofluorescence. After overexpression of LMP1, the expression of LC3 in KHYG-1 cells was significantly increased compared to the NC group, while the expression of LC3 in SNK-6 cells was significantly decreased when LMP1 was reduced compared to Scramble. The expression of p62 was completely opposite to that of LC3 (Figures 2(b) and 2(c)). Then, we further detected the expression of Beclin-1 and LC3 II/I in the cells by Western blot analysis. We found that the expression of Beclin-1 and LC3 II/I decreased in the SNK-6 cells after downregulation of LMP1 compared to Scramble, but the expression of Beclin-1 and LC3 II/I in the KHYG-1 cells increased after overexpression of LMP1 versus NC (Figure 2(d)).Figure 2
LMP1 overexpression accelerates the lymphoma cell autophagy after DDP treatment. (a) The lymphoma cell autophagy in the SNK-6 and KHYG-1 cells observed by MDC staining. (b and c) The expression level of LC3 and p62 was detected by immunofluorescence. (d) The expression levels of Beclin-1 and LC3 II/I were detected by western blot analysis. All data are displayed in the form ofmean±standarddeviation. (a, b, d, and e) One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. ∗p<0.05, ∗∗p<0.01.
(a)(b)(c)(d)


### 3.3. Autophagy Inhibitor 3-MA Weakens the Promoting Effect of LMP1 on Drug Resistance of Lymphoma Cells

In order to further verify the relationship between LMP1 and autophagy or DDP resistance, we added autophagy inhibitor 3-MA in the KHYG-1 cells overexpressing LMP1, and autophagy activator rapamycin in the SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1. We observed via MDC staining that the autophagy of the KHYG-1 cells was significantly inhibited following 3-MA, while the autophagy of the SNK-6 cells was significantly promoted after rapamycin both in comparison with DMSO treatment (Figure3(a)). Then, we detected the IC50 value of cells to DDP by CCK-8 kit. The IC50 value decreased significantly after the autophagy of KHYG-1 cells was inhibited, while the IC50 value increased significantly after the autophagy of SNK-6 cells was promoted (Figure 3(b)). In addition, through colony formation assay, we found that after inhibition of the cell autophagy, the proliferation of KHYG-1 cells was significantly inhibited, while promoting autophagy in the SNK-6 cells significantly increased cell proliferation (Figure 3(c)). After that, we further tested the cytotoxicity of the KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells by LDH kit. The cytotoxicity of KHYG-1 cells increased significantly after inhibition of autophagy, while that of the SNK-6 cells was significantly inhibited after rapamycin treatment (Figure 3(d)).Figure 3
Inhibition of cell autophagy reduces the promoting effect of LMP1 on the lymphoma cell resistance to DDP. The autophagy inhibitor 3-MA was added to the KHYG-1 cells overexpressing LMP1, and the autophagy activator rapamycin was added to the SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1. (a) The autophagy level was observed by MDC staining. (b) The IC50 value of KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells to DDP measured by the CCK-8 kit. (c) Cell proliferation was detected by colony formation assay. (d) The cytotoxicity of DDP to the KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells tested by LDH kit. All data are displayed in the form ofmean±standarddeviation. (a, c, and d) One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. (b) Two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. ∗p<0.05.
(a)(b)(c)(d)


### 3.4. Overexpression of LMP1 Promotes the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 Signaling Pathway

Subsequently, we used western blot analysis to further detect the activation of the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signal pathway. After the overexpression of LMP1, the extent of MEK1/2 phosphorylation in the KHYG-1 cells was significantly increased compared with the NC group, along with enhanced Nrf-2 expression. After the knockdown of LMP1 in the SNK-6 cells, the extent of MEK1/2 phosphorylation was significantly reduced, and the expression of Nrf-2 was also significantly downregulated relative to the Scramble group (Figure4).Figure 4
Overexpression of LMP1 activates the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signaling pathway. The expression of the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signaling pathway was detected by western blot analysis. All data are displayed in the form ofmean±standarddeviation. Two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. ∗, #p<0.05, ∗∗, ##p<0.01.


### 3.5. Inhibition of MEK1/2/Nrf-2 Blocks the Promoting Function of LMP1 in Lymphoma Cell Resistance

Therefore, in order to further verify the effect of MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signaling pathway and LMP1 on lymphoma cell resistance and autophagy, we added MEK1/2-specific inhibitor SL327 to the KHYG-1 cells overexpressing LMP1 and added Nrf-2-specific activator cheirolin to the SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1 with DMSO as the control for both. Western blot analysis showed that the activity of MEK1/2 in the KHYG-1 cells was significantly inhibited, while that in the SNK-6 cells was significantly promoted (Figure5(a)). Then, we used MDC staining to detect the autophagy in each group of cells. The autophagy of the KHYG-1 cells was significantly inhibited, while the autophagy of the SNK-6 cells was significantly promoted (Figure 5(b)). Then, we tested the IC50 value of cells to DDP by CCK-8 kit. It was observed that after the inhibition of MEK1/2 activity of the KHYG-1 cells, the IC50 value of cells to DDP decreased significantly, while the IC50 value of SNK-6 cells to DDP increased significantly after Nrf-2 overexpression (Figure 5(c)). In addition, it was revealed by colony formation assay that inhibition of the extent of MEK1/2 phosphorylation in the KHYG-1 cells inhibited the cell proliferation, while Nrf-2 overexpression in the SNK-6 cells increased cell proliferation (Figure 5(d)). After that, we further tested the cytotoxicity of DDP to the KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells by LDH kit. We found that after reducing extent of MEK1/2 phosphorylation, the cytotoxicity of DDP to KHYG-1 cells significantly increased, while after treatment with cheirolin, the cytotoxicity of DDP to the SNK-6 cells inhibited (Figure 5(e)).Figure 5
MEK1/2/Nrf-2 inhibitor suppresses the promoting effect of LMP1 on lymphoma cell resistance to DDP. The MEK1/2 specific inhibitor SL327 was added to the KHYG-1 cells overexpressing LMP1, and Nrf-2 specific activator cheirolin was added to the SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1. (a) The extent of MEK1/2 phosphorylation in the KHYG-1 cells and the expression of Nrf-2 in the SNK-6 cells were detected by western blot analysis. (b) The autophagy level was observed by MDC staining. (c) The IC50 value of KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells to DDP measured by CCK-8 assay. (d) Cell proliferation was detected by colony formation assay. (e) The cytotoxicity of DDP to the KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells tested by LDH kit. All data are displayed in the form ofmean±standarddeviation. (b, d, and e) One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. (a and c) Two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. ∗p<0.05. ∗∗p<0.01.
(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)


## 3.1. LMP1 Promotes DDP Resistance in Lymphoma Cells

EBV-LMP1 shRNA was transfected into the SNK-6 cells, and lentivirus overexpression vector containing EBV-LMP1 was used to infect the KHYG-1 cells. RT-qPCR verified that the SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1 and the KHYG-1 cells highly expressing LMP1 were successfully constructed (Figures1(a) and 1(b)). After DDP treatments, inhibition of LMP1 expression reduced the IC50 of SNK-6 cells relative to Scramble, while overexpression of LMP1 increased the resistance of KHYG-1 cells to DDP versus NC (Figure 1(c)). Then, the SNK-6 cells and KHYG-1 cells were treated with DDP at 2.5 μM and 5 μM, respectively. Colony formation assay found that depletion of LMP1 expression could inhibit the proliferation of SNK-6 cells relative to Scramble, while overexpression of LMP1 could promote the proliferation of KYHG-1 cells versus NC (Figure 1(d)). In addition, we further used LDH cytotoxic kit to detect the cytotoxicity of DDP in cells with different treatments. We found that LMP1 silencing increased the cytotoxicity of SNK-6 cells in response to DDP relative to Scramble, but LMP1 overexpression decreased the cytotoxicity of KHYG-1 cells versus NC (Figure 1(e)).Figure 1
LMP1 strengthens DDP resistance in the SNK-6 and KHYG-1 cells. EBV-LMP1 shRNA was transfected into the SNK-6 cells, and lentivirus overexpression vector containing EBV-LMP1 was used to infect the KHYG-1 cells. (a) The SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1 and the KHYG-1 cells highly expressing LMP1 were successfully constructed as detected by RT-qPCR. (b) LMP1 expression in the KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells as detected by western blot analysis. (c) IC50 value of KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells to DDP detected by CCK-8 assay. (d) Cell proliferation ability detected by colony formation assay. (e) The toxicity of DDP to each group of cells detected by LDH cytotoxicity test. All data are displayed in the form ofmean±standarddeviation. (a, b, d, and e) One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. (c) Two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. ∗p<0.05, ∗∗p<0.01.
(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)


## 3.2. LMP1 Overexpression Promotes the Lymphoma Cell Autophagy after DDP Treatment

Then, we used MDC staining to observe the autophagy of the cells. We found that after overexpression of LMP1, the autophagy level of KHYG-1 cells increased after DDP treatment versus NC, while knockdown of LMP1 reduced the autophagy of the SNK-6 cells relative to Scramble (Figure2(a)). In addition, we detected the expression of LC3 and p62 in the cells by immunofluorescence. After overexpression of LMP1, the expression of LC3 in KHYG-1 cells was significantly increased compared to the NC group, while the expression of LC3 in SNK-6 cells was significantly decreased when LMP1 was reduced compared to Scramble. The expression of p62 was completely opposite to that of LC3 (Figures 2(b) and 2(c)). Then, we further detected the expression of Beclin-1 and LC3 II/I in the cells by Western blot analysis. We found that the expression of Beclin-1 and LC3 II/I decreased in the SNK-6 cells after downregulation of LMP1 compared to Scramble, but the expression of Beclin-1 and LC3 II/I in the KHYG-1 cells increased after overexpression of LMP1 versus NC (Figure 2(d)).Figure 2
LMP1 overexpression accelerates the lymphoma cell autophagy after DDP treatment. (a) The lymphoma cell autophagy in the SNK-6 and KHYG-1 cells observed by MDC staining. (b and c) The expression level of LC3 and p62 was detected by immunofluorescence. (d) The expression levels of Beclin-1 and LC3 II/I were detected by western blot analysis. All data are displayed in the form ofmean±standarddeviation. (a, b, d, and e) One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. ∗p<0.05, ∗∗p<0.01.
(a)(b)(c)(d)


## 3.3. Autophagy Inhibitor 3-MA Weakens the Promoting Effect of LMP1 on Drug Resistance of Lymphoma Cells

In order to further verify the relationship between LMP1 and autophagy or DDP resistance, we added autophagy inhibitor 3-MA in the KHYG-1 cells overexpressing LMP1, and autophagy activator rapamycin in the SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1. We observed via MDC staining that the autophagy of the KHYG-1 cells was significantly inhibited following 3-MA, while the autophagy of the SNK-6 cells was significantly promoted after rapamycin both in comparison with DMSO treatment (Figure3(a)). Then, we detected the IC50 value of cells to DDP by CCK-8 kit. The IC50 value decreased significantly after the autophagy of KHYG-1 cells was inhibited, while the IC50 value increased significantly after the autophagy of SNK-6 cells was promoted (Figure 3(b)). In addition, through colony formation assay, we found that after inhibition of the cell autophagy, the proliferation of KHYG-1 cells was significantly inhibited, while promoting autophagy in the SNK-6 cells significantly increased cell proliferation (Figure 3(c)). After that, we further tested the cytotoxicity of the KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells by LDH kit. The cytotoxicity of KHYG-1 cells increased significantly after inhibition of autophagy, while that of the SNK-6 cells was significantly inhibited after rapamycin treatment (Figure 3(d)).Figure 3
Inhibition of cell autophagy reduces the promoting effect of LMP1 on the lymphoma cell resistance to DDP. The autophagy inhibitor 3-MA was added to the KHYG-1 cells overexpressing LMP1, and the autophagy activator rapamycin was added to the SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1. (a) The autophagy level was observed by MDC staining. (b) The IC50 value of KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells to DDP measured by the CCK-8 kit. (c) Cell proliferation was detected by colony formation assay. (d) The cytotoxicity of DDP to the KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells tested by LDH kit. All data are displayed in the form ofmean±standarddeviation. (a, c, and d) One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. (b) Two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. ∗p<0.05.
(a)(b)(c)(d)


## 3.4. Overexpression of LMP1 Promotes the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 Signaling Pathway

Subsequently, we used western blot analysis to further detect the activation of the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signal pathway. After the overexpression of LMP1, the extent of MEK1/2 phosphorylation in the KHYG-1 cells was significantly increased compared with the NC group, along with enhanced Nrf-2 expression. After the knockdown of LMP1 in the SNK-6 cells, the extent of MEK1/2 phosphorylation was significantly reduced, and the expression of Nrf-2 was also significantly downregulated relative to the Scramble group (Figure4).Figure 4
Overexpression of LMP1 activates the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signaling pathway. The expression of the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signaling pathway was detected by western blot analysis. All data are displayed in the form ofmean±standarddeviation. Two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. ∗, #p<0.05, ∗∗, ##p<0.01.


## 3.5. Inhibition of MEK1/2/Nrf-2 Blocks the Promoting Function of LMP1 in Lymphoma Cell Resistance

Therefore, in order to further verify the effect of MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signaling pathway and LMP1 on lymphoma cell resistance and autophagy, we added MEK1/2-specific inhibitor SL327 to the KHYG-1 cells overexpressing LMP1 and added Nrf-2-specific activator cheirolin to the SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1 with DMSO as the control for both. Western blot analysis showed that the activity of MEK1/2 in the KHYG-1 cells was significantly inhibited, while that in the SNK-6 cells was significantly promoted (Figure5(a)). Then, we used MDC staining to detect the autophagy in each group of cells. The autophagy of the KHYG-1 cells was significantly inhibited, while the autophagy of the SNK-6 cells was significantly promoted (Figure 5(b)). Then, we tested the IC50 value of cells to DDP by CCK-8 kit. It was observed that after the inhibition of MEK1/2 activity of the KHYG-1 cells, the IC50 value of cells to DDP decreased significantly, while the IC50 value of SNK-6 cells to DDP increased significantly after Nrf-2 overexpression (Figure 5(c)). In addition, it was revealed by colony formation assay that inhibition of the extent of MEK1/2 phosphorylation in the KHYG-1 cells inhibited the cell proliferation, while Nrf-2 overexpression in the SNK-6 cells increased cell proliferation (Figure 5(d)). After that, we further tested the cytotoxicity of DDP to the KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells by LDH kit. We found that after reducing extent of MEK1/2 phosphorylation, the cytotoxicity of DDP to KHYG-1 cells significantly increased, while after treatment with cheirolin, the cytotoxicity of DDP to the SNK-6 cells inhibited (Figure 5(e)).Figure 5
MEK1/2/Nrf-2 inhibitor suppresses the promoting effect of LMP1 on lymphoma cell resistance to DDP. The MEK1/2 specific inhibitor SL327 was added to the KHYG-1 cells overexpressing LMP1, and Nrf-2 specific activator cheirolin was added to the SNK-6 cells poorly expressing LMP1. (a) The extent of MEK1/2 phosphorylation in the KHYG-1 cells and the expression of Nrf-2 in the SNK-6 cells were detected by western blot analysis. (b) The autophagy level was observed by MDC staining. (c) The IC50 value of KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells to DDP measured by CCK-8 assay. (d) Cell proliferation was detected by colony formation assay. (e) The cytotoxicity of DDP to the KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells tested by LDH kit. All data are displayed in the form ofmean±standarddeviation. (b, d, and e) One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. (a and c) Two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test are used to test the significant difference of data. ∗p<0.05. ∗∗p<0.01.
(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)


## 4. Discussion

EBV infects exceeding 90% of the adult population around the world and is complicated in cellular transformation and malignancy including NNKTL, and EBV is a valuable malignancy indicator for diagnosis, tumor monitoring, and prognosis in patients with NNKTL [15]. Moreover, the antiapoptotic role of EBV-LMP1 has been recently reported in lymphoma cells [16]. While the relevance of EBV-LMP1 to autophagy, a major contributor to chemotherapy failure, in lymphoma remains vague. Therefore, we investigated the mechanism of EBV-LMP1 in the NNKTL cell lines (SNK-6 and KHYG-1 cell lines) and its effect on the DDP resistance and autophagy of the NNKTL cells. The results showed that EBV-LMP1 overexpression promoted the DDP resistance and autophagy of the NNKTL cells.We firstly found that overexpression of LMP1 promoted DDP resistance and autophagy of lymphoma cells. It has been previously pointed out that EBV contributed to nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell chemotherapy resistance to DDP via activating ATR-mediated DNA damage response [17]. Also, LMP1 conferred resistance to DDP-induced apoptosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma [18]. Similar to these published reports, our gain- and loss-of-function assays exhibited that ectopic expression of LMP1 enhanced the IC50 value, colony formation, and cytotoxicity of EBV-negative KHYG-1 cells, whereas silencing of LMP1 using lentiviral vectors reduced these trends in EBV-positive SNK-6 cells. The results substantiated the sensitizing effects of LMP1 knockdown on lymphoma cells. Later, we observed that depletion of LMP1 effectively reduced the expression of LC3 and Beclin-1, while enhanced that of p62 in lymphoma cells, which hints the possibility of LMP1-mediated chemo-resistance was autophagy-dependent. Likewise, LMP1 also increased autophagic flux of LC3-II and promoted viability in Hodgkin lymphoma cells [19]. To test our postulation, we delivered 3-MA, an autophagy inhibitor, or rapamycin, an autophagy activator, into lymphoma cells with LMP1 upregulation or downregulation, respectively. The rescue experiments validated that autophagy was indeed involved in the LMP1-mediated DDP resistance. We found that autophagy inhibitor 3-MA weakened the promoting effect of LMP1 on drug resistance of lymphoma cells, while rapamycin had reverse function. Again, inhibition of autophagy using either Beclin 1 siRNA or 3-MA enhanced the survival and promoted clone formation of nasopharyngeal cancer cells [20].Then, we found that overexpression of LMP1 activated the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signaling pathway in the SNK-6 and KHYG-1 cell lines, and that the inhibition of MEK1/2/Nrf-2 blocked the promoting function of LMP1 in lymphoma cell resistance. Combination with MEK1/2 inhibitors seems to improve anti-NHL effects and to counteract prognostic negative polyploidy in vitro [21]. MEK1/2 inhibitors were also able to downregulate the PD-L1 expression in B cell and canine lymphomas, which may propose opportunities to form innovative treatment strategies in PD-L1 overexpressing tumors [22]. It has been demonstrated by Mele et al. that an autophagy flux activation was driven by β2-AR inhibition, which was increased in combination with the MEK1/2 inhibitor [23]. LMP1 carboxyl-terminal activating regions 1 also activated the MEK1/2-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 signaling pathway, and this activation was essential for LMP1-induced alteration of Rat-1 fibroblasts [24]. Furthermore, the transcription factor Nrf-2 can control transcriptional levels of different genes that mediate cellular redox-homeostasis, and tumor cells with elevated Nrf-2 expression levels were resistant to DDP cytotoxicity [25]. It has also been demonstrated that downregulation of Nrf-2 reduced cell proliferation and enhanced the sensitivity of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells to DDP [26]. Similarly, knockdown of Nrf-2 by siRNA transfection in laryngeal squamous cell cancer cells clearly enhanced DDP-induced cell death rate and promoted Cleaved-PARP expression and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio [27]. LMP1 acted as a mimic of CD40 activating NF-κB, mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathways in the host cells [28]. Rescue experiments using MEK1/2-specific inhibitor SL327 and Nrf-2-specific activator cheirolin in KHYG-1 and SNK-6 cells successfully reversed the stimulating or repressing effects of LMP1 upregulation or downregulation on lymphoma cell autophagy and DDP resistance, respectively.


## 5. Conclusion

Above all, we may conclude that EBV-LMP1 promotes the level of cell autophagy after DDP treatment by activating the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signaling pathway in lymphoma cells, thus, enhancing the resistance of lymphoma cells to DDP. However, due to funding and time limits, the practical role of EBV-LMP1 and the MEK1/2/Nrf-2 signaling pathway in animals is still to be elucidated, which will be explored in the future. Furthermore, other molecules such as microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs involved in NNKTL will also be investigated. This study basically provides the potential target for NNKTL treatment.



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*Source: 6668947-2021-06-19.xml*