Targeted inhibition of Ninjurin2 promotes chemosensitivity in chemoresistant gastric cancer by suppressing cancer-initiating cells

TL;DR

This study identifies NINJURIN2 as a new biomarker for chemoresistant gastric cancer and shows that inhibiting it can improve chemotherapy effectiveness.

Contribution

The study introduces NINJURIN2 as a novel target for overcoming chemoresistance in gastric cancer.

Findings

NINJURIN2 and CD44 are highly expressed in chemoresistant gastric cancer cells.

Inhibiting NINJURIN2 increases chemosensitivity in vitro and in vivo.

High NINJURIN2 expression correlates with poor survival in gastric cancer patients.

Abstract

The combination of epirubicin, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (ECF) is widely used for gastric cancer treatment. However, cancer cells can acquire chemoresistance over multiple treatment cycles, leading to recurrence. This study aimed to investigate a novel biomarker for predicting ECF resistance and its biological roles in gastric cancer.

ECF-resistant (ECF-R) gastric cancer cell lines were established through stepwise ECF treatment. Transcriptome analysis was performed to identify resistance-related genes, which were validated in tumor organoids and in vivo models. Additionally, gastric cancer patient tumor tissues were analyzed for clinical relevance.

Transcriptome analysis revealed that NINJURIN2 and CD44 were highly expressed in ECF-R cells but rarely expressed in normal gastric tissues. NINJURIN2 inhibition significantly increased chemosensitivity to ECF in vitro and in vivo. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry identified periostin as a binding partner of NINJURIN2, mediating chemoresistance. Furthermore, VAV2 phosphorylation was markedly upregulated in ECF-R cells but was inhibited by NINJURIN2 knockdown. Clinical analysis showed that high NINJURIN2 expression correlated with poor survival outcomes in gastric cancer patients.

Our findings suggest that NINJURIN2 can be used as a novel biomarker for chemoresistant gastric cancer patients and that inhibiting NINJURIN2 along with standard chemotherapy could prevent chemoresistance-associated relapse in gastric cancer.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40364-025-00792-0.

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