Olivomycin A Targets Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition, Apoptosis, and Mitochondrial Quality Control in Renal Cancer Cells

TL;DR

Olivomycin A shows anticancer effects in kidney cancer by targeting cell migration, cell death, and mitochondrial health.

Contribution

Olivomycin A is shown to target EMT, apoptosis, and mitochondrial quality control in renal cancer cells with different p53 statuses.

Findings

Olivomycin A inhibits cell migration and reverses epithelial–mesenchymal transition in renal cancer cells.

Apoptosis is induced through p53-dependent and p53-independent mechanisms in different cancer cell lines.

Mitochondrial quality control is enhanced in p53-mutant cells treated with olivomycin A.

Abstract

Here, we show that the aureolic acid-class antibiotic, olivomycin A, exerts potent anticancer activity in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by disrupting both cell survival and metastatic programs. In A-498 (wild-type p53) and 786-O (loss-of-function in p53 and PTEN) cells, olivomycin A markedly inhibited migratory capacity and reversed epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), as shown by downregulation of nuclear Snail and the mesenchymal marker N-cadherin and restoration of the epithelial markers, E-cadherin and ZO-1. In parallel, olivomycin A induced apoptosis through distinct p53-dependent mechanisms: In A-498 cells, apoptosis was primarily mediated through the intrinsic pathway, characterized by the upregulation of Puma, Bak, and activation of caspase-9. In 786-O cells, caspase-8 activation and Bid truncation were observed alongside mitochondrial involvement, suggesting possible cross-talk apoptotic cascades. Notably, in p53-mutant 786-O cells, treatment with olivomycin A elicited severe genotoxic stress accompanied by robust DNA damage signaling, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and lysosomal activation, culminating in extensive mitochondrial removal. Such changes were weaker in p53-wild-type A-498 cells, suggesting that the altered p53 context sensitizes RCC cells to olivomycin A-mediated mitochondrial quality control mechanisms. Collectively, our findings delineate a multifaceted mechanism whereby olivomycin A coordinates EMT suppression, apoptotic induction, and mitochondrial clearance. Thus, olivomycin A has potential as a therapeutic candidate that can target both survival and metastatic pathways in heterogeneous genetic backgrounds.

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