Clinically used drug arsenic trioxide targets XIAP and overcomes apoptosis resistance in an organoid-based preclinical cancer model

Abstract

Drug resistance in tumor cells remains a persistent clinical challenge in the pursuit of effective anticancer therapy. XIAP, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family, suppresses apoptosis via its Baculovirus IAP Repeat (BIR) domains and is responsible for drug resistance in various human cancers. Therefore, XIAP has attracted significant attention as a potential therapeutic target. However, no XIAP inhibitor is available for clinical use to date. In this study, we surprisingly observed that arsenic trioxide (ATO) induced a rapid depletion of XIAP in different cancer cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that arsenic attacked the cysteine residues of BIR domains and directly bound to XIAP, resulting in the release of zinc ions from this protein. Arsenic-XIAP binding suppressed the normal anti-apoptosis functions of BIR domains, and led to the ubiquitination-dependent degradation of XIAP. Importantly, we further demonstrate that arsenic sensitized a variety of apoptosis-resistant cancer cells, including patient-derived colon cancer organoids, to the chemotherapy drug using cisplatin as a showcase. These findings suggest that targeting XIAP with ATO offers an attractive strategy for combating apoptosis-resistant cancers in clinical practice.