Journal: Molecular Cancer
Article Title: Therapy-induced senescence is a transient drug resistance mechanism in breast cancer
doi: 10.1186/s12943-025-02310-0
Figure Lengend Snippet: Therapy-induced senescence (TIS) cells that escape senescence drive repopulation after chemotherapy. A UMAP projection of single-cell transcriptomes from the MCF7 breast cancer cell line, illustrating distinct clustering of control (CTR, dark brown), therapy-induced senescent (TIS, scarlet), and repopulating (REPOP, light brown) cell populations. The separation of these clusters indicates transcriptionally distinct states, with TIS cells forming a well-defined cluster distinct from CTR and REPOP populations. The REPOP population shows a partial transcriptional shift toward CTR, reflecting its reversal from the TIS state. B UMAP projection of single-cell transcriptomes from the T47D breast cancer cell line, similarly showing distinct clustering of CTR (dark green), TIS (crimson), and REPOP (light green) cell populations. The clustering pattern resembles that observed in MCF7 cells, with a well-separated TIS population and REPOP cells positioned between TIS and CTR clusters, suggesting partial transcriptional reversion. C Integrated UMAP analysis of MCF7 and T47D cell lines, combining data from both models to highlight cell type-specific transcriptomic profiles. Control populations (MCF7 CTR in dark brown; T47D CTR in dark green) form distinct clusters, whereas TIS populations from both cell lines (scarlet for MCF7; crimson for T47D) also exhibit clear separation from their respective CTR counterparts. The integration further reveals that despite the transcriptional similarities in senescence-associated programs, MCF7 and T47D maintain cell-line-specific transcriptomic differences, as reflected in their segregated distributions. D Feature plots showing the expression of key senescence and proliferation-related markers in individual MCF7 cells. CDKN1A (p21) is upregulated in TIS cells (top left panel), confirming cell cycle arrest. Conversely, markers associated with proliferation, including LMNB1, TOP2A, and MKI67, are downregulated (top right and bottom panels), consistent with the senescent phenotype. The presence of scattered high-expressing cells within the TIS population suggests the existence of ‘escaper’ subpopulations that may retain some proliferative capacity. E Feature plots of CDKN1A, LMNB1, TOP2A, and MKI67 expression in T47D cells, showing a similar transcriptional profile to MCF7 cells. CDKN1A is significantly upregulated in TIS cells, while LMNB1, TOP2A, and MKI67 are markedly downregulated. As in MCF7, a fraction of TIS cells display non-uniform expression of these markers, indicating potential escape from the senescent state. F UMAP projection of MCF7 cells overlaid with cell cycle phase information (G1: green; S: blue; G2/M: red). Pie charts illustrate the proportional distribution of cells in each phase across the CTR, TIS, and REPOP populations. TIS cells predominantly reside in the G1 phase (79.7%), reflecting irreversible cell cycle arrest, whereas REPOP cells show an increased proportion of cycling cells, particularly in the G2/M phase, indicating their proliferative re-entry. G UMAP projection of T47D cells colored by cell cycle phases, with corresponding pie charts depicting phase distributions in CTR, TIS, and REPOP populations. TIS cells in T47D exhibit a similar G1 arrest phenotype as observed in MCF7, while REPOP cells regain a more balanced cell cycle distribution, mirroring their recovery from senescence. H Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of differentially expressed genes in MCF7 TIS cells compared to CTR, highlighting significant enrichment of senescence-associated pathways (e.g., inflammatory response, DNA damage signaling) and suppression of proliferation-associated pathways. Normalized enrichment scores (NES) are shown, with positive values indicating upregulated pathways and negative values indicating suppressed pathways. I GSEA results for T47D TIS cells, demonstrating pathway-level alterations similar to those observed in MCF7, with enrichment of senescence-associated programs and suppression of cell cycle progression. J Schematic representation of the senescence induction and reversion process. Cells undergo therapy-induced senescence (TIS) following exposure to doxorubicin (DOX). Over time, a subset of TIS cells escape growth arrest and re-enter the cell cycle, forming the REPOP population. This process involves transcriptional reprogramming, with a balance between senescent, proliferating, and apoptotic fates. K UMAP trajectory analysis of MCF7 cells depicting the transition from CTR to TIS (bottom panel) and from TIS to REPOP (top panel). Cells are colored based on pseudotime, capturing the progressive shift in transcriptional states. TIS cells form a distinct branch, while REPOP cells demonstrate convergence toward CTR, reflecting their transcriptional plasticity. L UMAP trajectory analysis of T47D cells, analogous to MCF7. The bottom panel illustrates the transition from CTR to TIS, while the top panel depicts the transition from TIS to REPOP. The REPOP population becomes almost identical to the CTR cluster, exhibiting highly overlapping transcriptional profiles, even more profoundly than in MCF7. This supports a model of senescence escape and complete proliferative recovery. M Heatmap of gene expression changes in a curated set of genes associated with drug resistance, senescence regulation, and cell cycle control across CTR, TIS, and REPOP states in both MCF7 and T47D cell lines. Genes exhibit dynamic expression patterns, with key senescence markers upregulated in TIS and downregulated upon REPOP transition, while drug resistance-associated genes show variable trends between cell lines. This highlights the complex interplay between senescence, proliferation, and therapy resistance
Article Snippet: The membranes were incubated with CDKN1A (p21), LMNB1 or Lamin B1 (Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA, USA), Bcl-2 (Thermo Fisher, Waltham, MA, USA) and Bcl-XL (Proteintech, Rosemont, USA) primary antibodies at 4°C overnight and then incubated with HRP-conjugated secondary antibodies (List of all antibodies used in this study can be found in the Supplementary Material 1).
Techniques: Control, Expressing, Gene Expression