HIF2alpha-Associated Pseudohypoxia Promotes Radioresistance in Pheochromocytoma: Insights from 3D Models

Abstract

Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PCCs/PGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors arising from chromaffin tissue located in the adrenal or ganglia of the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system. The treatment of non-resectable or metastatic PCCs/PGLs is still limited to palliative measures, including somatostatin type 2 receptor radionuclide therapy with [177Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE as one of the most effective approaches to date. Nevertheless, the metabolic and molecular determinants of radiation response in PCCs/PGLs have not yet been characterized. This study investigates the effects of hypoxia-inducible factor 2 alpha (HIF2α) on the susceptibility of PCCs/PGLs to radiation treatments using spheroids grown from genetically engineered mouse pheochromocytoma (MPC) cells. The expression of Hif2α was associated with the significantly increased resistance of MPC spheroids to external X-ray irradiation and exposure to beta particle-emitting [177Lu]LuCl3 compared to Hif2α-deficient controls. Exposure to [177Lu]LuCl3 provided an increased long-term control of MPC spheroids compared to single-dose external X-ray irradiation. This study provides the first experimental evidence that HIF2α-associated pseudohypoxia contributes to a radioresistant phenotype of PCCs/PGLs. Furthermore, the external irradiation and [177Lu]LuCl3 exposure of MPC spheroids provide surrogate models for radiation treatments to further investigate the metabolic and molecular determinants of radiation responses in PCCs/PGLs and evaluate the effects of neo-adjuvant—in particular, radiosensitizing—treatments in combination with targeted radionuclide therapies.