Role of Flavonoids in the Prevention of AhR-Dependent Resistance During Treatment with BRAF Inhibitors

Abstract

BRAF and MEK inhibitors (BRAFi and MEKi) are the standard of care for the treatment of metastatic melanoma in patients with BRAFV600E mutations, greatly improving progression-free survival. However, the acquisition of resistance to BRAFi and MEKi remains a difficult clinical challenge, with limited therapeutic options available for these patients. Here, we investigated the therapeutic potential of natural flavonoids as specific AhR (Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor) transcription factor antagonists in combination with BRAFi. Experimental Design: Experiments were performed in vitro and in vivo with various human melanoma cell lines (mutated for BRAFV600E) sensitive or resistant to BRAFi. We evaluated the role of various flavonoids on cell sensitivity to BRAFi and their ability to counteract resistance and the invasive phenotype of melanoma. Results: Flavonoids were highly effective in potentiating BRAFi therapy in human melanoma cell lines by increasing sensitivity and delaying the pool of resistant cells that arise during treatment. As AhR antagonists, flavonoids counteracted a gene expression program associated with the acquisition of resistance and phenotype switching that leads to an invasive and EMT-like phenotype. Conclusions: The use of natural flavonoids opens new therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of patients with BRAF-resistant disease.