Mohamed Elbadawy

and 17 more

Bladder cancer (BC), a main neoplasm of urinary tract, is usually inoperable and unresponsive to chemotherapy, indicating a necessity for more effective therapies. As a novel experimental model for muscle-invasive BC, we previously established a culture method of dog BC organoids. In the present study, the detailed in vitro and in vivo antiā€tumor effects of trametinib were investigated by using this model. In each BC organoid strain, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/ERK signaling was upregulated compared with normal bladder cells. Trametinib even at a low concentration inhibited the cell viability of BC organoids and the activation of ERK through decreasing expression of c-Myc, ELK1, SIK1, and PLA2G4A. Trametinib arrested cell cycle of BC with few apoptoses. Additionally, trametinib decreased expression of CD44, while YAP1 was unexpectedly upregulated. Dual treatment of BC organoids with trametinib and YAP inhibitor, verteporfin extremely inhibited the cell viability with apoptosis induction. Moreover, trametinib induced basal to luminal transformation of BC organoids by upregulating luminal markers (ERBB2 and GATA3) and downregulating basal ones (CK5 and DSG3). In vivo, trametinib decreased the tumor growth of BC organoids in mice and the xenograft-derived organoids from trametinib-administered mice showed enhanced sensitivity to carboplatin due to MSH2 upregulation. Our data suggested a new strategy of trametinib-YAP inhibitor or trametinib-carboplatin combination as a promising treatment of BC. Dog BC organoid model may hopefully become a promising research tool for human muscle-invasive BC in near future.