2. Academic Validation
  3. Mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 drives bevacizumab resistance and malignant phenotype of TNBC by enhancing mitophagy

Mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 drives bevacizumab resistance and malignant phenotype of TNBC by enhancing mitophagy

  • Pharmacol Res. 2025 Dec 31:108081. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2025.108081.
Yan Ye 1,  Qian Zeng 2,  Zuli Ou 3,  Xiaoqian Ju 4,  Qingyu Liao 5,  Canling Li 6,  Dian Zhang 7,  Yu Wei 8,  Xiang Zhang 9,  Kejia Wu 10,  Tingmei Chen 11
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, No.1, Yixueyuan Road, Chongqing, 400016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 2 Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, No.1, Yixueyuan Road, Chongqing, 400016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 3 Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, No.1, Yixueyuan Road, Chongqing, 400016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 4 Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, No.1, Yixueyuan Road, Chongqing, 400016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 5 Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, No.1, Yixueyuan Road, Chongqing, 400016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 6 Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, No.1, Yixueyuan Road, Chongqing, 400016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 7 Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, No.1, Yixueyuan Road, Chongqing, 400016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 8 Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, No.1, Yixueyuan Road, Chongqing, 400016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 9 Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No.1, Youyi Road, Yuanjiagang, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 10 Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, No.1, Yixueyuan Road, Chongqing, 400016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 11 Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, No.1, Yixueyuan Road, Chongqing, 400016, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 41482011 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2025.108081
Abstract

Bevacizumab is an anti-angiogenic agent widely used in neoadjuvant chemotherapy for advanced triple-negative breast Cancer (TNBC). TNBC patients frequently acquire resistance to bevacizumab due to the hypoxic tumor microenvironment, yet the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that mitochondrial reprogramming under hypoxia is crucial for resistance to bevacizumab. Mechanically, prolonged hypoxia causes the glycolytic pathway enzyme PDK1 to accumulate inside mitochondria. In mitochondria, PDK1 exerts its non-canonical function to phosphorylate mitochondrial protein Prohibitin 2 (PHB2) at Ser190. Phosphorylation at Ser190 stabilizes PHB2 and enhances its binding with LC3, thereby initiating Mitophagy. Functionally, mitochondrial PDK1 (mito-PDK1) initiates Mitophagy in response to hypoxia-induced mitochondrial damage and promotes the malignant phenotype of TNBC cells. In xenograft tumors, inhibiting the function of mito-PDK1 enhances the sensitivity to bevacizumab. Collectively, our findings identify the crucial function and mechanism of mito-PDK1 in TNBC. Targeting mito-PDK1 function may emerge as a novel therapeutic strategy to address acquired resistance to bevacizumab.

Keywords

bevacizumab; hypoxia; mitophagy; pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1; triple-negative breast cancer.

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