Olanzapine suppresses mPFC activity-norepinephrine releasing to alleviate CLOCK-enhanced cancer stemness under chronic stress

Background: Olanzapine (OLZ) reverses chronic stress-induced anxiety. Chronic stress promotes Cancer development via abnormal neuro-endocrine activation. However, how intervention of brain-body interaction reverses chronic stress-induced tumorigenesis remains elusive.

Methods: Kras^LSL-G12D/WT lung Cancer model and LLC1 syngeneic tumor model were used to study the effect of OLZ on Cancer stemness and anxiety-like behaviors. Cancer stemness was evaluated by qPCR, western-blotting, immunohistology staining and flow-cytometry analysis of stemness markers, and Cancer stem-like function was assessed by serial dilution tumorigenesis in mice and extreme limiting dilution analysis in primary tumor cells. Anxiety-like behaviors in mice were detected by elevated plus maze and open field test. Depression-like behaviors in mice were detected by tail suspension test. Anxiety and depression states in human were assessed by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Chemo-sensitivity of lung Cancer was assessed by in vivo syngeneic tumor model and in vitro CCK-8 assay in lung Cancer cell lines.

Results: In this study, we found that OLZ reversed chronic stress-enhanced lung tumorigenesis in both Kras^LSL-G12D/WT lung Cancer model and LLC1 syngeneic tumor model. OLZ relieved anxiety and depression-like behaviors by suppressing neuro-activity in the mPFC and reducing norepinephrine (NE) releasing under chronic stress. NE activated ADRB2-cAMP-PKA-CREB pathway to promote CLOCK transcription, leading to Cancer stem-like traits. As such, CLOCK-deficiency or OLZ reverses NE/chronic stress-induced gemcitabine (GEM) resistance in lung Cancer. Of note, tumoral CLOCK expression is positively associated with stress status, serum NE level and poor prognosis in lung Cancer patients.

Conclusion: We identify a new mechanism by which OLZ ameliorates chronic stress-enhanced tumorigenesis and chemoresistance. OLZ suppresses mPFC-NE-CLOCK axis to reverse chronic stress-induced anxiety-like behaviors and lung Cancer stemness. Decreased NE-releasing prevents activation of ADRB2-cAMP-PKA-CREB pathway to inhibit CLOCK transcription, thus reversing lung Cancer stem-like traits and chemoresistance under chronic stress.