Hispolon Methyl Ether, a Hispolon Analog, Suppresses the SRC/STAT3/Survivin Signaling Axis to Induce Cytotoxicity in Human Urinary Bladder Transitional Carcinoma Cell Lines

Bladder cancer is a leading human malignancy worldwide. Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 is an oncogenic transcription factor commonly hyperactivated in most human cancers, including bladder cancer. Notably, preclinical evidence has validated STAT3 blockade as a promising therapeutic strategy for bladder cancer. Hispolon Methyl Ether (HME) is a structural analog of hispolon, an anticancer component of the medicinal mushroom Phellinus linteus. Thus far, HME’s anticancer activity and mechanisms remain largely unknown. We herein report HME was cytotoxic, more potent than cisplatin, and proapoptotic to various human bladder transitional carcinoma cell lines. Of note, HME blocked STAT3 activation, evidenced by HME-elicited reduction in tyrosine 705-phosphorylated STAT3 levels constitutively expressed or induced by interleukin-6. Significantly, HME-induced cytotoxicity was abrogated in cells expressing a dominant-active STAT3 mutant (STAT3-C), confirming STAT3 blockage as a pivotal mechanism of HME’s cytotoxic action. We further revealed that survivin was downregulated by HME, while its levels were rescued in STAT3-C-expressing cells. Moreover, survivin overexpression abolished HME-induced cytotoxicity, illustrating survivin as a central downstream mediator of STAT3 targeted by HME. Lastly, HME was shown to lower tyrosine 416-phosphorylated SRC levels, suggesting that HME inhibits STAT3 by repressing the activation of SRC, a STAT3 upstream kinase. In conclusion, we present the first evidence of HME’s anti-bladder cancer effect, likely proceeding by evoking apoptosis through suppression of the antiapoptotic SRC/STAT3/survivin signaling axis.