Identification and validation of NOLC1 as a potential target for enhancing sensitivity in multidrug resistant non-small cell lung cancer cells

Adjuvant chemotherapy has become the frequently adopted standard therapeutic approach for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the development of multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major obstacle contributing to the failure of chemotherapy. This study aimed to identify genes associated with MDR development that predict tumor response to chemotherapy in NSCLC. In the present study, a multidrug-resistant NSCLC cell sub-line, A549/MDR, was established from the A549/DDP cell line and characterized. The resistance index (RI) of this subline was calculated according to the IC50 of A549/MDR relative to the parental A549/DDP cells. The gene expression profiles of A549/DDP and A549/MDR were obtained using an oligonucleotide microarray (Agilent SureHyb microarray chip). The microarray results were validated by qRT-PCR and selected genes were analyzed by in vitro loss-of-function experiments. Gene expression profiling identified 921 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) according to the selection criteria, in which 541 genes were upregulated and 380 genes were downregulated in A549/MDR compared with A549/DDP cells. We found that these DEGs are involved in diverse biological processes, including ribonucleoprotein complex, drug metabolism, the Hippo signaling pathway and transcriptional misregulation. NOLC1, as one of the identified DEGs, was confirmed to be overexpressed in A549/MDR cells and its knockdown significantly enhanced the drug sensitivity of A549/MDR cells in response to multidrug treatment. Furthermore, knockdown of NOLC1 downregulated the expression levels of drug resistance-associated molecules (LRP and MDR1) in A549/MDR cells. These findings provide a new and comprehensive expression profile of MDR in NSCLC cells. Identification and validation of NOLC1 might be a promising therapeutic strategy for the management of MDR of NSCLC patients. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s11658-018-0119-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.