Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39814799›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Cytotoxic mechanisms of pemetrexed and HDAC inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer cells involving ribonucleotides in DNA.

Tobias Solli Iveland, Lars Hagen, Mirta Mittelstedt Leal de Sousa, Nina Beate Liabakk, Per Arne Aas, Animesh Sharma, Bodil Kavli, Geir Slupphaug

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Exploring new quinoxaline, quinoline, and naphthalene carboxamides as HDAC-targeted anticancer agents: Cytotoxicity, enzymatic HDAC evaluation, and in silico studies.Medicinal chemistry research : an international journal for rapid communications on design and mechanisms of action of biologically active agents · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Tobias Solli IvelandDepartment of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway.
Lars HagenDepartment of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway.
Mirta Mittelstedt Leal de SousaDepartment of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway.
Nina Beate LiabakkDepartment of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway.
Per Arne AasDepartment of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway.
Animesh SharmaDepartment of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway.
Bodil KavliDepartment of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway. bodil.kavli@ntnu.no.
Geir SlupphaugDepartment of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway. geir.slupphaug@ntnu.no.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The cytotoxic mechanisms of thymidylate synthase inhibitors, such as the multitarget antifolate pemetrexed, are not yet fully understood. Emerging evidence indicates that combining pemetrexed with histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) may enhance therapeutic efficacy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To explore this further, A549 NSCLC cells were treated with various combinations of pemetrexed and the HDACi MS275 (Entinostat), and subsequently assessed for cell viability, cell cycle changes, and genotoxic markers. Proteomic alterations were analyzed using label-free shotgun and targeted LC-MS/MS. MS275 enhanced the sensitivity of A549 cells to pemetrexed, but only when administered following prior treatment with pemetrexed. Both HeLa (p53 negative) and A549 (p53 positive) showed robust activation of γH2AX upon treatment with this combination. Importantly, CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of the uracil-DNA glycosylase UNG did not affect γH2AX activation or sensitivity to pemetrexed. Proteomic analysis revealed that MS275 altered the expression of known pemetrexed targets, as well as several proteins involved in pyrimidine metabolism and DNA repair, which could potentiate pemetrexed cytotoxicity. Contrary to the conventional model of antifolate toxicity, which implicates futile cycles of uracil incorporation and excision in DNA, we propose that ribonucleotide incorporation in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA significantly contributes to the cytotoxicity of antifolates like pemetrexed, and likely also of fluorinated pyrimidine analogs. HDAC inhibition apparently exacerbates cytotoxicity of these agents by inhibiting error-free repair of misincorporated ribonucleotides in DNA. The potential of HDACis to modulate pyrimidine metabolism and DNA damage responses offers novel strategies for improving NSCLC outcomes.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungHistone Deacetylase InhibitorsLung NeoplasmsPemetrexedRibonucleotidesA549 CellsBenzamidesCell Line, TumorCell SurvivalDNA DamageHeLa CellsHistonesHumansProteomicsPyridinesBenzamidesentinostatHistone Deacetylase InhibitorsHistonesPemetrexedPyridinesRibonucleotidesHDAC inhibitorsNon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)PemetrexedRibonucleotide misincorporationUNGUracil

Identifiers

PMID39814799
PMCPMC11736037

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.