Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42149504›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism2026

Heterogeneity of MGMT expression in corticotroph adenomas and mechanism of acquired temozolomide resistance.

Ticiana Paes, Richard A Feelders, Fadime Dogan, Anand M Iyer, Johan M Kros, Yair Schwarz, Peter M van Koetsveld, Leo J Hofland

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Article in The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Ticiana PaesDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015 GD, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-3078-5200
Richard A FeeldersDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015 GD, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-2319-391X
Fadime DoganDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015 GD, The Netherlands.
Anand M IyerDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015 GD, The Netherlands.
Johan M KrosDepartment of Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015 GD, The Netherlands.
Yair SchwarzDina Recanati School of Medicine, Reichman University, Herzliyya 4610101, Israel.
Peter M van KoetsveldDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015 GD, The Netherlands.
Leo J HoflandDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015 GD, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-4897-2197

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextTemozolomide (TMZ) can be an effective medical treatment for aggressive pituitary tumors. In case of disease recurrence following TMZ treatment, however, treatment with the drug generally does not control tumor regrowth.

objectiveThis work aimed to better understand the mechanisms of resistance of corticotroph tumors to TMZ in the context of heterogeneity of methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) expression.

methodsWe performed immunohistochemical analysis of the MGMT expression pattern in 25 corticotroph tumors to evaluate intratumoral heterogeneity. In addition, we created in vitro models of AtT20 corticotroph tumor cells with acquired TMZ-resistance after exposure to high- and low-dose TMZ, the latter representing a clinically achievable TMZ level.

resultsMGMT immunostaining in corticotroph tumors showed a considerable heterogeneous intertumoral and intratumoral distribution pattern in 80% of tumors. In the in vitro model, high- and low-dose TMZ challenges induced a 6.3- and 3.4-fold decreased sensitivity to the growth inhibitory effect of TMZ. TMZ-induced changes in cell cycle phases were lower in TMZ-resistant cells than in vehicle-challenged cells. TMZ-resistant cells had higher Mgmt messenger RNA and protein expression and 1.8-fold higher number of Mgmt-positive cells. No difference was observed in the level of Mgmt promoter methylation.

conclusionCorticotroph pituitary tumors demonstrate a high intertumoral and intratumoral heterogeneity in MGMT expression. In an acquired TMZ-resistant corticotroph pituitary tumor cell model, TMZ resistance was associated with strong increase in MGMT expression and percentage of MGMT-positive cells. We hypothesize that clonal selection of high MGMT-expressing cells is involved in this acquired TMZ resistance.

Indexed as

ACTH-Secreting Pituitary AdenomaAdenomaAntineoplastic Agents, AlkylatingDacarbazineDNA Modification MethylasesDNA Repair EnzymesDrug Resistance, NeoplasmTumor Suppressor ProteinsCell Line, TumorFemaleGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMaleTemozolomideAntineoplastic Agents, AlkylatingDacarbazineDNA Modification MethylasesDNA Repair EnzymesMGMT protein, humanTemozolomideTumor Suppressor Proteinsaggressive tumorsCushing diseasepituitary tumorsresistancetemozolomide

Identifiers

PMID42149504
PMCPMC13671774

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