uL3 Regulates Redox Metabolism and Ferroptosis Sensitivity of p53-Deleted Colorectal Cancer Cells

Despite advancements in therapeutic strategies, the development of drug resistance and metastasis remains a serious concern for the efficacy of chemotherapy against colorectal cancer (CRC). We have previously demonstrated that low expression of ribosomal protein uL3 positively correlates with chemoresistance in CRC patients. Here, we demonstrated that the loss of uL3 increased the metastatic capacity of CRC cells in chick embryos. Metabolomic analysis revealed large perturbations in amino acid and glutathione metabolism in resistant uL3-silenced CRC cells, indicating that uL3 silencing dramatically triggered redox metabolic reprogramming. RNA-Seq data revealed a notable dysregulation of 108 genes related to ferroptosis in CRC patients. Solute Carrier Family 7 Member 11 (SLC7A11) is one of the most dysregulated genes; its mRNA stability is negatively regulated by uL3, and its expression is inversely correlated with uL3 levels. Inhibition of SLC7A11 with erastin impaired resistant uL3-silenced CRC cell survival by inducing ferroptosis. Of interest, the combined treatment erastin plus uL3 enhanced the chemotherapeutic sensitivity of uL3-silenced CRC cells to erastin. The antimetastatic potential of the combined strategy was evaluated in chick embryos. Overall, our study sheds light on uL3-mediated chemoresistance and provides evidence of a novel therapeutic approach, erastin plus uL3, to induce ferroptosis, establishing individualized therapy by examining p53, uL3 and SLC7A11 profiles in tumors.