TRIM14 promotes chemoresistance in gliomas by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling via stabilizing Dvl2

Gliomas are a lethal class of brain cancer, with a median survival below 15 months in spite of therapeutic advances. The poor prognosis of this disease is largely attributed to acquired chemotherapy resistance, and new strategies are urgently needed to target resistant glioma cells. Herein, our study demonstrated that tripartite motif-containing 14 (TRIM14) overexpressed in glioma specimens (including tissues and cell lines), and that high level of TRIM14 predicted poor outcome of glioma patients. Furthermore, we found that upregulation of TRIM14 in glioma cells conferred chemoresistance to temozolomide in vitro and in vivo; conversely, silencing TRIM14 sensitized glioma cells to temozolomide. These findings demonstrated that TRIM14 stabilized dishevelled (Dvl2) and subsequently activated the canonical Wnt signaling and promoted chemoresistance. Moreover, inhibition of Dvl2 reversed the oncogenic effect of TRIM14 on chemoresistance. Importantly, consistent with the abovementioned results, we found that TRIM14 expression was significantly associated with hyperactivation of canonical Wnt pathway in clinical glioma specimens. Collectively, the study reveals a new molecular mechanism driving chemotherapy resistance in gliomas, and suggests an opportunity to develop novel therapeutic interventions against gliomas.