A Redox-Silent Analogue of Tocotrienol May Break the Homeostasis of Proteasomes in Human Malignant Mesothelioma Cells by Inhibiting STAT3 and NRF1.

6-O-Carboxypropyl-alpha-tocotrienol (α-T3E) is a multi-target redox-silent analogue of tocotrienol that exhibits cytotoxicity against many cancer cells, including malignant mesothelioma (MM) cells. α-T3E has several molecular targets to effectively induce cytotoxicity against MM cells; however, the mechanisms underlying this cytotoxicity remain unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that the α-T3E-dependent disruption of the homeostasis of proteasomes strongly induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which resulted in effective cytotoxicity against MM cells. The α-T3E-dependent disruption of the homeostasis of proteasomes depended on decreases in proteasome subunits via the inactivation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor-1 (NRF1), which inhibited protease activity, such as chymotrypsin-like activity, in proteasomes. The α-T3E-dependent inhibition of this activity also induced severe ER stress and ultimately resulted in effective cytotoxicity against MM cells with chemoresistance. The present results indicate that α-T3E acts as an effective anti-mesothelioma agent by disrupting the homeostasis of proteasomes through the simultaneous inactivation of STAT3 and NRF1.