ANXA1‑derived peptides suppress gastric and colon cancer cell growth by targeting EphA2 degradation

EphA2 (EPH receptor A2) (erythropoietin‑producing hepatocellular receptor tyrosine kinase subtype A2) plays a crucial role in human cancers, and is a promising target for the development of new anticancer drugs. In this study, we showed that the interaction of Annexin A1 (ANXA1) and EphA2 increased EphA2 stability by inhibiting its proteasome degradation in gastric cancer (GC) and colon cancer (CC) cells, and the amino acid residues 20‑30 and 28‑30 of ANXA1 N terminal were responsible for binding and stabilizing EphA2. Based on the amino acid residues of ANXA1 responsible for binding EphA2, we developed ANXA1‑derived 3 amino acid‑long (SKG) and 11 amino acid‑long peptides (EYVQTVKSSKG) in fusion to cell‑penetrating peptide, named as A1(28‑30) and A1(20‑30) respectively, and found that A1(28‑30) and A1(20‑30) blocked the binding of ANXA1 with EphA2, targeted EphA2 degradation, and suppressed the growth of GC and CC cells in vitro and in mice. Our data demonstrated that ANXA1 was able to bind and stabilize EphA2 in GC and CC cells, and disruption of ANXA1‑EphA2 interaction by the two ANXA1‑derived peptides inhibited the growth of GC and CC cells by targeting EphA2 degradation, presenting a potential strategy for treating GC and CC with these peptides.