Heterogeneous c-Met Activation in Osteosarcoma Dictates Synergistic Vulnerability to Combined c-Met Inhibition and Methotrexate Therapy

Background/Aim: Osteosarcoma (OS) treatment is challenging owing to chemoresistance and toxicity. Aberrant c-Met signaling drives OS progression, however, monotherapy with c-Met inhibitors is limited by resistance. Methotrexate (MTX), a cornerstone of OS chemotherapeutic, inhibits folate metabolism while sharing pathway crosstalk with c-Met signaling. This study investigated HGF/c-Met signaling activation mechanisms in OS cells and evaluated the synergistic cytotoxicity of the c-Met inhibitor PHA665752 combined with MTX.

Materials and Methods: Six OS cell lines (NOS-1, NOS-10, MG-63, OST, SaOS2, U-2 OS) were analyzed for MET/HGF expression using qRT-PCR and western blot. c-Met activation mechanisms were evaluated through HGF stimulation and neutralization experiments. Modulation of downstream signaling pathways was assessed by western blot analysis. Drug sensitivity was tested for c-Met inhibitors (PHA665752, PF04217903, AMG-458, and INCB28060) as well as MTX. The efficacy of drug combinations was evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assays and Chou-Talalay synergy analysis.

Results: OS cell lines demonstrated heterogeneous c-Met activation patterns: HGF-dependent (U-2 OS), hybrid ligand/ligand-independent (OST, NOS-10), and constitutive activation (MG-63). PHA665752 showed moderate single-agent activity (IC₅₀: 2.97-6.99 μM), suppressing phosphorylated c-Met (p-Met), downstream PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK signaling, and inducing apoptosis. MTX showed differential potency across models, with high sensitivity for NOS-10, OST, and U-2 OS (IC₅₀: 0.038-0.861 μM). Synergy, defined as a combination index (CI) <1, was achieved in OST cells across all combination regimens (IC₁₀-IC₇₅), while U-2 OS displayed schedule-dependent synergy in simultaneous and sequential (PHA665752 → MTX) treatments at IC₃₀-IC₅₀.

Conclusion: PHA665752 combined with MTX synergistically inhibits OS cell growth via dual suppression of c-Met signaling (PI3K/AKT, MAPK/ERK). and MTX-mediated cytotoxicity, highlighting the potential of co-targeting overlapping pathways to enhance OS treatment efficacy.