Mario Acunzo

Mario Acunzo


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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3 April 2026 in bioRxiv
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DMDaniel Del Valle Morales
Daniel Del Valle Morales
GRGiulia Romano
Giulia Romano
MSMichela Saviana
Michela Saviana
PNPatrick Nana-Sinkam
Patrick Nana-Sinkam
Giovanni NigitaGiovanni Nigita
Giovanni Nigita
MAMario Acunzo
Mario Acunzo
Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are widely used as effective chemotherapeutic agents for treating patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC. Unfortunately, after treatment, patients eventually develop resistance to TKI therapy. The most common resistance mechanism for the TKI Osimertinib is the overexpression of the MET Proto-Oncogene, Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (MET). We previously demonstrated that miR-411-5p A-to-I edited at position 5 (miR-411ed) can directly target MET in A549 and H1299 cells. MiR-411ed in combination with Osimertinib reduced cell proliferation in two TKI resistant EGFR-mutated cell lines: HCC827R and PC9R. MiR-411ed did not downregulate MET expression in HCC827R, suggesting an alternative mechanism for TKI response. In this study, we aim to identify the mechanism of miR-411ed TKI response using a multi-omics approach of RNAseq and protein mass spectrometry. In our cellular model, we identified miR-411ed affected genes independent of MET activity, resulting in 211 genes (RNAseq) and 36 proteins (proteomics). Pathway analysis identified an increase in interferon signaling for RNAseq and combined omics, and a decrease in ERK/MAPK signaling in proteomics. Using the IsoTar target prediction tool, we identified STAT3 as a key regulator and confirmed STAT3 protein downregulation upon transfection with miR-411ed. We further investigated the effect of miR-411ed in vivo, observing a reduction in tumor size with miR-411ed in combination with Osimertinib but not with miR-411ed or Osimertinib treatment alone, confirming the effectiveness of miR-411ed in TKI response.