Benzethonium chloride activates ER stress and reduces proliferation in HNSCC

- A HNSCC cell-based HTS was developed to identify molecules that activate UPR.
- 5 hits activated the CHOP luciferase reporter in a dose dependent manner.
- Benzethonium chloride (BCl), required intact CHOP to exert an anti-proliferative effect.
- BCl treatment led to significant increases in CHOP, XBP1 and ATF3 gene expression.
- BCl treatment resulted in increased CHOP, ATF4 and GRP78/BiP protein transcripts.
- ABSRACT.