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Autophagy induction impairs migration and invasion by reversing EMT in glioblastoma cells.

ABSTRACT: Cell migration and invasion are highly regulated processes involved in both physiological and pathological conditions. Here we show that autophagy modulation regulates the migration and invasion capabilities of glioblastoma (GBM) cells. We observed that during autophagy occurrence, obtained by nutrient deprivation or by pharmacological inhibition of the mTOR complexes, GBM migration and chemokine-mediated invasion were both impaired. We also observed that SNAIL and SLUG, two master regulators of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT process), were down-regulated upon autophagy stimulation and, as a consequence, we found a transcriptional and translational up-regulation of N- and R-cadherins. Conversely, in BECLIN 1-silenced GBM cells, an increased migration capability and an up-regulation of SNAIL and SLUG was observed, with a resulting decrease in N- and R-cadherin mRNAs. ATG5 and ATG7 down-regulation also resulted in an increased migration and invasion of GBM cells combined to an up-regulation of the two EMT regulators. Finally, experiments performed in primary GBM cells from patients largely confirmed the results obtained in established cell cultures. Overall, our results indicate that autophagy modulation triggers a molecular switch from a mesenchymal phenotype to an epithelial-like one in GBM cellular models. Since the aggressiveness and lethality of GBM is defined by local invasion and resistance to chemotherapy, we believe that our evidence provides a further rationale for including autophagy/mTOR-based targets in the current therapeutical regimen of GBM patients.

SUBMITTER: Catalano M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5528793 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Tumors and the tumor microenvironment produce multiple growth factors that influence cancer cell behavior via various signal transduction pathways. Growth factors, like transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) and epidermal growth factor (EGF), have been shown to induce proliferation, migration, and invasion in different cell models. Both factors are frequently overexpressed in cancer and will often act in combination. Although both factors are being used as rational targets in clinical oncology, the similarities and differences of their contributions to cancer cell migration and invasion are not fully understood. Here we compared the impact of treating A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells with TGFβ, EGF, and both in combination by applying videomicroscopy, functional assays, immunoblotting, real-time PCR, and proteomics. Treatment with both factors stimulated A549 migration to a similar extent, but with different kinetics. The combination had an additive effect. EGF-induced migration depended on activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. However, this pathway was dispensable for TGFβ-induced migration, despite a strong activation of this pathway by TGFβ. Proteome analysis (data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD023024) revealed an overlap in expression patterns of migration-related proteins and associated gene ontology (GO) terms by TGFβ and EGF. Further, only TGFβ induced the expression of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins like matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2). EGF, in contrast, made no major contribution to EMT marker expression on either the protein or the transcript level. In line with these expression patterns, TGFβ treatment significantly increased the invasive capacity of A549 cells, while EGF treatment did not. Moreover, the addition of EGF failed to enhance TGFβ-induced invasion. Overall, these data suggest that TGFβ and EGF can partly compensate for each other for stimulation of cell migration, but abrogation of TGFβ signaling may be more suitable to suppress cell invasion.

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Autophagy induction impairs migration and invasion by reversing EMT in glioblastoma cells.

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