Abstract 4915: Nerve growth factor (NGF) facilitates LOX expression and promotes tumor metastasis by inhibiting miR-149-5p in human chondrosarcoma cells

Abstract

Abstract Chondrosarcomas are malignant bone tumors that commonly produce cartilaginous chondroid matrix and are associated with metastases in the lung, especially in patients with high-grade chondrosarcoma. Neurotrophins such as nerve growth factor (NGF) are recognized as being drivers of neurogenesis during development and regeneration, and their expression in human tumors can stimulate cancer cell growth. Importantly, the infiltration of nerves in the tumor microenvironment actively stimulates cancer cell mitogenesis, invasiveness and metastasis. Until now, it has been unclear as to the potential involvement of NGF in human chondrosarcoma metastasis. This study reports that NGF induces migration and invasion of chondrosarcoma cell lines JJ012 and SW1353 and significantly increasing LOX expression. Significant dose-dependent increases were observed in levels of LOX mRNA and protein expression in both cell lines. In immunohistochemistry analyses, levels of NGF and LOX expression in human chondrosarcoma cartilage correlated with tumor stage and were substantially higher than NGF and LOX expression in normal cartilage. NGF-induced stimulation of metastasis and increases in LOX expression were prevented by pretreatment of the cell lines with PI3K, Akt and mTOR inhibitors, or transfection with small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Further analysis revealed that NGF induced PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling and dose-dependently downregulated mature microRNA-149-5p (miR-149-5p), which targets the 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR) of LOX. Furthermore, JJ012 cells overexpressing NGF induced LOX expression and increased cell migration and invasion. In summary, NGF stimulates LOX expression and promotes chondrosarcoma cell migration and invasion by inhibiting miR-149-5p via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Citation Format: Anoop Thadevoos Louis, Chih-Yang Lin, Chih-Hsin Tang. Nerve growth factor (NGF) facilitates LOX expression and promotes tumor metastasis by inhibiting miR-149-5p in human chondrosarcoma cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 4915.