GDNF triggers proliferation of rat C6 glioma cells via the NF-κB/CXCL1 signaling pathway

PLoS One. 2023 Aug 18;18(8):e0289071. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289071. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor that is characterized by its high proliferative and migratory potential, leading to a high invasiveness of this tumor type. However, the underlying mechanism of GBM proliferation and migration has not been fully elucidated. In this study, at first, we used RNA-seq together with bioinformatics technology to screen for C-X-C motif ligand 1 (CXCL1) as a proliferation-related gene. And exogenous glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) induced proliferation and up-regulated the level of CXCL1 in rat C6 glioma cells determined by sqPCR and ELISA. Then, we manipulated the CXCL1 expression by using a lentiviral vector (CXCL1-RNAi) approach. By this, the proliferation of C6 cells was decreased, suggesting that CXCL1 plays a key role in proliferation in these cells. We hypothesized that exogenous GDNF promoted NF-κB nuclear translocation and therefore, analyzed the interaction of CXCL1 with NF-κB by Western Blot and immunofluorescence. Additionally, we used BAY 11-7082, a phosphorylation inhibitor of NF-κB, to elucidate NF-κB mediated the effect of GDNF on CXCL1. These results demonstrated that GDNF enhanced the proliferation of rat C6 glioma cells through activating the NF-κB/CXCL1 signaling pathway. In summary, these studies not only revealed the mechanism of action of exogenous GDNF in promoting the proliferation of C6 glioma cells but may also provide a new biological target for the treatment of malignant glioma.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / pharmacology
  • Glioblastoma*
  • Glioma* / genetics
  • NF-kappa B
  • Rats
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • NF-kappa B
  • Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant numbers 81971006). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The recipient, Dianshuai Gao, mainly participated in experimental design and data analysis.