MCU promotes the migration of glioma cells by activating p38 through TFEB-mediated autophagy

J Cancer. 2024 Jan 12;15(5):1257-1270. doi: 10.7150/jca.89485. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Changes in calcium signalling are crucial for the development of glioma cells. Whether mitochondrial calcium balance is involved in glial cell development is still unknown. Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter (MCU) plays an important role in regulating glioma progression. In this work, we found that MCU and p38 expression were positively correlated with glioma grade and the degree tumour progression. MCU increases glioma cell migration by upregulating p38. Furthermore, p38 promotes glioma progression by activating Transcription Factor EB (TFEB)-mediated autophagy. Thus, MCU promotes glioma cell migration by activating autophagy in a p38/TFEB pathway-dependent manner, which provides a theoretical basis for new therapeutic targets for gliomas.

Keywords: Autophagy; Glioma; MCU; migration; p38.