Abstract:
Objective To investigate the effect of Atg3 and autophagy on the migration of non-small cell lung cancer cell line A549 and its possible mechanisms.
Methods Starvation-induced autophagy was used in non-small cell lung cancer cell lines A549. Cell migration was calculated by Transwell assay and the expression of Atg3 was measured with Western blot. The Atg3 expression with Atg3 siRNA was down-regulated, and then cell migration was calculated by CCK-8 assay. Meanwhile, cell apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry, the autophagic activity and the expression of E-cadherin, β-catenin, N-cadherin, vimentin, Notch and snail were detected by Western blot.
Results Autophagic activities were effectively induced by starvation, with a stronger cell migration ability and higher Atg3 expression, while with no affection on cell apoptosis. The whole process of starvation-induced cell autophagy and migration could be suppressed by Atg3 knockdown; but Atg3 knockdown didn't affect cell apoptosis. Other than that, the knockdown of Atg3 was accompanied with higher E-cadherin and β-catenin expression, and lower expression of N-cadherin, vimentin, Notch and snail.
Conclusion The down-regulation of Atg3 could suppress cell autophagy and migration in non-small cell lung cancer. And its mechanism may be related to suppressing EMT progress via Notch/snail pathway.