Skip Navigation

Neuro-Oncology 2009 11(3):260-273; doi:10.1215/15228517-2008-094
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Piao, Y.
Right arrow Articles by de Groot, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Piao, Y.
Right arrow Articles by de Groot, J.
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Copyright 2009 by the Society for Neuro-Oncology

AMPA receptors promote perivascular glioma invasion via β1 integrin–dependent adhesion to the extracellular matrix

Yuji Piao, Li Lu and John de Groot

Brain Tumor Center, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

Address correspondence to John de Groot, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 431, Houston, TX 77030, USA (jdegroot{at}mdanderson.org).


   Abstract

High-grade gliomas release excitotoxic concentrations of glutamate, which has been shown to enhance tumor proliferation and migration. {alpha}-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) glutamate receptors are abundantly expressed at the invading edge of glioblastoma specimens, suggesting they may play an important biologic role in tumor invasion. In this study, we examined potential mechanisms by which AMPA receptor (AMPAR) expression and stimulation promote glioma cell migration and invasion. Overexpression of GluR1, the most abundant AMPAR subunit in gliomas, positively correlated with glioma cell adhesion to type I and type IV collagen, which was decreased in cells with knockdown of GluR1 and with blocking antibodies to β1 integrin. Furthermore, stimulation of the AMPAR led to detachment of cells from the extracellular matrix (ECM). Immunoprecipitation studies showed that GluR1 associated with the actin cytoskeleton-linked protein band 4.1B (brain type), which may serve as a link between GluR1 and integrins. Overexpression of GluR1 correlated with increased cell-surface expression of β1 integrin, increased phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK-Y397), and enhanced numbers of focal adhesion (FA) complexes. Cells overexpressing GluR1 had increased colocalization of actin and paxillin at FAs and, in several glioma cell lines, significantly increased invasion in an in vitro Matrigel transwell assay. Likewise, in an intracranial xenograft model, overexpression of GluR1 led to perivascular and subependymal glioma cell invasion similar to patterns of tumor dissemination described in human glioblastoma. Together, these results suggest that AMPARs may link signals from the ECM to sites of FA, where signal integration promotes tumor invasion.

Keywords: AMPA receptor, glioblastoma, glutamate, invasion, perivascular

Received April 7, 2008; Accepted July 28, 2008


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.