title: Glioblastoma inhibition by cell surface immunoglobulin protein EWI-2, in vitro and in vivo.
abstract: EWI-2, a cell surface IgSF protein, is highly expressed in normal human brain but is considerably diminished in glioblastoma tumors and cell lines. Moreover, loss of EWI-2 expression correlated with a shorter survival time in human glioma patients, suggesting that EWI-2 might be a natural inhibitor of glioblastoma. In support of this idea, EWI-2 expression significantly impaired both ectopic and orthotopic tumor growth in nude mice in vivo. In vitro assays provided clues regarding EWI-2 functions. Expression of EWI-2 in T98G and/or U87-MG malignant glioblastoma cell lines failed to alter two-dimensional cell proliferation but inhibited glioblastoma colony formation in soft agar and caused diminished cell motility and invasion. At the biochemical level, EWI-2 markedly affects the organization of four molecules (tetraspanin proteins CD9 and CD81 and matrix metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MT1-MMP), which play key roles in the biology of astrocytes and gliomas. EWI-2 causes CD9 and CD81 to become more associated with each other, whereas CD81 and other tetraspanins become less associated with MMP-2 and MT1-MMP. We propose that EWI-2 inhibition of glioblastoma growth in vivo is at least partly explained by the capability of EWI-2 to inhibit growth and/or invasion in vitro. Underlying these functional effects, EWI-2 causes a substantial molecular reorganization of multiple molecules (CD81, CD9, MMP-2, and MT1-MMP) known to affect proliferation and/or invasion of astrocytes and/or glioblastomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Immunology and AIDS, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Tatiana V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Kolesnikova
authors.forename: Alexander R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Kazarov
authors.forename: Madeleine E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Lemieux
authors.forename: Marc A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lafleur
authors.forename: Santosh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kesari
authors.forename: Andrew L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kung
authors.forename: Martin E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hemler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D016147:Genes, Tumor Suppressor / Q000502:physiology*; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D011485:Protein Binding; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; C440028:IGSF8 protein, human; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D008565:Membrane Proteins