title: Gastrin activates autophagy and increases migration and survival of gastric adenocarcinoma cells.
abstract: The peptide hormone gastrin exerts a growth-promoting effect in both normal and malignant gastrointestinal tissue. Gastrin mediates its effect via the cholecystokinin 2 receptor (CCKBR/CCK2R). Although a substantial part of the gastric adenocarcinomas express gastrin and CCKBR, the role of gastrin in tumor development is not completely understood. Autophagy has been implicated in mechanisms governing cytoprotection, tumor growth, and contributes to chemoresistance. This study explores the role of autophagy in response to gastrin in gastric adenocarcinoma cell lines.
  
  
  
  Immunoblotting, survival assays and the xCELLigence system were used to study gastrin induced autophagy. Chemical inhibitors of autophagy were utilized to assess the role of this process in the regulation of cellular responses induced by gastrin. Further, knockdown studies using siRNA and immunoblotting were performed to explore the signaling pathways that activate autophagy in response to gastrin treatment.
  
  
  
  We demonstrate that gastrin increases the expression of the autophagy markers MAP1LC3B-II and SQSTM1 in gastric adenocarcinoma cells. Gastrin induces autophagy via activation of the STK11-PRKAA2-ULK1 and that this signaling pathway is involved in increased migration and cell survival. Furthermore, gastrin mediated increase in survival of cells treated with cisplatin is partially dependent on induced autophagy.
  
  
  
  This study reveals a novel role of gastrin in the regulation of autophagy. It also opens up new avenues in the treatment of gastric cancer by targeting CCKBR mediated signaling and/or autophagy in combination with conventional cytostatic drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. shalini.rao@ntnu.no.|Department of Technology, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway. shalini.rao@ntnu.no.
authors.forename: Shalini V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Guri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Solum
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Niederdorfer
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.|The Central Norway Regional Health Authority, Stjørdal, Norway.
authors.forename: Kristin G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Nørsett
authors.affiliation: Department of Technology, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.|CEMIR (Centre of Molecular Inflammation Research), NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Geir
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bjørkøy
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.|Department of Technology, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Liv
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thommesen
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001343:Autophagy; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement; D002470:Cell Survival; D005755:Gastrins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D043887:Receptor, Cholecystokinin B / Q000378:metabolism; D000071456:Sequestosome-1 Protein / Q000235:genetics*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005755:Gastrins; C502070:MAP1LC3B protein, human; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D043887:Receptor, Cholecystokinin B; C099718:SQSTM1 protein, human; D000071456:Sequestosome-1 Protein
keywords: Autophagy; Cell migration; Cell survival; Chemoresistance; Gastric adenocarcinoma; Gastrin; STK11-PRKAA2-ULK1 signaling cascade