Mitophagy switches cell death from apoptosis to necrosis in NSCLC cells treated with oncolytic measles virus

Although apoptotic phenomena have been observed in malignant cells infected by measles virus vaccine strain Edmonston B (MV-Edm), the precise oncolytic mechanisms are poorly defined. In this study we found that MV-Edm induced autophagy and sequestosome 1-mediated mitophagy leading to decreased cytochrome c release, which blocked the pro-apoptotic cascade in non-small cell lung cancer cells (NSCLCs). The decrease of apoptosis by mitophagy favored viral replication. Persistent viral replication sustained by autophagy ultimately resulted in necrotic cell death due to ATP depletion. Importantly, when autophagy was impaired in NSCLCs MV-Edm-induced cell death was significantly abrogated despite of increased apoptosis. Taken together, our results define a novel oncolytic mechanism by which mitophagy switches cell death from apoptosis to more efficient necrosis in NSCLCs following MV-Edm infection. This provides a foundation for future improvement of oncolytic virotherapy or antiviral therapy.