The autotaxin-lysophosphatidic acid–lysophosphatidic acid receptor cascade: proposal of a novel potential therapeutic target for treating glioblastoma multiforme

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant tumor of the central nervous system (CNS). Its prognosis is one of the worst among all cancer types, and it is considered a fatal malignancy, incurable with conventional therapeutic strategies. As the bioactive multifunctional lipid mediator lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is well recognized to be involved in the tumorigenesis of cancers by acting on G-protein-coupled receptors, LPA receptor (LPAR) antagonists and LPA synthesis inhibitors have been proposed as promising drugs for cancer treatment. Six LPARs, named LPA(1–6), are currently recognized. Among them, LPA(1) is the dominant LPAR in the CNS and is highly expressed in GBM in combination with the overexpression of autotaxin (ATX), the enzyme (a phosphodiesterase, which is a potent cell motility-stimulating factor) that produces LPA. Invasion is a defining hallmark of GBM. LPA is significantly related to cell adhesion, cell motility, and invasion through the Rho family GTPases Rho and Rac. LPA(1) is responsible for LPA-driven cell motility, which is attenuated by LPA(4). GBM is among the most vascular human tumors. Although anti-angiogenic therapy (through the inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)) was established, sufficient results have not been obtained because of the increased invasiveness triggered by anti-angiogenesis. As both ATX and LPA play a significant role in angiogenesis, similar to VEGF, inhibition of the ATX/LPA axis may be beneficial as a two-pronged therapy that includes anti-angiogenic and anti-invasion therapy. Conventional approaches to GBM are predominantly directed at cell proliferation. Recurrent tumors regrow from cells that have invaded brain tissues and are less proliferative, and are thus quite resistant to conventional drugs and radiation, which preferentially kill rapidly proliferating cells. A novel approach that targets this invasive subpopulation of GBM cells may improve the prognosis of GBM. Patients with GBM that contacts the subventricular zone (SVZ) have decreased survival. A putative source of GBM cells is the SVZ, the largest area of neurogenesis in the adult human brain. GBM stem cells in the SVZ that are positive for the neural stem cell surface antigen CD133 are highly tumorigenic and enriched in recurrent GBM. LPA(1) expression appears to be increased in these cells. Here, the author reviews research on the ATX/LPAR axis, focusing on GBM and an ATX/LPAR-targeted approach.