Galectin-3 sensitized melanoma cell lines to vemurafenib (PLX4032) induced cell death through prevention of autophagy

Melanoma is a current worldwide problem, as its incidence is increasing. In the last years, several studies have shown that melanoma cells display high levels of autophagy, a self-degradative process that can promote survival leading to drug resistance. Consequently, autophagy regulation represents a challenge for cancer therapy. Herein, we showed that galectin-3 (Gal-3), a β-galactoside binding lectin which is often lost along melanoma progression, is a negative regulator of autophagy in melanoma cells. Our data demonstrated that Gal-3(low/negative) cells were more resistant to the inhibition of the activity of the cancer driver gene BRAF(V600E) by vemurafenib (PLX4032). Interestingly, in these cells, starvation caused further LC3-II accumulation in cells exposed to chloroquine, which inhibits the degradative step in autophagy. In addition, Gal-3 (low/negative) tumor cells accumulated more LC3-II than Gal-3 (high) tumor cells in vivo. Resistance of Gal-3(low/negative) cells was associated with increased production of superoxide and activation of the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) stress response, as evaluated by accumulation of GRP78. Pharmacological inhibition of autophagy with bafilomycin A reversed the relative resistance of Gal-3(low/negative) cells to vemurafenib treatment. Taken together, these results show that the autophagic flux is dependent on Gal-3 levels, which attenuate the prosurvival role of autophagy.