Lipolytic inhibitor G0S2 modulates glioma stem-like cell radiation response

BACKGROUND: Ionizing radiation (IR) therapy is the standard first-line treatment for newly diagnosed patients with glioblastoma (GBM), the most common and malignant primary brain tumor. However, the effects of IR are limited due to the aberrant radioresistance of GBM. METHODS: Transcriptome analysis was performed using RNA-seq in radioresistant patient-derived glioma stem-like cells (GSCs). Survival of glioma patient and mice bearing-brain tumors was analyzed by Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. Lipid droplet and γ-H2AX foci-positive cells were evaluated using immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Lipolytic inhibitor G0/G1 switch gene 2 (G0S2) is upregulated in radioresistant GSCs and elevated in clinical GBM. GBM patients with high G0S2 expression had significantly shorter overall survival compared with those with low expression of G0S2. Using genetic approaches targeting G0S2 in glioma cells and GSCs, we found that knockdown of G0S2 promoted lipid droplet turnover, inhibited GSC radioresistance, and extended survival of xenograft tumor mice with or without IR. In contrast, overexpression of G0S2 promoted glioma cell radiation resistance. Mechanistically, high expression of G0S2 reduced lipid droplet turnover and thereby attenuated E3 ligase RNF168-mediated 53BP1 ubiquitination through activated the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR)-ribosomal S6 kinase (S6K) signaling and increased 53BP1 protein stability in response to IR, leading to enhanced DNA repair and glioma radioresistance. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings uncover a new function for lipolytic inhibitor G0S2 as an important regulator for GSC radioresistance, suggesting G0S2 as a potential therapeutic target for treating gliomas. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-019-1151-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.