Glioma malignancy is linked to interdependent and inverse AMOG and L1 adhesion molecule expression

BACKGROUND: Gliomas account for the majority of primary human brain tumors and remain a challenging neoplasm for cure due to limited therapeutic options. Cell adhesion molecules play pivotal roles in the growth and progression of glial tumors. Roles of the adhesion molecules on glia (AMOG) and L1CAM (L1) in glioma cells have been shown to correlate with tumorigenesis: Increased expression of L1 and decreased expression of AMOG correlate with degree of malignancy. METHODS: We evaluated the interdependence in expression of these molecules by investigating the role of AMOG in vitro via modulation of L1 expression and analyzing apoptosis and cell senescence of glioma cells. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical staining of normal human cortical and glioma tissue microarrays demonstrated that AMOG expression was lower in human gliomas compared to normal tissue and is inversely correlated with the degree of malignancy. Moreover, reduction of AMOG expression in human glioblastoma cells elevated L1 expression, which is accompanied by decreased cell apoptosis as well as senescence. CONCLUSION: AMOG and L1 interdependently regulate their expression levels not only in U-87 MG cells but also in U251 and SHG44 human glioma cell lines. The capacity of AMOG to reduce L1 expression suggests that methods for increasing AMOG expression may provide a therapeutic choice for the management of glial tumors with high expression of L1. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-019-6091-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.