Cisplatin Induces Senescent Lung Cancer Cell-Mediated Stemness Induction via GRP78/Akt-Dependent Mechanism

Cellular senescence is linked with chemotherapy resistance. Based on previous studies, GRP78 is a signal transducer in senescent cells. However, the association between GRP78 and stem cell phenotype remains unknown. Cisplatin treatment was clarified to induce cellular senescence leading to stemness induction via GRP78/Akt signal transduction. H460 cells were treated with 5 μM of cisplatin for 6 days to develop senescence. The colony formation assay and cell cycle analysis were performed. SA-β-galactosidase staining indicated senescence. Western blot analysis and RT-PCR were operated. Immunoprecipitation (IP) and immunocytochemistry assays (ICC) were also performed. Colony-forming activity was completely inhibited, and 87.07% of the cell population was arrested in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. mRNA of p21 and p53 increased approximately by 15.91- and 19.32-fold, respectively. The protein level of p21 and p53 was elevated by 9.57- and 5.9-fold, respectively. In addition, the c-Myc protein level was decreased by 0.2-fold when compared with the non-treatment control. Even though, the total of GRP78 protein was downregulated after cisplatin treatment, but the MTJ1 and downstream regulator, p-Akt/Akt ratio were upregulated by approximately 3.38 and 1.44-fold, respectively. GRP78 and MTJ1 were found at the cell surface membrane. Results showed that the GRP78/MTJ1 complex and stemness markers, including CD44, CD133, Nanog, Oct4, and Sox2, were concomitantly increased in senescent cells. MTJ1 anchored GRP78, facilitating the signal transduction of stem-like phenotypes. The strategy that could interrupt the binding between these crucial proteins or inhibit the translocation of GRP78 might beuseful for cancer therapy.