Carbon-Ion Irradiation Suppresses Migration and Invasiveness of Human Pancreatic Carcinoma Cells MIAPaCa-2 via Rac1 and RhoA Degradation

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the mechanisms underlying the inhibition of cancer cell migration and invasion by carbon (C)-ion irradiation.

Methods and materials: Human pancreatic cancer cells MIAPaCa-2, AsPC-1, and BxPC-3 were treated by x-ray (4 Gy) or C-ion (0.5, 1, 2, or 4 Gy) irradiation, and their migration and invasion were assessed 2 days later. The levels of guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-bound Rac1 and RhoA were determined by the active GTPase pull-down assay with or without a proteasome inhibitor, and the binding of E3 ubiquitin ligase to GTP-bound Rac1 was examined by immunoprecipitation.

Results: Carbon-ion irradiation reduced the levels of GTP-bound Rac1 and RhoA, 2 major regulators of cell motility, in MIAPaCa-2 cells and GTP-bound Rac1 in AsPC-1 and BxPC-3 cells. Proteasome inhibition reversed the effect, indicating that C-ion irradiation induced Rac1 and RhoA degradation via the ubiquitin (Ub)-proteasome pathway. E3 Ub ligase X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), which directly targets Rac1, was selectively induced in C-ion--irradiated MIAPaCa-2 cells and coprecipitated with GTP-bound Rac1 in C-ion--irradiated cells, which was associated with Rac1 ubiquitination. Cell migration and invasion reduced by C-ion radiation were restored by short interfering RNA--mediated XIAP knockdown, indicating that XIAP is involved in C-ion--induced inhibition of cell motility.

Conclusion: In contrast to x-ray irradiation, C-ion treatment inhibited the activity of Rac1 and RhoA in MIAPaCa-2 cells and Rac1 in AsPC-1 and BxPC-3 cells via Ub-mediated proteasomal degradation, thereby blocking the motility of these pancreatic cancer cells.