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Serum starvation drives ALIX-dependent extracellular vesicle biogenesis and determines tumor progression
Xueqiang Peng, Jiaxing Liu, Guolong Zeng, Yafei Xiao, Zhixiong Hao, Guangpeng He, Hongyuan Jin, Yu Gao, Shilei Tang, Shibo Wei, Yan Li, Yifan Yu, Liang Yang, Hangyu Li
Xueqiang Peng, Jiaxing Liu, Guolong Zeng, Yafei Xiao, Zhixiong Hao, Guangpeng He, Hongyuan Jin, Yu Gao, Shilei Tang, Shibo Wei, Yan Li, Yifan Yu, Liang Yang, Hangyu Li
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Research Article Cell biology Oncology

Serum starvation drives ALIX-dependent extracellular vesicle biogenesis and determines tumor progression

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Abstract

Tumor cells are constantly confronted with nutrient deprivation; however, the effect of serum starvation on the remodeling of endosomal compartments and extracellular vesicles (EVs) in tumor cells remains unclear. Here, we found that serum starvation pronouncedly promotes multivesicular body (MVB) biogenesis, EV formation, and cargo selection. Specifically, by generating a constitutively active Rab5Q79L mutant to induce the enlargement of MVB, we revealed for the first time to our knowledge that ANXA3 is sorted into intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) of MVB. Mechanistically, we confirmed that serum starvation regulates the endosomal sorting complex required for transport–associated (ESCRT-associated) protein ALG-2 interacting protein X (ALIX), which recruits ESCRT-III to MVB and binds to annexin A3 (ANXA3) to mediate its sorting into ILVs of MVB. Our study highlights that serum starvation promotes an ALIX-dependent ESCRT-III recruitment pathway, which loads protumor ANXA3 cargo to exert a profound effect on tumor progression.

Authors

Xueqiang Peng, Jiaxing Liu, Guolong Zeng, Yafei Xiao, Zhixiong Hao, Guangpeng He, Hongyuan Jin, Yu Gao, Shilei Tang, Shibo Wei, Yan Li, Yifan Yu, Liang Yang, Hangyu Li

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Figure 2

Serum starvation induces EVs secretion.

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Serum starvation induces EVs secretion.
(A) Western blot analysis of EV ...
(A) Western blot analysis of EV markers in HeLa-EVs and Huh7-EVs under 10% FBS or serum starvation. CD63, CD81, TSG101, CD9, ALIX, and HRS were used as EV markers; calnexin was used to assess cellular contamination. (B) Quantification of EV marker expression in HeLa-EVs and Huh7-EVs. n = 3. (C) TEM images of HeLa-EVs and Huh7-EVs under 10% FBS or serum starvation. Scale bar: 200 nm. (D) TEM-based diameter distribution of HeLa-EVs (top) and Huh7-EVs (bottom). n = 259 EVs (top) and 177 EVs (bottom). (E) Cryo-EM images of HeLa-EVs and Huh7-EVs. Scale bar: 200 nm. (F) NTA of HeLa-EVs (top) and Huh7-EVs (bottom) showing size distribution and concentration. (G) ExoView analysis of surface CD63 (red), CD81 (green), and CD9 (blue) on EVs under 10% FBS or serum starvation. IgG served as a negative control. (H) TEM of MVB formation in HeLa and Huh7 cells under 10% FBS or serum starvation. MVB are pseudocolored; red arrows indicate MVB-plasma membrane fusion. Scale bar: 1 μm. (I) IEM showing CD63 distribution on EVs using gold-labeled anti-CD63 antibody. Gold particles were mainly localized on EVs, indicating specific CD63 localization. Scale bar: 100 nm. Data are presented as mean ± SD. Comparisons between 2 groups were done with 2-tailed Student’s t test. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.

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