Inhibition of Cathepsin D (CTSD) enhances radiosensitivity of glioblastoma cells by attenuating autophagy

Postoperative radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy is a commonly used treatment for glioblastoma (GBM) but radiotherapy often fails to achieve the expected results mainly due to tumor radioresistance. In this study, we established a radioresistant subline from human glioma cell line U251 and found that Cathepsin D (CTSD), a gene closely related to the clinical malignancy and prognosis in glioma, had higher expression level in radioresistant clones than that in parental cells, and knocking down CTSD by small interfering RNA (siRNA) or its inhibitor Pepstatin-A increased the radiosensitivity. The level of Autophagy was enhanced in the radioresistant GBM cells compared with its parent cells, and silencing Autophagy by LIGHT chain 3 (LC3) siRNA significantly sensitized GBM cells to ionizing radiation (IR). Moreover, the protein expression level of CTSD was positively correlated with the Autophagy marker LC3 II/I and negatively correlated with p62 after IR in radioresistant cells. As expected, through the combination of Western blot and immunofluorescence assays, inhibition of CTSD increased the formation of autophagosomes, while decreased the formation of autolysosomes, which indicating an attenuated Autophagy level, leading to radiosensitization ultimately. Our results revealed for the first time that CTSD regulated the radiosensitivity of glioblastoma by affecting the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes. In significance, CTSD might be a potential molecular biomarker and a new therapeutic target in glioblastoma.