Differential sensitivities of glioblastoma cell lines towards metabolic and signaling pathway inhibitions

• The proliferation of GBM cell lines displayed different sensitivities towards oligomycin or 2DG.
• Differential sensitivities of GBM cell lines towards oligomycin were correlated with the activation of AMPKα.
• Combining oligomycin and 2DG has drastic synergistic effects on suppressing cell growth and motility.

In glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) pathway is known to promote aerobic glycolysis. The relative sensitivity of GBM towards PI3-K and metabolic inhibitors was examined in a panel of human GBM lines. We observed differential sensitivities towards oligomycin, an ATP synthase inhibitor that suppresses oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). GBMs that were sensitive to oligomycin have greater intrinsic oxygen consumption. They also failed to undergo adaptive glycolytic switches in response to oligomycin, as reflected in the failure to activate AMPKα. On the other hand, GBM lines that were less sensitive to oligomycin could be rendered non-viable when simultaneously treated with the glycolysis inhibitor, 2-Deoxyglucose (2DG). Furthermore, inhibiting either PI3-K pathway or glycolysis was effective in suppressing cell migration. Inhibiting OXPHOS alone did not have any significant effects on cell motility. However, both oligomycin and 2DG acted synergistically in suppressing cell migration. We conclude that while there was less synergy by the combined inhibition of PI3-K and glycolysis, the simultaneous targeting of glycolysis and OXPHOS is highly effective in blocking GBM tumorigenic phenotypes.