Cell Culture
Human GBM cell line U87MG was obtained from Shanghai Institute of Cell Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and was cultured in DMEM (Gibco, Carlsbad, CA, USA) medium with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) (Gibco). U87MG chemotherapy resistance cell line was established by long-term temozolomide stimulus and cultured in DMEM along with 400 µM TMZ (#85622-93-1, Sigma Aldrich). Each cell line identity was verified by short tandem repeat profiling. All cell lines were cultured at 37℃ in a humidified atmosphere with 5% CO2.
Animal Studies
All the animal experiments were conducted in accordance with approved protocol by the Animal Ethics Committee of Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University. Female BALB/c mice (4–6 weeks of age) were obtained from the Experimental Animal Center, Southern Medical University. The mice were housed at 22–24℃ temperature, 60 ± 10% humidity, under the 12 hours light/dark cycle and pathogen-free conditions. Standard rodent laboratory diet and water and libitum were provided. Mice were randomly allocated into experimental groups.
Radiation therapy
Radiation treatment of mice and cells using an biological irradiator (Faxitron, MultiRad225, USA), in the central laboratory of Southern Medical University. The radiotherapy dose was 2 Gy each time for mice and 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 Gy each time for cells.
Immunohistochemistry
Tumor specimens were fixed in neutral buffered 10% formalin solution and embedded in paraffin as per standard procedures. 3-mm-thick tissue sections were deparaffinized by xylenes and rehydrated in a descending alcohol series (95%, 90%, 80% and 70%). Heat-mediated antigen repair was performed using antigen repair solution citrate buffer (10 mM, pH 6) for 15 minutes. Sections were allowed to cool down to room temperature for 30 min. Endogenous peroxidase was blocked with 3% H2O2 for 10 minutes. The slides were then sealed with 5% bovine serum albumin (BSA) at room temperature for 60 minutes and then incubated with primary antibody: Anti-LAT4 ( #PA5-54451, Thermo Fisher Scientific), Anti-Phospho-mTOR (#4060, Cell Signaling Technology), anti-mTOR (#2983, Cell Signaling Technology) and Anti-Phospho-Histone H2A.X (#9718,Cell Signaling Technology) at 4℃ overnight. The next day, the sections were incubated with secondary antibody for 1 hour and diaminobenzidine (DAB) for 3 minutes, followed by hematoxylin staining. Sections were then rehydrated in an alcohol gradient (70%, 80%, 90% and 95%) and xylenes. The sections were then dehydrated and sealed in neutral resin.
Immunofluorescence
Cells were grown on glass coverslips in 6-well plates with the corresponding treatment. Then, the cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde for 30 minutes and incubated with primary antibody: Anti-Phospho-Histone H2A.X (#9718,Cell Signaling Technology), fluorescence dye-conjugated secondary antibodies, and DAPI according to standard protocols. Confocal laser microscope scanning of fixed cells was performed using a laser scanning microscope (Carl Zeiss, LSM 980; Oberkochen, Germany), and the fluorescence foci were counted by ImageJ.
Western blotting and antibodies
Cells and tumor samples were lysed in RIPA buffer (Sigma, R0278), and protein concentrations were determined using a BCA Protein Assay Kit (Solarbio Life Sciences, PC0020; Beijing, China). Total protein (40 µg) was separated by SDS‒PAGE on 10–15% gels and electrotransferred to PVDF membranes (Millipore, IPVH00010; Billerica, MA). The membranes were then blocked with 5% skim milk (BD Biosciences, 232100; San Jose, CA) or 5% BSA (Solarbio Life Sciences, A8020) in 0.1% Tween 20 (Sigma, P9416) in TBS, incubated with the primary antibodies: Anti-LAT4 (#PA5-54451, Thermo Fisher Scientific), Anti-Phospho-mTOR (#4060, Cell Signaling Technology), anti-mTOR (#2983, Cell Signaling Technology), Anti-p70 S6 Kinase (#34475, Cell Signaling Technology), Anti-Phospho-p70 S6 Kinase (#9234,Cell Signaling Technology), Anti-Phospho-Histone H2A.X (#9718,Cell Signaling Technology) and Anti-GAPDH (#2118, Cell Signaling Technology) overnight at 4°C, and then incubated with an HRP-conjugated secondary antibody (CST) for 1 hour at room temperature. The band intensities were quantified using the Tanon 5500 Chemiluminescence Imaging System (Tanon Science & Technology; Shanghai, China) with Immobilon ECL Ultra Western HRP Substrate (Millipore, WBULS0500) as the chemiluminescent substrate. GAPDH served as the loading control.
Cell colony formation assay
For the cell colony formation assay, cells (200 cells/well) were seeded into 6-well culture plates and cultured in DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS. The cells were treated with the indicated agents and incubated for 14 days at 37°C in 5% CO2. The colonies were then stained with 0.1% crystal violet (Sigma‒Aldrich) and counted. For each set of cells, three independent assays were carried out.
Cell viability assay
To measure cell viability, 2,000 cells per well were seeded in a 96-well plate 1 day before treatment. Upon treatment with the appropriate drugs as indicated, the medium in each well was replaced with fresh medium containing Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) reagent (#B34304; Bimake). After incubation for 1 hour at 37°C, the plate was analyzed using a BMG microplate reader (BMG Labtech, CLARIOstar, RRID:SCR_019751), and the absorbance of the wells was measured at 450 nm.
siRNA interference
To inhibit gene expression, siRNAs against the target genes were used. LAT4-targeting shRNAs and siRNAs were designed and manufactured by GenePharma, Inc. The siRNAs were added to 125 µL of ribonuclease-free water to a concentration of 20 µmol/L, and 5 µL of the siRNA solution was mixed with transfection reagent and incubated at 25°C for 20 minutes. For transfection, 5 × 106 cells were seeded in 6-well plates and incubated overnight at 37°C in 5% CO2 to 80–90% confluence and were then transfected with siRNA. The medium containing siRNAs was removed after 6 hours and replaced with medium containing 10% FBS for further incubation.
Statistical analysis
All data represent the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of more than three separate experiments to ensure accuracy. Statistical comparisons between two indicated groups were performed by two-tailed t-test. Correlations were assessed using Spearman rank-order correlation. Actuarial rates of survival were analyzed and compared using Kaplan–Meier methods and log-rank tests. All statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism 8 (GraphPad Prism Software, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) and p-value < 0.05 indicated a statistically significant difference (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001).