Human cytomegalovirus ie2 affects the migration of glioblastoma by mediating the different splicing patterns of RON through hnRNP A2B1.

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive intracranial tumor and diffuse migration is the leading cause of death. Recent evidence has indicated that heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2B1 (hnRNP A2B1) is overexpressed in human glioblastoma tissue and enhances glioblastoma invasion in vitro. We found by mass spectrometry that hnRNP A2B1 interacts with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) immediate early 86 protein (IE86, ie2 gene-encoded) in malignant glioma cells (U87MG) infected with HCMV. However, the role of hnRNP A2 B1 in glioblastoma development remains poorly understood. Here, we report that hnRNP A2B1 is highly expressed in the HCMV·ie2 transgenic mice model. This phenomenon was confirmed in U87MG cell lines transfected with pEGFP-N3-ie2 plasmid. In addition, hnRNP A2B1 knockdown in U87MG cells inhibited tumor migration, and this effect might be mediated by hnRNP A2B1 through effects on splicing patterns of RON. Our data suggested that HCMV· ie2 promotes glioblastoma migration by regulating hnRNP A2B1 expression.