ST3GAL5-catalysed gangliosides inhibit TGF-β-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition via TβRI degradation

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is pivotal in the initiation and development of cancer cell metastasis. We observed that the abundance of glycosphingolipids (GSLs), especially ganglioside subtypes, decreased significantly during TGF-β-induced EMT in NMuMG mouse mammary epithelial cells and A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Transcriptional profiling showed that TGF-β/SMAD response genes and EMT signatures were strongly enriched in NMuMG cells, along with depletion of UDP-glucose ceramide glucosyltransferase (UGCG), the enzyme that catalyzes the initial step in GSL biosynthesis. Consistent with this finding, genetic or pharmacological inhibition of UGCG promoted TGF-β signaling and TGF-β-induced EMT. UGCG inhibition promoted A549 cell migration, extravasation in the zebrafish xenograft model and metastasis in mice. Mechanistically, GSLs inhibited TGF-β signaling by promoting lipid raft localization of the TGF-β type I receptor (TβRI) and by increasing TβRI ubiquitination and degradation. Importantly, we identified ST3GAL5-synthesized a-series gangliosides as the main GSL subtype involved in inhibition of TGF-β signaling and TGF-β-induced EMT in A549 cells. Notably, ST3GAL5 is weakly expressed in lung cancer tissues compared to adjacent non-malignant tissues, and its expression correlates with good prognosis.