RNA-Seq of ADGB overexpressing A549 cells. ADGB overexpressing A549 cells

To study the effect of ADGB on immortalized cells, we established a stable overexpression system in A549 lung cancer cells. Transcriptomic analysis of ADGB+ lung cancer cells showed higher motility and restructuring of the extracellular matrix – both hallmarks of elevated malignancy in cancer entities. Phenotypically, ADGB+ cells had longer cellular appendages, possibly reflecting the higher migratory capacity and changes in adhesive properties. Thus, ADGB has some oncogenic potential in vitro, in line with previous studies describing an oncogenic effect of ADGB in a glioma and pancreatic cancer cell model. However, expression analysis of in vivo cancer entities showed that ADGB mRNA was simply not expressed or even actively silenced in malignancies. We conclude that despite its potential oncogenic properties in an ectopic context, expression of ADGB conveys no prognostic information to cancer patients.