IGF-I regulates HT1080 fibrosarcoma cell migration through a syndecan-2/Erk/ezrin signaling axis

Abstract Fibrosarcoma is a tumor of mesenchymal origin, originating from fibroblasts. IGF-I is an anabolic growth factor which exhibits significant involvement in cancer progression. In this study, we investigated the possible participation of syndecan-2 (SDC-2), a cell membrane heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycan on IGF-I dependent fibrosarcoma cell motility. Our results demonstrate that SDC-2-deficient HT1080 cells exhibit attenuated IGF-I-dependent chemotactic migration (p IGF-I enhanced actin polymerization and ezrin/actin specific localization to cell membranes. Finally, treatment with IGF-I strongly increased SDC2 expression at both the mRNA and protein level (p contributes to actin polymerization and ezrin/actin specific localization to cell membranes, ultimately facilitating the progression of IGFI-dependent fibrosarcoma cell migration.