Formyl Peptide Receptor-2-Suppressed Autophagy Promotes the Migration and Invasion of Human Glioblastoma Cells Through PI3K/Akt Signaling

Formyl peptide receptor-2 (FPR2) belongs to the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family and plays a critical role in the development of various tumors. However, the roles and mechanisms of FPR2 in glioblastoma (GBM) remain poorly understood. In this study, we observed significant upregulation of FPR2 in glioma cell lines and tissues, and elevated FPR2 expression levels are correlated with poor patient survival. Furthermore, we found that FPR2 suppresses the autophagy mediated by BECN1 and ATG5 in GBM cells. Using Western blot analysis, we revealed that FPR2 regulates GBM cell invasion via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Additionally, we demonstrated that knocking down FPR2 expression in GBM cells reduced tumor cell migration and invasion in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. The inhibition of FPR2 led to cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and increased apoptosis. Finally, our findings indicate that FPR2 may prevent autophagy-induced epithelial‒mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like changes by preventing autophagy-induced degradation of Snail. Our findings suggest that FPR2 promotes GBM cell migration and invasion through the inhibition of autophagy and the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, highlighting the potential of inducing autophagy as a therapeutic approach to inhibit invasion in GBM with high FPR2 expression.