Inhibition of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V enhances the cetuximab-induced radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells likely through EGFR N-glycan alterations.

N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V (GnT-V), an enzyme that catalyses the formation of the N-linked β-1-6 branching of oligosaccharides, is related to the radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Cetuximab (C225) is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor used as a radiosensitizer in the treatment of NPC. In this study, we used GnT-V as a molecular target to further sensitize cetuximab-treated NPC cells to radiation. The results from two NPC cell lines (CNE1 and CNE2) revealed that the silencing of GnT-V enhanced cetuximab-induced radiosensitivity by decreasing the β-1-6 branching of oligosaccharides on the EGFR. GnT-V down-regulation combined with cetuximab decreased the survival fraction, healing rate and cell viability and increased the apoptosis rate. Concomitantly, the combination of cetuximab and irradiation did not change the EGFR mRNA and protein levels and decreased the β-1-6 branching on the EGFR. Subsequently, we further explored the signalling downstream of EGF, particularly the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway, and discovered that treatment consisting of GnT-V down-regulation, irradiation and cetuximab was negatively correlated with phospho-Akt and phspho-PI3K. Finally, an in vivo experiment with radiotherapy revealed that the combination of GnT-V down-regulation and cetuximab decelerated tumour growth. In summary, our study demonstrated that the combination of decreased GnT-V activity and cetuximab enhanced NPC radiosensitivity, and the possible mechanism underlying this effect might involve the N-linked β1-6 branching of the EGFR.