Targeting pro-survival autophagy enhanced GSK-3β inhibition-induced apoptosis and retarded proliferation in bladder cancer cells

Advanced bladder cancer (BC) (local invasive and/or metastatic) is not curable even with cytotoxic chemotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and targeted treatment. Targeting GSK-3β is a promising novel approach in advanced BC. The induction of autophagy is a mechanism of secondary resistance to various anticancer treatments. Our objectives were to investigate the synergistic effects of GSK-3β in combination with autophagy inhibitors to evade GSK-3β drug resistance. Small molecule GSK-3β inhibitors and GSK-3β knockdown using siRNA promoted the expression of autophagy-related proteins. We further investigated that GSK-3β inhibition induced the nucleus translocation of transcription factor EB(TFEB). Compared to the GSK-3β inhibition alone, its combination with chloroquine (an autophagy inhibitor) significantly reduced BC cell growth. These results provide that targeting autophagy potentiates GSK-3β inhibition-induced apoptosis and retarded proliferation in BC cells.