Activin A inhibits the migration of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells induced by EGF.

Activin A, a member of the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) superfamily, is involved in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. However, it remains unclear whether activin A can affect the migration of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cells. In this study, the results of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identification revealed that lung adenocarcinoma tissues exhibited lower expression of activin βA mRNA, but higher expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and MMP9 mRNA compared to nontumor tissues. Moreover, we found that activin A inhibited human LUAD A549 cell proliferation promoted by EGF. Additionally, EGF induced A549 cell migration in microfluidic device, while activin A attenuated EGF actions. Simultaneously, EGF increased the levels of migration-related proteins, but activin A played the opposite role. Furthermore, the study revealed that EGF upregulated the ratio of p-ERK/ERK in A549 cells, which was weakened by activin A, and A549 cell migration regulated by activin A was not related to calcium signaling. In addition, the inhibitory effect of activin A on EGF-induced A549 cell migration was attenuated by the ERK inhibitor FR180204. These findings demonstrate that activin A effectively hinders the migration of A549 cells induced by EGF through ERK1/2 signaling, suggesting that targeting activin A may hold promise in the treatment of EGF-dependent LUAD growth and metastasis.