Snail1 induced in breast cancer cells in 3D collagen I gel environment suppresses cortactin and impairs effective invadopodia formation

Although an in vitro 3D environment cannot completely mimic the in vivo tumor site, embedding tumor cells in a 3D extracellular matrix (ECM) allows for the study of cancer cell behaviors and the screening of anti-metastatic reagents with a more in vivo-like context. Here we explored the behaviors of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells embedded in 3D collagen I. Diverse tumor environmental conditions (including cell density, extracellular acidity, or hypoxia as mimics for a continuous tumor growth) reduced JNKs, enhanced TGFβ1/Smad signaling activity, induced Snail1, and reduced cortactin expression. The reduced JNKs activity blocked efficient formation of invadopodia labeled with actin, cortactin, or MT1-MMP. JNKs inactivation activated Smad2 and Smad4, which were required for Snail1 expression. Snail1 then repressed cortactin expression, causing reduced invadopodia formation and prominent localization of MT1-MMP at perinuclear regions. MDA-MB-231 cells thus exhibited less efficient collagen I degradation and invasion in 3D collagen I upon JNKs inhibition. These observations support a signaling network among JNKs, Smads, Snail1, and cortactin to regulate the invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells embedded in 3D collagen I, which may be targeted during screening of anti-invasion reagents.     

N-cadherin mediates angiogenesis by regulating monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 expression via PI3K/Akt signaling in prostate cancer cells

Over the past decade, evidence continues to mount showing that N-cadherin is a critical protein in cancer progression and metastasis. In the present study, we evaluated the expression of N-cadherin in human prostate cancer tissue specimens and cell lines. Enhanced expression of N-cadherin was observed in both the malignant and bone-metastasized prostate tissue specimens compared to the healthy prostate tissues. Consistent with the tissue array data, N-cadherin was highly expressed in PC3, but not in Du145 and LNCaP human prostate cell lines. Based on cell to cell binding assay, we found that N-cadherin expression facilitates homotypic interaction between human prostate cancer cells and human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC). Human angiogenesis antibody array and in vitro angiogenesis assay showed that siRNA-mediated knockdown of N-cadherin reduced the secretion of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), which played a potential role in stimulating capillary network formation of HMEC. Additionally, culture supernatant of Du145 cells transfected with full-length N-cadherin expressing plasmid showed increased MCP-1 expression and chemoattractant ability compared to normal Du145 cells. Further, we noticed that blocking PI3K activity inhibited N-cadherin mediated MCP-1 expression. Our data demonstrated that N-cadherin in prostate cancer cell mediates cell–cell adhesion and regulates MCP-1 expression via the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.     

The SNAG domain of Snail1 functions as a molecular hook for recruiting lysine‐specific demethylase 1

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a transdifferentiation programme. The mechanism underlying the epigenetic regulation of EMT remains unclear. In this study, we identified that Snail1 interacted with histone lysine‐specific demethylase 1 (LSD1). We demonstrated that the SNAG domain of Snail1 and the amine oxidase domain of LSD1 were required for their mutual interaction. Interestingly, the sequence of the SNAG domain is similar to that of the histone H3 tail, and the interaction of Snail1 with LSD1 can be blocked by LSD1 enzymatic inhibitors and a histone H3 peptide. We found that the formation of a Snail1–LSD1–CoREST ternary complex was critical for the stability and function of these proteins. The co‐expression of these molecules was found in cancer cell lines and breast tumour specimens. Furthermore, we showed that the SNAG domain of Snail1 was critical for recruiting LSD1 to its target gene promoters and resulted in suppression of cell migration and invasion. Our study suggests that the SNAG domain of Snail1 resembles a histone H3‐like structure and functions as a molecular hook for recruiting LSD1 to repress gene expression in metastasis.     

Xanthones induce cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in human colon cancer DLD-1 cells

We investigated the antiproliferative effects of four structurally similar prenylated xanthones, alpha-mangostin, beta-mangostin, gamma-mangostin, and methoxy-beta-mangostin, in human colon cancer DLD-1 cells. These xanthones differ in the number of hydroxyl and methoxy groups. Except for methoxy-beta-mangostin, the other three xanthones strongly inhibited cell growth at 20 microM and their antitumor efficacy was correlated with the number of hydroxyl groups. Hoechst 33342 nuclear staining and nucleosomal DNA-gel electrophoresis revealed that the antiproliferative effects of alpha- and gamma-mangostin, but not that of beta-mangostin, were associated with apoptosis. It was also shown that their antiproliferative effects were associated with cell-cycle arrest by affecting the expression of cyclins, cdc2, and p27; G1 arrest was by alpha-mangostin and beta-mangostin, and S arrest by gamma-mangostin. These findings provide a relevant basis for the development of xanthones as an agent for cancer prevention and combination therapy with anti-cancer drugs.     

Apoptosis induction by wheat-flour sphingoid bases in DLD-1 human colon cancer cells

The apoptotic effects of plant sphingoid bases prepared from wheat-flour cerebroside on human colorectal cancer DLD-1 cells were examined. The viability of DLD-1 cells treated with such plant sphingoid bases was reduced in a dose-dependent manner and was similar to that of cells treated with sphingosine. Morphological changes such as condensed chromatin fragments were found, so those sphingoid bases reduced cell viability through causing apoptosis in these cells.     

胃癌FOXQ1与Snail相关性表达及其临床意义研究

摘要 目的：探讨胃癌组织中FOXQ1和Snail的表达及其与临床病理特征和预后的关系。方法：采用免疫组织化学方法检测178例胃癌组织中FOXQ1和Snail的表达,比较FOXQ1和Snail的表达与临床病理特征和生存期的关系。结果：在178例胃癌中,FOXQ1和Snail过表达分别为103例（57.8%）和87例（48.9%）,76例（42.7%）同时表达FOXQ1和Snail。FOXQ1的表达与胃癌pTNM分期（P<0.001）、浸润深度（P<0.001）、淋巴结转移（P<0.001）、远处转移（P=0.001）、分化程度（P=0.002）和肿瘤直径（P=0.001）有关。Snail的表达与胃癌pTNM分期（P<0.001）、浸润深度（P<0.001）、淋巴结转移（P<0.001）、远处转移（P=0.001）、Borrmann分型（P=0.016）、分化程度（P=0.037）和肿瘤直径（P< 0.001）有关。结果表明,FOXQ1高表达与Snail表达呈正相关（r= 60.705,P<0.001）。Kaplan-Meier生存分析显示,FOXQ1或Snail表达与OS相关（P< 0.001）。单因素分析显示FOXQ1、Snail、pTNM分期、浸润深度、淋巴结转移、肿瘤直径分别与5年OS显著相关。多因素COX分析显示,FOXQ1（HR 2.621,95%CI 1.571-4.374,P< 0.001）、Snail（HR 2.925,95%CI 1.767-4.841,P<0.001）和淋巴结转移（HR 1.345,95%CI 1.130-1.601,P=0.001）是胃癌的独立预后因素。结论：FOXQ1与Snail的表达密切相关,FOXQ1与Snail的联合表达模式可作为胃癌患者更有效的预后指标。FOXQ1与Snail在胃癌上皮间质转化过程中的确切作用机制有待进一步研究。     

EGFR activation induced Snail-dependent EMT and myc-dependent PD-L1 in human salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma cells

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) confers cancer cells the ability of invasion and metastasis. However, how does EMT contribute to evasion of immune surveillance is unclear, especially in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC). In this study, we investigated the molecular link between EGF-induced EMT and the immune checkpoint ligand programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) by immunoprecipitation (IP) and Westernblot analysis. Cell migration and invasion activity was assayed by transwell assay. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining analysis was performed for measurement of EMT markers and PD-L1 expression levels in tumor tissues. We found that EGF-induced EGFR activation stabilized Snail expression and induced EMT in SACC. Interestingly, EGFR activation induced simultaneously both EMT and PD-L1 in SACC. Importantly, knockdown of Snail greatly suppressed EGF-induced EMT, but not EGF-induced PD-L1 expression; whereas knockdown of c-Myc strongly repressed PD-L1 expression, but not snail expression and EMT. The molecular link is strongly supported by robust correlations between the EMT markers and PD-L1 expression in human cancer samples.These results suggest that EGFR activated EMT and PD-L1 via two distinct mechanisms. EGFR activation induced EMT and PD-L1 expression in SACC. Snail is required for EGF-induced EMT, but not PD-L1 expression; whereas c-Myc is required for EGFR-mediated PD-L1 upregulation but not EMT. Thus, targeting activated EGFR may inhibit both EMT and PD-L1, which may potentiate the therapeutic effect of PD-L1-based immunotherapy, especially in the malignant subgroups of SACC patients with activated EGFR.     

Snail/beta-catenin signaling protects breast cancer cells from hypoxia attack

The tolerance of cancer cells to hypoxia depends on the combination of different factors – from increase of glycolysis (Warburg Effect) to activation of intracellular growth/apoptotic pathways. Less is known about the influence of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and EMT-associated pathways on the cell sensitivity to hypoxia. The aim of this study was to explore the role of Snail signaling, one of the key EMT pathways, in the mediating of hypoxia response and regulation of cell sensitivity to hypoxia, using as a model in vitro cultured breast cancer cells. Earlier we have shown that estrogen-independent HBL-100 breast cancer cells differ from estrogen-dependent MCF-7 cells with increased expression of Snail1, and demonstrated Snail1 involvement into formation of hormone-resistant phenotype. Because Snail1 belongs to hypoxia-activated proteins, here we studied the influence of Snail1 signaling on the cell tolerance to hypoxia. We found that Snail1-enriched HBL-100 cells were less sensitive to hypoxia-induced growth suppression if compared with MCF-7 line (31% MCF-7 vs. 71% HBL-100 cell viability after 1% O₂ atmosphere for 3 days). Snail1 knock-down enhanced the hypoxia-induced inhibition of cell proliferation giving the direct evidence of Snail1 involvement into cell protection from hypoxia attack. The protective effect of Snail1 was shown to be mediated, at least in a part, via beta-catenin which positively regulated expression of HIF-1-dependent genes. Finally, we found that cell tolerance to hypoxia was accompanied with the failure in the phosphorylation of AMPK – the key energy sensor, and demonstrated an inverse relationship between AMPK and Snail/beta-catenin signaling.Totally, our data show that Snail1 and beta-catenin, besides association with loss of hormone dependence, protect cancer cells from hypoxia and may serve as an important target in the treatment of breast cancer. Moreover, we suggest that the level of these proteins as well the level of AMPK phosphorylation may be considered as predictors of the tumor sensitivity to anti-angiogenic drugs.     

Snail mRNA及其蛋白在乳腺癌中的表达研究

目的观察Snail蛋白及mRNA在人乳腺癌组织中的表达及其与临床病理特征的关系,并探讨它在乳腺癌发生、发展及转移中的作用。方法应用SP免疫组织化学和原位分子杂交方法检测Snail蛋白和Snail mRNA在70例乳腺浸润性导管癌、30例乳腺导管内癌、30例乳腺单纯性增生组织中的表达。结果①70例乳腺癌中,Snail蛋白和Snail mRNA阳性率分别为87.2%(61/70)、81.4%(57/70),分别高于乳腺导管内癌组织53.3%(16/30)、46.7%(14/30)和乳腺单纯性增生组织26.7%(8/30)、23.3%(7/30),三者相比有统计学意义(χ2=36.4,P<0.01;χ2=32.4,P<0.01)。②Snail蛋白和SnailmRNA在有淋巴结转移组中的阳性率为97.6%(40/41)、95.1%(39/41),无转移组阳性率为72.4%(21/29)、62.1%(18/29),两者相比有统计学意义(χ2=8.29,P<0.01);组织学分级Ⅲ级组明显高于Ⅰ、Ⅱ级组表达,但无统计学意义(χ2=0.72,P>0.05;χ2=0.98,P>0.05)。③Snail蛋白与Snail mRNA的表达与年龄、肿瘤大小均无关(P>0.05)。结论 Snail蛋白与Snail mRNA的表达呈正相关,与乳腺癌的发生发展、淋巴结转移密切相关,可作为判断乳腺癌预后、转移的生物学标志。     

Stanniocalcin-2 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition and invasiveness in hypoxic human ovarian cancer cells

The human glycoprotein, stanniocalcin-2 (STC2) is a HIF-1 target gene that is found to be associated with tumor development. The relationship of the prognostic outcome to the level of its expression in cancer tissues is controversial; however experimental evidence suggests that STC2 is a positive regulator of cancer progression. In the present study, we investigated if the expression of STC2 in hypoxic cells is associated with cancer invasion and metastasis. We studied the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers in STC2-silenced and over-expressed SKOV3 cells maintained in hypoxic condition. Western blot and immunocytochemical analysis revealed that the stable expression of exogenous STC2 promoted EMT, as revealed by the increase of N-cadherin/vimentin but a decrease of E-cadherin levels. This observation was further confirmed by colony formation assay where the STC2 stably transfected cells showed high degree of motility with fibroblast morphology under hypoxic condition. In conducting invasion assay in hypoxia, the STC2 stably transfected cells showed high degree of invasiveness. This observation was correlated with the significant increase of MMP2 and MMP9 expression in the STC2 stably transfected cells. In HUVEC/SKOV3 co-culture invasion study, endothelial invasion was found to be enhanced by the seeding of STC2 stably transfected cells in the lower compartment. These observations were possibly mediated by an increase of ROS and activated ERK1/2 levels in the cells. Collectively, the finding provides the first evidence that STC2 is a positive regulator in tumor progression at hypoxia.     

Autocrine galectin-1 promotes collective cell migration of squamous cell carcinoma cells through up-regulation of distinct integrins

We found that high galectin-1 (Gal-1) mRNA levels were associated with invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cells that expressed Snail, an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulator. Both Gal-1 overexpression and soluble Gal-1 treatment accelerated invasion and collective cell migration, along with activation of cdc42 and Rac. Soluble Gal-1 activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase to increase expression levels of integrins α2 and β5, which were essential for Gal-1 dependent collective cell migration and invasiveness. Soluble Gal-1 also increased the incidence of EMT in Snail-expressing SCC cells; these were a minor population with an EMT phenotype under growing conditions. Our findings indicate that soluble Gal-1 promotes invasiveness through enhancing collective cell migration and increasing the incidence of EMT.     

Identification of NDRG1-regulated genes associated with invasive potential in cervical and ovarian cancer cells

N-myc downstream regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) is an important gene regulating tumor invasion. In this study, shRNA technology was used to suppress NDRG1 expression in CaSki (a cervical cancer cell line) and HO-8910PM (an ovarian cancer cell line). In vitro assays showed that NDRG1 knockdown enhanced tumor cell adhesion, migration and invasion activities without affecting cell proliferation. cDNA microarray analysis revealed 96 deregulated genes with more than 2-fold changes in both cell lines after NDRG1 knockdown. Ten common upregulated genes (LPXN, DDR2, COL6A1, IL6, IL8, FYN, PTP4A3, PAPPA, ETV5 and CYGB) and one common downregulated gene (CLCA2) were considered to enhance tumor cell invasive activity. BisoGenet network analysis indicated that NDRG1 regulated these invasion effector genes/proteins in an indirect manner. Moreover, NDRG1 knockdown also reduced pro-invasion genes expression such as MMP7, TMPRSS4 and CTSK. These results suggest that regulation of invasion and metastasis by NDRG1 is a highly complicated process.