Re-expression of miR-21 contributes to migration and invasion by inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition consistent with cancer stem cell characteristics in MCF-7 cells

MiR-21 is known to play an important role in the development and progression, including migration and invasion, of many malignancies including breast cancer. Accumulating evidence suggest that the induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype and acquisition of cancer stem cell (CSC) characteristics are highly interrelated, and contribute to tumorigenesis, tumor progression, metastasis, and relapse. The molecular mechanisms underlying EMT and CSC characteristics during miR-21 contributes to cell migration and invasion of breast cancer are poorly understood. Therefore, we established miR-21 re-expressing breast cancer MCF-7 (MCF-7/miR-21) cells, which showed increasing cell growth, migration and invasion, self-renewal and clonogenicity. Our data showed that re-expression of miR-21 induced the acquisition of EMT phenotype by activation of mesenchymal cell markers (N-cadherin, Vimentin, α-SMA) and inhibition of epithelial cell marker (E-cadherin) in MCF-7/miR-21 cells, which consistent with increased cell subpopulation expressing CSC surface markers (ALDH1(+) and CD44(+)/CD24(-/low)) and the capacity of sphereforming (mammospheres). Our results demonstrated that re-expression of miR-21 is responsible for migration and invasion by activating the EMT process and enhancing the characteristics of CSCs in MCF-7 cells.     

Circular RNA circMTO1 suppresses bladder cancer metastasis by sponging miR-221 and inhibiting epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

Bladder cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related death because of its distant metastasis and high recurrence rates. Deregulation of circular RNAs (circRNAs) can act either as tumor suppressors or oncogenes to control cell proliferation, migration, and metastasis. The role of circMTO1 in bladder cancer remain unknown. In this study, we investigated whether circMTO1 could use as a biomarker and therapeutic target for bladder cancer treatment. We first demonstrated that circMTO1 was an important circRNA frequently downregulated in bladder cancer tissue, and lower circMTO1 levels were positively correlated with bladder cancer patients' metastasis and poorer survival. Ectopic expression of circMTO1 in bladder cancer cells inhibited cell's epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis. In addition, we also revealed that circMTO1 was able to sponge miR-221 and overexpression of circMTO1 negatively regulated the E-cadherin/N-cadherin pathway to inhibit bladder cancer cells' EMT by competing for miR-221. In conclusion, our findings provide comprehensive evidences that circMTO1 is a prognostic biomarker in bladder cancer and suggest that circMTO1 may function as a novel therapeutic target in human bladder cancer.     

MicroRNA-148a suppresses epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by targeting ROCK1 in non-small cell lung cancer cells

Recent studies have implied that miRNAs act as crucial modulators for epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). We found that miR-148a is significantly downregulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared to adjacent non-cancerous lung tissues, and the downregulated miR-148a was significantly associated with lymph-node metastasis. Functional assays demonstrated that miR-148a inhibited EMT in NSCLC cells. Moreover, miR-148a decreased 3′-untranslated region luciferase activity of ROCK1 and ROCK1 protein expression. Knockdown of ROCK1 reversed EMT resembling that of miR-148a overexpression. Furthermore, ROCK1 was widely upregulated in NSCLC, and its mRNA levels were inversely correlated with miR-148a expression. These findings suggest that miR-148a acts as a novel EMT suppressor in NSCLC cells, at least in part by modulation of ROCK1.     

CXCL5/ENA78 increased cell migration and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of hormone-independent prostate cancer by early growth response-1/snail signaling pathway

Prostate cancers that are resistant to hormone therapy are more invasive and have greater ability to spread to other organs than androgen-dependent prostate cancers. Furthermore, this type of prostate cancer is also highly resistant to current forms of chemotherapy. This study analyzed CXCL5/ENA78, which is highly expressed in androgen-independent prostate cancers, and is responsible for cell migration and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in two androgen-independent prostate cancer cell lines. Inducement of PC-3 and DU145 cancer progression by CXCL5/ENA78 is associated with increased Raf/MEK/ERK activation, and the upregulation of early growth response-1 (Egr-1) and Snail. Blockade of Egr-1 decreased Snail upregulation and cell migration, indicating that Egr-1 is required in CXCL5/ENA78-mediated Snail enhancement and cell migration. In addition, Egr-1 siRNA also decreased the effect of CXCL5/ENA78 on p27 inhibition, Cdk4 induction and cell proliferation, suggesting Egr-1 is also involved in CXCL5/ENA78-mediated cell growth. Moreover, blocking ERK1/2 by siRNA suppressed CXCL5/ENA78-induced Egr-1 enhancement, cell migration, and proliferation. Our study suggests that inhibition of CXCL5/ENA78-mediated ERK/Egr-1/Snail signaling is an attractive therapeutic target for androgen-independent prostate cancer.     

Downregulation of integrin-linked kinase inhibits epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and metastasis in bladder cancer cells

Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is a multifunctional serine/threonine kinase in cytoplasm. Recent studies showed that cancer patients with increased ILK expression had low survival, poor prognosis and increased metastasis. Although the causes of ILK overexpression remain to be fully elucidated, accumulating evidence suggests that its oncogenic capacity derives from its regulation of several downstream targets that provide cells with signals that promote proliferation, survival and migration. However, the mechanisms underlying tumor metastasis by ILK is still not fully understood. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical event of cancer cells that triggers invasion and metastasis. We recently reported that knockdown of ILK inhibited the growth and induced apoptosis in human bladder cancer cells. Therefore, we postulate that ILK might involve in EMT. Here we further investigate the function of ILK with RNA interference in bladder cancer cells. Knockdown of ILK impeded an EMT with low Vimentin, Snail, Slug and Twist as well as high E-cadherin expression in vivo and vitro. In addition, we found that knockdown of ILK inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion as well as changed cell morphology, adhesion and rearranged cytoskeleton in vitro. We also demonstrated that ILK siRNA inhibited phosphorylation of downstream signaling targets Akt and GSK3β, increased expression of nm23-H1, as well as reduced expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in vivo and vitro. Furthermore, downregulation of ILK could increase expression of Ribonuclease inhibitor (RI), an important acidic cytoplasmic protein with many functions. Finally, the effects of ILK siRNA on bladder cancer cell phenotype and invasiveness translate into suppression for tumorigenesis and metastasis in vivo. Taken together, our findings highlight that ILK signaling pathway plays a novel role in the development of bladder cancer through regulating EMT. ILK could be a promising diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for bladder cancer.     

MicroRNA-630 suppresses epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by regulating FoxM1 in gastric cancer cells

In the present study, we investigated the functional role of microRNA (miR)-630 in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of gastric cancer (GC) cells, as well as the regulatory mechanism. Cells of human GC cell line SGC 7901 were transfected with miR-630 mimic or miR-630 inhibitor. The transfection efficiency was confirmed by qRT-PCR. Cell migration and invasion were determined by Transwell assay. Protein expression of E-cadherin, vimentin, and Forkhead box protein M1 (FoxM1) was tested by Western blot. Moreover, the expression of FoxM1 was elevated or suppressed, and then the effects of miR-630 abnormal expression on EMT and properties of migration and invasion were examined again, as well as protein expression of Ras/phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT related factors. The results showed that (i) the EMT and properties of migration and invasion were statistically decreased by overexpression of miR-630 compared to the control group but markedly increased by suppression of miR-630. However, (ii) abnormal expression of FoxM1 reversed these effects in GC cells. Moreover, (iii) expression of GTP-Rac1, p-PI3K, and p-AKT was decreased by miR-630 overexpression but increased by FoxM1 overexpression. (iv) The decreased levels of GTP-Rac1, p-PI3K, and p-AKT induced by miR-630 overexpression were dramatically elevated by simultaneous overexpression of FoxM1. In conclusion, our results suggest that miR-630 might be a tumor suppressor in GC cells. MiR-630 suppresses EMT by regulating FoxM1 in GC cells, supposedly via inactivation of the Ras/PI3K/AKT pathway.     

Doxycycline inhibits the cancer stem cell phenotype and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer

Experimental evidence suggest that breast tumors originate from breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), and that mitochondrial biogenesis is essential for the anchorage-independent clonal expansion and survival of CSCs, thus rendering mitochondria a significant target for novel treatment approaches. One of the recognized side effects of the FDA-approved drug, doxycycline is the inhibition of mitochondrial biogenesis. Here we investigate the mechanism by which doxycycline exerts its inhibitory effects on the properties of breast cancer cells and BCSCs, such as mammosphere forming efficiency, invasion, migration, apoptosis, the expression of stem cell markers and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related markers of breast cancer cells. In addition, we explored whether autophagy plays a role in the inhibitory effect of doxycycline on breast cancer cells. We find that doxycyline can inhibit the viability and proliferation of breast cancer cells and BCSCs, decrease mammosphere forming efficiency, migration and invasion, and EMT of breast cancer cells. Expression of stem cell factors Oct4, Sox2, Nanog and CD44 were also significantly downregulated after doxycycline treatment. Moreover, doxycycline could down-regulate the expression of the autophagy marker LC-3BI and LC-3BII, suggesting that inhibiting autophagy may be responsible in part for the observed effects on proliferation, EMT and stem cell markers. The potent inhibition of EMT and cancer stem-like characteristics in breast cancer cells by doxycycline treatment suggests that this drug can be repurposed as an anti-cancer drug in the treatment of breast cancer patients in the clinic.     

Progesterone inhibits epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in endometrial cancer

Background

Every year approximately 74,000 women die of endometrial cancer, mainly due to recurrent or metastatic disease. The presence of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) as well as progesterone receptor (PR) positivity has been correlated with improved prognosis. This study describes two mechanisms by which progesterone inhibits metastatic spread of endometrial cancer: by stimulating T-cell infiltration and by inhibiting epithelial-to-mesenchymal cell transition (EMT).

Methodology and Principal Findings

Paraffin sections from patients with (n = 9) or without (n = 9) progressive endometrial cancer (recurrent or metastatic disease) were assessed for the presence of CD4+ (helper), CD8+ (cytotoxic) and Foxp3+ (regulatory) T-lymphocytes and PR expression. Progressive disease was observed to be associated with significant loss of TILs and loss of PR expression. Frozen tumor samples, used for genome-wide expression analysis, showed significant regulation of pathways involved in immunesurveillance, EMT and metastasis. For a number of genes, such as CXCL14, DKK1, DKK4, PEG10 and WIF1, quantitive RT-PCR was performed to verify up- or downregulation in progressive disease. To corroborate the role of progesterone in regulating invasion, Ishikawa(IK) endometrial cancer cell lines stably transfected with PRA (IKPRA), PRB(IKPRB) and PRA+PRB (IKPRAB) were cultured in presence/absence of progesterone (MPA) and used for genome-wide expression analysis, Boyden- and wound healing migration assays, and IHC for known EMT markers. IKPRB and IKPRAB cell lines showed MPA induced inhibition of migration and loss of the mesenchymal marker vimentin at the invasive front of the wound healing assay. Furthermore, pathway analysis of significantly MPA regulated genes showed significant down regulation of important pathways involved in EMT, immunesuppression and metastasis: such as IL6-, TGF-β and Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

Conclusion

Intact progesterone signaling in non-progressive endometrial cancer seems to be an important factor stimulating immunosurveilance and inhibiting transition from an epithelial to a more mesenchymal, more invasive phenotype.     

Membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in prostate cancer

By mining DNA microarray data bases at GenBank, we identified up-regulation of membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) in human primary and metastatic prostate cancer specimens as compared with nonmalignant prostate tissues. To explore the role of up-regulated MT1-MMP in early stage cancer progression, we have employed a three-dimensional cell culture model. Minimally invasive human prostate cancer cells (LNCaP) were transfected with MT1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) chimeric cDNA as compared with GFP cDNA, and morphologic and phenotypic changes were characterized. GFP-expressing LNCaP cells formed multicellular spheroids with cuboidal-like epithelial morphology, whereas MT1-GFP-expressing cells displayed a fibroblast-like morphology and a scattered growth pattern in type I collagen gels. Cell morphologic changes were accompanied by decreased epithelial markers and enhanced mesenchymal markers, consistent with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. MT1-MMP-induced morphologic change and cell scattering were abrogated by target inhibition of either the catalytic domain or the hemopexin domain. We further demonstrated that MT1-MMP-induced phenotypic changes were dependent upon up-regulation of Wnt5a, which has been implicated in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. We conclude that MT1-MMP plays an important role in early cancer dissemination by converting epithelial cells to migratory mesenchymal-like cells.     

TGF-β1-promoted epithelial-to-mesenchymal transfor mation and cell adhesion contribute to TGF-β1-enhanced cell migration in SMMC-7721 cells

Transforming growth factor-bl (TGF-β1), a multi-function polypeptide, is a double-edged sword in cancer. For some tumor cells, TGF-β1 is a potent growth inhibitor and apoptosis inducer. More commonly, TGF-β1 losesits growth-inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing effects, but stimulates the metastatic capacity of tumor cells. It is currently little known about TGF-β1-promoted cell migration in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, let alone its mechanism. In this study, we found that TGF-β1 lost its tumor-suppressive effects, but significantly stimulated cellmigration in SMMC-7721 human HCC cells. By FACS and Western blot analysis, we observed that TGF-β1 enhanced the expression of ct5131 integrin obviously, and subsequently stimulated cell adhesion onto fibronectin(Fn). Furthermore, we observed that TGF-β1 could also promote SMMC-7721 cells adhesion onto laminin (Ln).Our data also provided evidences that TGF-β1 induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) in SMMC-7721 cells. First, SMMC-7721 cells clearly switched to the spindle shape morphology after TGF-β1 treatment.Furthermore, TGF-β1 induced the down-regulation of E-cadherin and the nuclear translocation of β1-catenin. These results indicated that TGF-β1-promoted cell adhesion and TGF-β1-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transfor-mation might be both responsible for TGF-β1-enhanced cell migration.     

Overexpression of cathepsin Z contributes to tumor metastasis by inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma

The aim of this study was to characterize the oncogenic function and mechanism of Cathepsin Z (CTSZ) at 20q13.3, a frequently amplified region in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Real-time PCR were used to compare CTSZ expression between paired HCC tumor and non-tumor specimens. CTSZ gene was stably transfected into HCC line QGY-7703 cells and its role in tumorigenicity and cell motility was characterized by soft agar, wound-healing, transwell invasion and cell adhesion assay, and tumor xenograft mouse model. Western blot analysis was used to study expression of proteins associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).Upregulation of CTSZ was detected in 59/137 (43%) of primary HCCs, which was significantly associated with advanced clinical stage (P = 0.000). Functional study found that CTSZ could increase colony formation in soft agar and promote cell motility. Further study found that the metastatic effect of CTSZ was associated with its role in inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by upregulating mesenchymal markers (fibronectin and vimentin) and downregulating epithelial markers (E-cadherin and α-catenin). In addition, CTSZ could also upregulate proteins associated with extracellular matrix remodeling such as MMP2, MMP3 and MMP9. Taken together, our data suggested that CTSZ was a candidate oncogene within the 20q13 amplicon and it played an important role in HCC metastasis.     

Overexpression of exchange protein directly activated by cAMP-1 (EPAC1) attenuates bladder cancer cell migration

Exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (EPAC) is a mediator of a cAMP signaling pathway that is independent of protein kinase A. EPAC has two isoforms (EPAC1 and EPAC2) and is a cAMP-dependent guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the small GTPases, Rap1 and Rap2. Recent studies suggest that EPAC1 has both positive and negative influences on cancer and is involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and metastasis. We report that EPAC1 and EPAC2 expression levels were significantly lower in bladder cancer tissue than in normal bladder tissue. In addition, bladder cancer cell lines showed reduced EPAC1 mRNA expression. Furthermore, EPAC1 overexpression in bladder cancer cell lines induced morphologic changes and markedly suppressed cell migration without affecting cell viability. The overexpressed EPAC1 preferentially localized at cell-cell interfaces. In conclusion, reduced EPAC1 expression in bladder tumors and poor migration of EPAC1-overexpressing cells implicate EPAC1 as an inhibitor of bladder cancer cell migration.     

具核梭杆菌对结直肠癌细胞增殖、迁移及上皮间质转化作用的影响

【目的】评估具核梭杆菌对人结直肠癌细胞HCT116和人正常结肠上皮细胞HCoEpiC的增殖、黏附、凋亡、迁移、侵袭和上皮间质转化的影响。【方法】本研究用不同感染复数(MOI)Fusobacterium nucleatum ATCC 23726感染人结直肠癌细胞HCT116和人正常结肠上皮细胞HCoEpiC,建立感染模型;用3-(4,5-二甲基噻唑-2)-2,5-二苯基四氮唑溴盐[3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide,MTT]、平板克隆、细胞划痕及侵袭(transwell)实验检测两组细胞的增殖、迁移和侵袭的变化;用流式细胞仪检测两组细胞凋亡情况;通过Western blotting检测两组细胞上皮标记物上皮细胞钙黏蛋白(E-cadherin)、Catenin δ-1蛋白、间充质标记物N-钙粘蛋白(N-cadherin)和波形蛋白(vimentin)表达水平的变化。【结果】F.nucleatum可促进HCT116细胞增殖,诱导HCT116细胞的迁移和侵袭,但不能引起细胞凋亡;可抑制HCoEpiC细胞的增殖、迁移和侵袭,并加速其凋亡;对HCT116和HCoEpiC细胞表现出很强的粘附能力,致细胞分散和拉长,细胞间粘附减少;使HCT116和HCoEpiC细胞上皮标记物E-cadherin与Catenin δ-1的表达量减少,间充质标记物N-cadherin与vimentin的表达量上升,E-cadherin由细胞膜向细胞质转移。【结论】F.nucleatum可诱导结直肠癌细胞和人正常结肠上皮细胞发生上皮间质转化,但抑制人正常结肠细胞的增殖、迁移和侵袭,表现出与结直肠癌细胞相反的作用。     

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound affects growth,differentiation, migration,and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of colorectal cancer cells

Ultrasound (US) offers potentially important opportunities from a therapeutic point of view. Thus, the study of the biological effects of US on cancer cells is important to understand the consequences of these changes on the malignant phenotype. This study aimed to investigate the effects of low-intensity ultrasound (LIPUS) on the phenotype of colorectal cancer cell lines. Cell proliferation was evaluated by viability test and by evaluation of pERK expression, while cell motility using the scratch test. Cell differentiation was evaluated assessing alkaline phosphatase activity. Epithelial mesenchymal transition was assessed by analyzing the expression of Vimentin and E-Cadherin. Release and uptake of extracellular vesicles (EVs) were evaluated by flow cytometry. LIPUS effects on the organization of cytoskeleton were analyzed by confocal microscopy and by evaluation of Rho GTPase expression. No alterations in vitality and clonogenicity were observed when the intermediate (0.4 MPa) and the lowest (0.035 MPa) acoustic intensities were administered while the treatment with high intensity (1 MPa) induced a reduction of both cell viability and clonogenicity in both cell lines in a frequency-dependent manner. LIPUS promoted the differentiation of colon cancer cells, affected epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, promoted the closure of a wound as well as increased the release of EVs compared with untreated cells. LIPUS-induced increase in cell motility was likely due to a Rho GTPase-dependent mechanism. Overall, the results obtained warrant further studies on the potential combined effect of LIPUS with differentiating agents and on their potential use in a clinical setting.