Snail1 Gene Function During Early Embryo Patterning in Mice

Originally identified as one of two zygotically expressed genes required for gastrulation in Drosophila, the Snail gene and other family members play critical roles in vertebrate development. Functionally, these genes are thought to drive epithelial-mesenchymal transitions at several points during development, and also during the metastatic progression of cancer. Although the Snai2-null mouse is viable and fertile, the early embryonic lethality of Snai1-null mice has precluded the detailed analysis of Snai1 function after gastrulation. We have recently generated a conditional allele of the Snai1 gene and examined its function during the formation of the neural crest and establishment of the left-right axis. We uncovered new details regarding Snai1 function during gastrulation and left-right asymmetry determination, while surprisingly showing that neither the Snai1 nor Snai2 genes are essential for neural crest cell delamination. These results shed new light on the role of Snail family genes in early mouse development, and raise interesting questions concerning the diversity of gene function among vertebrate species.     

Snai1 regulates cell lineage allocation and stem cell maintenance in the mouse intestinal epithelium

Snail family members regulate epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) during invasion of intestinal tumours, but their role in normal intestinal homeostasis is unknown. Studies in breast and skin epithelia indicate that Snail proteins promote an undifferentiated state. Here, we demonstrate that conditional knockout of Snai1 in the intestinal epithelium results in apoptotic loss of crypt base columnar stem cells and bias towards differentiation of secretory lineages. In vitro organoid cultures derived from Snai1 conditional knockout mice also undergo apoptosis when Snai1 is deleted. Conversely, ectopic expression of Snai1 in the intestinal epithelium in vivo results in the expansion of the crypt base columnar cell pool and a decrease in secretory enteroendocrine and Paneth cells. Following conditional deletion of Snai1, the intestinal epithelium fails to produce a proliferative response following radiation‐induced damage indicating a fundamental requirement for Snai1 in epithelial regeneration. These results demonstrate that Snai1 is required for regulation of lineage choice, maintenance of CBC stem cells and regeneration of the intestinal epithelium following damage.     

p53 inhibits tumor cell invasion via the degradation of snail protein in hepatocellular carcinoma

The tumor suppressor protein p53 is a key regulator of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Snail protein regulates cancer-associated malignancies. However, the relationship between p53 and Snail proteins in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been completely understood. To determine whether Snail and p53 contribute to hepatocarcinogenesis, we analyzed the expression of Snail proteins in p53-overexpressing HCC cells. We found that p53 wild-type (WT) induced the degradation of Snail protein via murine double minute 2-mediated ubiquitination, whereas p53 mutant did not induce Snail degradation. As we expected, only p53WT induced endogenous Snail protein degradation and inhibited tumor cell invasion. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of p53 mutation and Snail overexpression as a late event in hepatocarcinogenesis.

Structured summary

MINT-7718917: p53 (uniprotkb:P04637) physically interacts (MI:0915) with Snai1 (uniprotkb:O95863) by anti bait coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0006)MINT-7719877: Snai1 (uniprotkb:O95863) physically interacts (MI:0915) with ubiquitin (uniprotkb:P62988) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007)MINT-7718928: Snai1 (uniprotkb:O95863) physically interacts (MI:0915) with p53 (uniprotkb:P04637) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007)MINT-7718939: Snai1 (uniprotkb:O95863) physically interacts (MI:0915) with MDM2 (uniprotkb:Q00987) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007)     

ING1 inhibits Twist1 expression to block EMT and is antagonized by the HDAC inhibitor vorinostat

ING1 is a chromatin targeting subunit of the Sin3a histone deacetylase (HDAC) complex that alters chromatin structure to subsequently regulate gene expression. We find that ING1 knockdown increases expression of Twist1, Zeb 1&2, Snai1, Bmi1 and TSHZ1 drivers of EMT, promoting EMT and cell motility. ING1 expression had the opposite effect, promoting epithelial cell morphology and inhibiting basal and TGF-β-induced motility in 3D organoid cultures. ING1 binds the Twist1 promoter and Twist1 was largely responsible for the ability of ING1 to reduce cell migration. Consistent with ING1 inhibiting Twist1 expression in vivo, an inverse relationship between ING1 and Twist1 levels was seen in breast cancer samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The HDAC inhibitor vorinostat is approved for treatment of multiple myeloma and cutaneous T cell lymphoma and is in clinical trials for solid tumours as adjuvant therapy. One molecular target of vorinostat is INhibitor of Growth 2 (ING2), that together with ING1 serve as targeting subunits of the Sin3a HDAC complex. Treatment with sublethal (LD25-LD50) levels of vorinostat promoted breast cancer cell migration several-fold, which increased further upon ING1 knockout. These observations indicate that correct targeting of the Sin3a HDAC complex, and HDAC activity in general decreases luminal and basal breast cancer cell motility, suggesting that use of HDAC inhibitors as adjuvant therapies in breast cancers that are prone to metastasize may not be optimal and requires further investigation.