Snai1 and Snai2 collaborate on tumor growth and metastasis properties of mouse skin carcinoma cell lines

Snai1 (Snail) and Snai2 (Slug), the two main members of Snail family factors, are important mediators of epithelial-mesenchymal transitions and involved in tumor progression. We recently reported that Snai1 plays a major role in tumor growth, invasion and metastasis, but the contribution of Snai2 to tumorigenesis is not yet well understood. To approach this question we have silenced Snai2 and/or Snai1 by stable RNA interference in two independent mouse skin carcinoma (HaCa4 and CarB) cell lines. We demonstrate that Snai2 knockdown has a milder effect, but collaborates with Snai1 silencing in reduction of tumor growth potential of either carcinoma cell line when injected into nude mice. Importantly, Snai1 or Snai2 silencing dramatically influences the metastatic ability of squamous carcinoma HaCa4 cells, inducing a strong reduction in liver and lung distant metastasis. However, only Snai1 knockdown has an effective action on invasiveness and fully abolishes tumor cell dissemination into the spleen. These results demonstrate that Snai1 and Snai2 collaborate on primary tumor growth and specifically contribute to site-specific metastasis of HaCa4 cells. These data also indicate that Snai1 is the major regulator of local invasion, supporting a hierarchical participation of both factors in the metastatic process.     

MEMO1共结合IGF-IR介导胃癌细胞侵袭转移

目的:探讨MEMO1（mediator of ErbB2-driven cell motility 1）调控IGF-IR（insulin-like growth factor-I receptor）介导胃癌侵袭转移的分子机制,为临床治疗提供潜在靶点。方法:选取五种不同分化程度胃癌细胞系（MKN-7、NCI-N87、MGC-803、BGC-823、MKN-74）,Western blot检测MEMO1、IGF-IR和E-cad表达差异;Transwell比较五种胃癌细胞系迁移能力;选取MEMO1/IGF-IR高表达细胞系MGC-803,瞬时敲除MEMO1或IGF-IR基因,Western blot检测EMT标志物表达差异;IP实验检测MEMO1与IGF-IR间相互作用;TCGA数据库分析胃癌组织MEMO1和IGF-IR mRNA表达水平与患者预后的关系。结果:基础状态下五种胃癌细胞IGF-IR与MEMO1的表达呈显著正相关,并且两种蛋白的表达强度与胃癌细胞EMT相关;五种胃癌细胞迁移能力MKN-7相似文献   

Reduction of RKIP expression promotes nasopharyngeal carcinoma invasion and metastasis by activating Stat3 signaling

The role and underlying mechanism of Raf kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) metastasis remain unclear. Here, we showed that RKIP was downregulated in the NPC with high metastatic potentials, and its decrement correlated with NPC metastasis and poor patient survival, and was an independent predictor for reduced overall survival. With a combination of loss-of-function and gain-of-function approaches, we observed that high expression of RKIP reduced invasion, metastasis and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker alternations of NPC cells. We further showed that RKIP overexpression attenuated while RKIP knockdown enhanced Stat3 phosphorylation and activation in NPC cells; RKIP reduced Stat3 phosphorylation through interacting with Stat3; Stattic attenuated NPC cell migration, invasion and EMT marker alternations induced by RKIP knockdown, whereas Stat3 overexpression restored NPC cell migration, invasion and EMT marker alternations reduced by RKIP overexpression. In addition, there was an inverse correlation between RKIP and phospho-Stat3 expression in the NPC tissues and xenograft metastases. Our data demonstrate that RKIP is a metastatic suppressor and predictor for metastasis and prognosis in NPC, and RKIP downregulation promotes NPC invasion, metastasis and EMT by activating Stat3 signaling, suggesting that RKIP/Stat3 signaling could be used as a therapeutic target for NPC metastasis.     

Nidogen 1 regulates proliferation and migration/invasion in murine claudin-low mammary tumor cells

Nidogen 1 (NID1) is a glycoprotein found in basement membranes involved in cross-linking collagen IV and laminin. The role of NID in breast cancer has only been evaluated in a small number of studies and the findings of these studies have been inconsistent. Our previous work revealed that highly tumorigenic murine mammary tumor cells express high levels of Nid1 while weakly tumorigenic mammary tumor cells express low levels of Nid1. To investigate Nid1, two stable knockdown lines were created, and Nid1 knockdown was confirmed at both the mRNA and protein level. Nid1 knockdown significantly reduced cell proliferation and migration/invasion and these reductions in proliferation and migration/invasion could be rescued by conditioned media containing NID1 protein. The reduced migration/invasion observed in the Nid1 knockdown cells was not associated with significant alterations in the epithelial gene Cdh1 or the mesenchymal genes Snai1, Snai2, Twist1, Twist2, Zeb1 and Zeb2. Therefore, suppression of Nid1 expression reduces proliferation and migration/invasion in claudin-low murine mammary tumor cells.     

Overexpression of forkhead Box C2 promotes tumor metastasis and indicates poor prognosis in colon cancer via regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Forkhead box protein C2 (FOXC2) plays a vital role in carcinogenesis; however, its significance and prognostic value in colon cancer remain unclear. In this study, FOXC2 expression was analyzed in a tissue microarray (TMA) containing 185 samples of primary colon cancer tumor samples and in human colon cancer cell lines. The effect of FOXC2 on cell proliferation, tumorigenesis, and metastasis was examined in vitro and in vivo. FOXC2 was overexpressed in human colon cancer cells and tissues, and correlated with colon cancer progression and patient survival. Functional study demonstrated that FOXC2 promoted cell growth, cell migration, and tumor formation in nude mice, whereas knockdown of FOXC2 by short hairpin RNA (shRNAs) significantly suppressed cell growth, cell migration and tumor formation. Further study found that FOXC2 enhanced AKT activity with subsequent GSK-3β phosphorylation and Snail stabilization, and then induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and promoted tumor invasion and metastasis. Collectively, FOXC2 promotes colon cancer metastasis by facilitating EMT and acts as a potential prognostic factor and therapeutic target in colon cancer.     

RASAL2 对胃癌细胞侵袭与上皮间质转化的影响*

目的:探讨RASAL2 表达改变对胃癌细胞侵袭与迁移能力的影响,以及对细胞上皮间质转化（epithelial-mesenchymal transition ,EMT ）的影响。方法:以胃癌细胞系SNU-1、SNU-16与AGS 为体外模型,通过RNA 干扰技术构建RASAL2 敲低细胞系,通过过表达慢病毒载体构建RASAL2 过表达细胞系。利用体外侵袭与迁移实验,划痕实验观察RASAL2 表达改变对两种胃癌细胞系侵袭与迁移能力的影响。同时利用免疫显微荧光技术与免疫印迹分析RASAL2 表达改变对胃癌细胞EMT 的影响。利用免疫印记分析RASAL2 对Ras-ERK通路的活化影响。结果:两种不同靶位的RASAL2-shRNA 均可以有效抑制RASAL2 在SNU-16与AGS 细胞中的表达。细胞体外侵袭与迁移能力在RASAL2 敲低后显著高于对照组。划痕实验也提示同样结果。上皮标志 E-cadherin表达在RASAL2 敲低后发生下调,同时间质标志Vimentin 发生上调。EMT 调控转录因子Snail 也发生上调。Ras-ERK 通路活化在RASAL2 敲低后显著上调。RASAL2 过表达抑制SNU-1 细胞迁移能力。结论:RASAL2 在胃癌中具有抑制细胞侵袭与迁移的能力。同时也是胃癌细胞EMT 的调控分子。RASAL2 发挥生物学功能至少是部分依赖Ras-ERK 通路的。      

PAK5通过上皮-间质转化促进人乳腺癌细胞侵袭

目的:探讨p21活化激酶-5（p21-activated kinase 5,PAK5）蛋白对乳腺肿瘤细胞侵袭转移的作用机制。方法:观察PAK5过表达对乳腺癌细胞形态的影响,人乳腺肿瘤细胞MCF-7通过慢病毒感染稳定表达Flag-PAK5。然后提取感染细胞的总蛋白进行蛋白免疫印迹检测上皮-间质转化（EMT）标志物上皮-钙黏蛋白（E-cadherin）,纤维连接蛋白（Fibronectin）和波形蛋白（vimentin）的表达。最后通过Transwell实验检测过表达PAK5对乳腺癌细胞迁移和侵袭的影响。结果:过表达PAK5蛋白能够使细胞形态由鹅卵石样像梭形变化,下调E-cadherin蛋白,促进乳腺癌细胞迁移和侵袭。结论:PAK5可能参与调节乳腺肿瘤细胞发生上皮－间质转化,促进乳腺肿瘤侵袭转移的发生。     

Coronin 3 promotes gastric cancer metastasis via the up-regulation of MMP-9 and cathepsin K

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Coronins are a family of highly evolutionary conserved proteins reportedly involved in the regulation of actin cytoskeletal dynamics, although only coronin 3 has been shown to be related to cancer cell migration. In glioblastoma cells, the knockdown of coronin 3 inhibits cell proliferation and invasion. Coronin 3 is also associated with the aggression and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma. In this paper, we analyze the migration, invasion and metastasis abilities of gastric cancer cells after up- or down-regulation of coronin 3, and explore the mechanism of coronin 3 in the process of gastric cancer metastasis. RESULTS: The expression of coronin 3 was higher in the highly metastatic sub-cell line MKN28-M, which we established in our laboratory. We also demonstrated that the expression of coronin 3 was remarkably higher in lymph lode metastases than in primary gastric cancer tissues, and over-expression of coronin 3 was correlated with the increased clinical stage and lymph lode metastasis. Recombinant lentiviral vectors encoding shRNAs were designed to down-regulate coronin 3 expression in gastric cancer cell lines. Stable knockdown of coronin 3 by this lentiviral vector could efficiently inhibit the migration and invasion of MKN45 gastric cancer cells. In contrast, up-regulation of coronin 3 significantly enhanced migration and invasion of MKN28-NM cells. In addition, knockdown of coronin 3 significantly reduced liver metastasis in mice after tail vein injection of gastric cancer cells. The Human Tumor Metastasis PCR Array was used to screen the metastasis-associated genes identified by the down-regulation of coronin 3, and the results suggested that, following the knockdown of coronin 3, the tumor cell migration and invasion were inhibited by the reduced expression of MMP-9 and cathepsin K. CONCLUSION: Coronin 3 is highly expressed in gastric cancer metastases and can promote the metastatic behaviors of gastric cancer cells, including their migration and invasion.     

环加氧酶-2 通过调控EMT促进乳腺癌MDA-MB-231 细胞的迁移和侵袭

[摘要] 目的：探讨环加氧酶-2（COX-2）在乳腺癌转移中的作用及其可能的机制。方法：收集从2015 年10 月至2018 年4 月在云南省肿瘤医院接受乳腺切除术的患者中获得的原发乳腺癌组织和脑转移乳腺癌组织临床病理样本共45 例,其中原发30 例、脑转移15 例。采用qPCR检测COX-2 在原位乳腺癌和脑转移乳腺癌组织中的表达。将COX-2 过表达重组病毒（LV6-COX2）或敲减COX-2 重组病毒（LV3-COX2 shRNA1、LV3-COX2 shRNA2）感染人乳腺癌MDA-MB-231 细胞并获得稳转细胞株后,CCK-8法检测COX-2 表达对MDA-MB-231 细胞增殖的影响,划痕实验和Transwell 法检测对MDA-MB-231 细胞迁移和侵袭的影响。qPCR和WB实验分析各组细胞中COX-2 mRNA和蛋白的表达水平,qPCR检测COX-2 表达对MDA-MB-231 细胞内EMT相关基因表达的影响。结果：COX-2 表达水平在脑转移乳腺癌患者组织中显著高于原位乳腺癌组织（P<0.01）;并且与乳腺癌患者肿瘤TMN分期有关。成功构建稳定过表达/敲减COX-2 的MDA-MB-231 细胞株。过表达COX-2 促进MDA-MB-231 细胞的迁移和侵袭（均P<0.01）,同时显著提高MMP2、MMP1、N-cadherin 和vimentin 的表达（均P<0.01）,但对细胞增殖无明显影响;而沉默COX-2 则有相反的作用,且可促进细胞增殖（P<0.05）。结论：COX-2 在脑转移乳腺癌组织中高表达,其可能通过调控EMT过程促进乳腺癌MDA-MB-231 细胞的迁移和侵袭。     

p19Arf inhibits the invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by binding to C-terminal binding protein

The INK4A/ARF tumor suppressor locus is frequently inactivated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), yet the consequences of this remain unknown. We recently described a HCC mouse model in which loss of the Ink4a/Arf locus accelerates the development of metastasis and enhances tumor cell migration and invasion in cell culture assays. We show here that knockdown of p19Arf in an HCC cell line increases invasion in cell culture assays. Furthermore, reintroduction of p19(Arf) into HCC cell lines lacking Ink4a/Arf inhibits tumor cell invasion, without affecting cell proliferation, or cell transformation as measured by soft agar colony formation. Inhibition of cell invasion by p19(Arf) was dependent on its C-terminal binding protein (CtBP) interaction domain but independent of Mdm2 binding and nucleolar localization. Indeed, RNA interference-mediated knockdown of CtBP1 or CtBP2 decreased cell invasion, and ectopic expression of CtBP2 enhanced tumor cell migration and invasion. Thus, our data indicate a novel role for the Arf tumor suppressor protein in regulating phenotypes associated with tumor progression and metastasis in HCC cells.