scholarly journals Combustion-derived particles from biomass sources differently promote epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition on A549 cells

Author(s):  
Sara Marchetti ◽  
Rossella Bengalli ◽  
Pamela Floris ◽  
Anita Colombo ◽  
Paride Mantecca

AbstractCombustion-derived particles (CDPs), due to the presence in their composition of several toxic and carcinogenic chemical compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals, are linked to several respiratory diseases, including lung cancer. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial step in lung cancer progression, involving several morphological and phenotypical changes. The study aims to investigate how exposure to CDPs from different biomass sources might be involved in cancer development, focusing mainly on the effects linked to EMT and invasion on human A549 lung cells. Biomass combustion-derived particles (BCDPs) were collected from a stove fuelled with pellet, charcoal or wood, respectively. A time course and dose response evaluation on cell viability and pro-inflammatory response was performed to select the optimal conditions for EMT-related studies. A significant release of IL-8 was found after 72 h of exposure to 2.5 μg/cm2 BCDPs. The EMT activation was then examined by evaluating the expression of some typical markers, such as E-cadherin and N-cadherin, and the possible enhanced migration and invasiveness. Sub-acute exposure revealed that BCDPs differentially modulated cell viability, migration and invasion, as well as the expression of proteins linked to EMT. Results showed a reduction in the epithelial marker E-cadherin and a parallel increase in the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin, mainly after exposure to charcoal and wood. Migration and invasion were also increased. In conclusion, our results suggest that BCDPs with a higher content of organic compounds (e.g. PAHs) in their chemical composition might play a crucial role in inducing pro-carcinogenic effects on epithelial cells.

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 638
Author(s):  
Kittipong Sanookpan ◽  
Nongyao Nonpanya ◽  
Boonchoo Sritularak ◽  
Pithi Chanvorachote

Cancer metastasis is the major cause of about 90% of cancer deaths. As epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is known for potentiating metastasis, this study aimed to elucidate the effect of ovalitenone on the suppression of EMT and metastasis-related behaviors, including cell movement and growth under detached conditions, and cancer stem cells (CSCs), of lung cancer cells. Methods: Cell viability and cell proliferation were determined by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazo-liumbromide (MTT) and colony formation assays. Cell migration and invasion were analyzed using a wound-healing assay and Boyden chamber assay, respectively. Anchorage-independent cell growth was determined. Cell protrusions (filopodia) were detected by phalloidin-rhodamine staining. Cancer stem cell phenotypes were assessed by spheroid formation. The proteins involved in cell migration and EMT were evaluated by Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining. Results: Ovalitenone was used at concentrations of 0–200 μM. While it caused no cytotoxic effects on lung cancer H460 and A549 cells, ovalitenone significantly suppressed anchorage-independent growth, CSC-like phenotypes, colony formation, and the ability of the cancer to migrate and invade cells. The anti-migration activity was confirmed by the reduction of filopodia in the cells treated with ovalitenone. Interestingly, we found that ovalitenone could significantly decrease the levels of N-cadherin, snail, and slug, while it increased E-cadherin, indicating EMT suppression. Additionally, the regulatory signaling of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), ATP-dependent tyrosine kinase (AKT), the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and cell division cycle 42 (Cdc42) was suppressed by ovalitenone. Conclusions: The results suggest that ovalitenone suppresses EMT via suppression of the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. In addition, ovalitenone exhibited potential for the suppression of CSC phenotypes. These data reveal the anti-metastasis potential of the compound and support the development of ovalitenone treatment for lung cancer therapy.


Author(s):  
Wei-Zhen Liu ◽  
Nian Liu

Propofol has been widely used in lung cancer resections. Some studies have demonstrated that the effects of propofol might be mediated by microRNAs (miRNAs). This study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of propofol on lung cancer cells by regulation of miR-1284. A549 cells were treated with different concentrations of propofol, while transfected with miR-1284 inhibitor, si-FOXM1, and their negative controls. Cell viability, migration, and invasion, and the expression of miR-1284, FOXM1, and epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) factors were detected by CCK-8, Transwell, qRT-PCR, and Western blot assays, respectively. In addition, the regulatory and binding relationships among propofol, miR-1284, and FOXM1 were assessed, respectively. Results showed that propofol suppressed A549 cell viability, migration, and invasion, upregulated E-cadherin, and downregulated N-cadherin, vimentin, and Snail expressions. Moreover, propofol significantly promoted the expression of miR-1284. miR-1284 suppression abolished propofol-induced decreases of cell viability, migration, and invasion, and increased FOXM1 expression and the luciferase activity of FOXM1-wt. Further, miR-1284 negatively regulated FOXM1 expression. FOXM1 knockdown reduced cell viability, migration, and invasion by propofol treatment plus miR-1284 suppression. In conclusion, our study indicated that propofol could inhibit cell viability, migration, invasion, and the EMT process in lung cancer cells by regulation of miR-1284.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1484
Author(s):  
Adrianna Sławińska-Brych ◽  
Magdalena Mizerska-Kowalska ◽  
Sylwia Katarzyna Król ◽  
Andrzej Stepulak ◽  
Barbara Zdzisińska

Xanthohumol (XN), the main prenylated flavonoid from hop cones, has been recently reported to exert significant proapoptotic, anti-proliferative, and growth inhibitory effects against lung cancer in both in vitro and in vivo studies. However, its anti-metastatic potential towards this malignancy is still unrevealed. Previously, we indicated that the human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell line was sensitive to XN treatment. Therefore, using the same tumour cell model, we have studied the influence of XN on the phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-induced cell migration and invasion. The effects of XN on the expression/activity of pro-invasive MMP-9 and MMP-2 and the expression of MMP inhibitors, i.e., TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 (anti-angiogenic factors), were evaluated. Additionally, the influence of XN on the production of the key pro-angiogenic cytokine, i.e., VEGF, and the release of TGF-β, which is both a pro-angiogenic cytokine and an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) stimulator, was studied. Furthermore, the influence of XN on the expression of EMT-associated proteins such as E-cadherin and α-E-catenin (epithelial markers), vimentin and N-cadherin (mesenchymal markers), and Snail-1 (transcriptional repressor of E-cadherin) was studied. To elucidate the molecular mechanism underpinning the XN-mediated inhibition of metastatic progression in PMA-activated cells, the phosphorylation levels of AKT, FAK, and ERK1/2 kinases, which are signalling molecules involved in EMT program activation, were assayed. The results showed that XN in non-cytotoxic concentrations impaired the PMA-driven migratory and invasive capacity of A549 cells by decreasing the level of expression of MMP-9 and concomitantly increasing the expression of the TIMP-1 protein, i.e., a specific blocker of pro-MMP-9 activation. Moreover, XN decreased the PMA-induced production of VEGF and TGF-β. Furthermore, the XN-treatment counteracted the PMA-induced EMT of the A549 cells by the upregulation of E-cadherin and α-E-catenin and the downregulation of N-cadherin, vimentin, and Snail-1 expression. The proposed mechanism underlying the anti-invasive XN activity involved the inhibition of the ERK/MAPK pathway and suppression of FAK and PI3/AKT signalling. Our results suggesting migrastatic properties of XN against lung cancer cells require further verification in in vivo assays.


Cells ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Payal Mitra ◽  
Pazhanichamy Kalailingam ◽  
Hui Tan ◽  
Thirumaran Thanabalu

GRB2 is an adaptor protein which interacts with phosphorylated TGF-β receptor and is critical for mammary tumour growth. We found that TGF-β1-induced EMT increased GRB2 expression in A549 cells (non-small cell lung cancer). Overexpression of GRB2 (A549GRB2) enhanced cell invasion while knocking down GRB2 (A549GRB2KD) reduced cell migration and invasion, probably due to increased vinculin and reduced Paxillin patches in A549GRB2KD cell. TGF-β1-induced EMT was more pronounced in A549GRB2 cells and attenuated in A549GRB2KD cells. This could be due to the reduced expression of E-cadherin in A549GRB2 and increased expression of E-cadherin in A549GRB2KD cells, even before TGF-β1 stimulation. Expression of SNAIL was elevated in A549GRB2 cells and was further enhanced by TGF-β1 stimulation, suggesting that GRB2 down-regulates E-cadherin by enhancing the expression of SNAIL. The N-SH3 domain of GRB2 was critical for suppressing E-cadherin expression, while the C-SH3 domain of GRB2 mediating interaction with proteins such as N-WASP was critical for promoting invasion, and the SH2 domain was critical for suppressing E-cadherin expression and invasion. Thus, our data suggests that GRB2 enhances EMT by suppressing E-cadherin expression and promoting invasion probably through N-WASP to promote metastasis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-444
Author(s):  
Jiayi Ren ◽  
Lifang Wang ◽  
Jia Fu ◽  
Chunyang Wang ◽  
Yan Gong ◽  
...  

The incidence and mortality of lung cancer ranks first among all malignant tumors in the world. Because it is relatively asymptomatic at early stages, most patients do not become aware of the disease until it has progressed to an advanced stage. Advanced lung cancer metastasis results in systemic cachexia and effective treatment becomes challenging, leading to poor response and outcome. Therefore, the development of new drugs for the treatment of lung cancer is paramount. In this study, A549 cells were treated with different concentrations of red raspberry extract and the proliferation, migration, and invasion of cells were evaluated. The results indicated that red raspberry extract reduced the proliferation, migration, and invasion of A549 cells. Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression of the cyclin D1, N-cadherin, vimentin, E-cadherin, EGFR, and STAT3 proteins. Treatment with red raspberry extract reduced the expression of cyclin D1, N-cadherin, vimentin, EGFR, and STAT3, whereas the expression of E-cadherin increased. Following transfection of an EGFR overexpression vector into A549 cells, we observed a reduced inhibitory effect of the red raspberry extract on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of A549 cells. In addition, EGFR overexpression abrogated the increased expression of cyclin D1, N-cadherin, vimentin, EGFR, and STAT3 protein expression in A549 cells following extract treatment. In contrast, E-cadherin protein expression was decreased under these treatment conditions. Overall, this study suggests that red raspberry extract may reduce the proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelialmesenchymal transition of A549 lung cancer cells by inhibiting the activation of the EGFR/STAT3 signaling pathway. These findings may lead to the development of new strategies to treat advanced lung cancer.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2917
Author(s):  
Shun Wilford Tse ◽  
Chee Fan Tan ◽  
Jung Eun Park ◽  
JebaMercy Gnanasekaran ◽  
Nikhil Gupta ◽  
...  

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate critical intercellular communication within healthy tissues, but are also exploited by tumour cells to promote angiogenesis, metastasis, and host immunosuppression under hypoxic stress. We hypothesize that hypoxic tumours synthesize hypoxia-sensitive proteins for packing into EVs to modulate their microenvironment for cancer progression. In the current report, we employed a heavy isotope pulse/trace quantitative proteomic approach to study hypoxia sensitive proteins in tumour-derived EVs protein. The results revealed that hypoxia stimulated cells to synthesize EVs proteins involved in enhancing tumour cell proliferation (NRSN2, WISP2, SPRX1, LCK), metastasis (GOLM1, STC1, MGAT5B), stemness (STC1, TMEM59), angiogenesis (ANGPTL4), and suppressing host immunity (CD70). In addition, functional clustering analyses revealed that tumour hypoxia was strongly associated with rapid synthesis and EV loading of lysosome-related hydrolases and membrane-trafficking proteins to enhance EVs secretion. Moreover, lung cancer-derived EVs were also enriched in signalling molecules capable of inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition in recipient cancer cells to promote their migration and invasion. Together, these data indicate that lung-cancer-derived EVs can act as paracrine/autocrine mediators of tumorigenesis and metastasis in hypoxic microenvironments. Tumour EVs may, therefore, offer novel opportunities for useful biomarkers discovery and therapeutic targeting of different cancer types and at different stages according to microenvironmental conditions.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi-Chung Wang ◽  
Yuan-Ling Hsu ◽  
Chi-Jen Chang ◽  
Chia-Jen Wang ◽  
Tzu-Hung Hsiao ◽  
...  

Metastasis is a predominant cause of cancer death and the major challenge in treating lung adenocarcinoma (LADC). Therefore, exploring new metastasis-related genes and their action mechanisms may provide new insights for developing a new combative approach to treat lung cancer. Previously, our research team discovered that the expression of the inhibitor of DNA binding 4 (Id4) was inversely related to cell invasiveness in LADC cells by cDNA microarray screening. However, the functional role of Id4 and its mechanism of action in lung cancer metastasis remain unclear. In this study, we report that the expression of Id4 could attenuate cell migration and invasion in vitro and cancer metastasis in vivo. Detailed analyses indicated that Id4 could promote E-cadherin expression through the binding of Slug, cause the occurrence of mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET), and inhibit cancer metastasis. Moreover, the examination of the gene expression database (GSE31210) also revealed that high-level expression of Id4/E-cadherin and low-level expression of Slug were associated with a better clinical outcome in LADC patients. In summary, Id4 may act as a metastatic suppressor, which could not only be used as an independent predictor but also serve as a potential therapeutic for LADC treatment.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Ke ◽  
Weiyong Zhao ◽  
Jie Xiong ◽  
Rubo Cao

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implied to play crucial roles for epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of non-small-cell lung cancer cells (NSCLC cells). Here we found that the expression of miR-149, downregulated in lung cancer, was inversely correlated with invasive capability and the EMT phenotype of NSCLC cells. miR-149 inhibited EMT in NSCLC cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that miR-149 directly targeted Forkhead box M1 (FOXM1), and FOXM1 was involved in the EMT induced by TGF-β1 in A549 cells. Overexpression of FOXM1 restored EMT process inhibited by miR-149. Our work suggested that miR-149 might be an EMT suppressor in NSCLC cells.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Loukia G. Karacosta ◽  
Benedict Anchang ◽  
Nikolaos Ignatiadis ◽  
Samuel C. Kimmey ◽  
Jalen A. Benson ◽  
...  

AbstractElucidating the spectrum of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) states in clinical samples promises insights on cancer progression and drug resistance. Using mass cytometry time-course analysis, we resolve lung cancer EMT states through TGFβ-treatment and identify, through TGFβ-withdrawal, a distinct MET state. We demonstrate significant differences between EMT and MET trajectories using a computational tool (TRACER) for reconstructing trajectories between cell states. In addition, we construct a lung cancer reference map of EMT and MET states referred to as the EMT-MET PHENOtypic STAte MaP (PHENOSTAMP). Using a neural net algorithm, we project clinical samples onto the EMT-MET PHENOSTAMP to characterize their phenotypic profile with single-cell resolution in terms of our in vitro EMT-MET analysis. In summary, we provide a framework to phenotypically characterize clinical samples in the context of in vitro EMT-MET findings which could help assess clinical relevance of EMT in cancer in future studies.


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