scholarly journals Harnessing Carcinoma Cell Plasticity Mediated by TGF-β Signaling

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3397
Author(s):  
Xuecong Wang ◽  
Jean Paul Thiery
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Carcinoma Cell ◽  
Therapy Resistance ◽  
Carcinoma Cells ◽  
Cell Plasticity ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Tgfβ Receptor ◽  
Receptor Signaling Pathway ◽  
Cancer Dissemination

Epithelial cell plasticity, a hallmark of carcinoma progression, results in local and distant cancer dissemination. Carcinoma cell plasticity can be achieved through epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), with cells positioned seemingly indiscriminately across the spectrum of EMT phenotypes. Different degrees of plasticity are achieved by transcriptional regulation and feedback-loops, which confer carcinoma cells with unique properties of tumor propagation and therapy resistance. Decoding the molecular and cellular basis of EMT in carcinoma should enable the discovery of new therapeutic strategies against cancer. In this review, we discuss the different attributes of plasticity in carcinoma and highlight the role of the canonical TGFβ receptor signaling pathway in the acquisition of plasticity. We emphasize the potential stochasticity of stemness in carcinoma in relation to plasticity and provide data from recent clinical trials that seek to target plasticity.

scholarly journals Cell Plasticity and Prostate Cancer: The Role of Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition in Tumor Progression, Invasion, Metastasis and Cancer Therapy Resistance

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2795
Author(s):  
Sofia Papanikolaou ◽  
Aikaterini Vourda ◽  
Spyros Syggelos ◽  
Kostis Gyftopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Cancer Therapy ◽  
Tumor Progression ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Metastatic Tumor ◽  
Therapy Resistance ◽  
Cellular Process ◽  
Cell Plasticity ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition

Prostate cancer, the second most common malignancy in men, is characterized by high heterogeneity that poses several therapeutic challenges. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a dynamic, reversible cellular process which is essential in normal embryonic morphogenesis and wound healing. However, the cellular changes that are induced by EMT suggest that it may also play a central role in tumor progression, invasion, metastasis, and resistance to current therapeutic options. These changes include enhanced motility and loss of cell–cell adhesion that form a more aggressive cellular phenotype. Moreover, the reverse process (MET) is a necessary element of the metastatic tumor process. It is highly probable that this cell plasticity reflects a hybrid state between epithelial and mesenchymal status. In this review, we describe the underlying key mechanisms of the EMT-induced phenotype modulation that contribute to prostate tumor aggressiveness and cancer therapy resistance, in an effort to provide a framework of this complex cellular process.

scholarly journals Quantifying Cancer Epithelial-Mesenchymal Plasticity and its Association with Stemness and Immune Response

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongya Jia ◽  
Xuefei Li ◽  
Federico Bocci ◽  
Shubham Tripathi ◽  
Youyuan Deng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Immune Suppression ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Therapy Resistance ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
Systematic Understanding ◽  
Small Clusters ◽  
Stable Hybrid

Cancer cells can acquire a spectrum of stable hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal (E/M) states during epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Cells in these hybrid E/M phenotypes often combine epithelial and mesenchymal features and tend to migrate collectively commonly as small clusters. Such collectively migrating cancer cells play a pivotal role in seeding metastases and their presence in cancer patients indicates an adverse prognostic factor. Moreover, cancer cells in hybrid E/M phenotypes tend to be more associated with stemness which endows them with tumor-initiation ability and therapy resistance. Most recently, cells undergoing EMT have been shown to promote immune suppression for better survival. A systematic understanding of the emergence of hybrid E/M phenotypes and the connection of EMT with stemness and immune suppression would contribute to more effective therapeutic strategies. In this review, we first discuss recent efforts combining theoretical and experimental approaches to elucidate mechanisms underlying EMT multi-stability (i.e., the existence of multiple stable phenotypes during EMT) and the properties of hybrid E/M phenotypes. Following we discuss non-cell-autonomous regulation of EMT by cell cooperation and extracellular matrix. Afterwards, we discuss various metrics that can be used to quantify EMT spectrum. We further describe possible mechanisms underlying the formation of clusters of circulating tumor cells. Last but not least, we summarize recent systems biology analysis of the role of EMT in the acquisition of stemness and immune suppression.

scholarly journals Breast tumor cell-specific knockout of Twist1 inhibits cancer cell plasticity, dissemination, and lung metastasis in mice

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (43) ◽  
pp. 11494-11499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yixiang Xu ◽  
Dong-Kee Lee ◽  
Zhen Feng ◽  
Yan Xu ◽  
Wen Bu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Lung Metastasis ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Cell Plasticity ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition

Twist1 is an epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-inducing transcription factor (TF) that promotes cell migration and invasion. To determine the intrinsic role of Twist1 in EMT and breast cancer initiation, growth, and metastasis, we developed mouse models with an oncogene-induced mammary tumor containing wild-type (WT) Twist1 or tumor cell-specific Twist1 knockout (Twist1TKO). Twist1 knockout showed no effects on tumor initiation and growth. In both models with early-stage tumor cells, Twist1, and mesenchymal markers were not expressed, and lung metastasis was absent. Twist1 expression was detected in ∼6% of the advanced WT tumor cells. Most of these Twist1+ cells coexpressed several other EMT-inducing TFs (Snail, Slug, Zeb2), lost ERα and luminal marker K8, acquired basal cell markers (K5, p63), and exhibited a partial EMT plasticity (E-cadherin+/vimentin+). In advanced Twist1TKO tumor cells, Twist1 knockout largely diminished the expression of the aforementioned EMT-inducing TFs and basal and mesenchymal markers, but maintained the expression of the luminal markers. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) were commonly detected in mice with advanced WT tumors, but not in mice with advanced Twist1TKO tumors. Nearly all WT CTCs coexpressed Twist1 with other EMT-inducing TFs and both epithelial and mesenchymal markers. Mice with advanced WT tumors developed extensive lung metastasis consisting of luminal tumor cells with silenced Twist1 and mesenchymal marker expression. Mice with advanced Twist1TKO tumors developed very little lung metastasis. Therefore, Twist1 is required for the expression of other EMT-inducing TFs in a small subset of tumor cells. Together, they induce partial EMT, basal-like tumor progression, intravasation, and metastasis.

scholarly journals miR-200c inhibits the invasive activity of primary adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma cells

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Liu ◽  
Daobao Zhang ◽  
Zhiyong Liu ◽  
Ruichao Liang ◽  
Tian Meng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Therapy Resistance ◽  
Transwell Assay ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Adamantinomatous Craniopharyngioma ◽  
E Cadherin

Abstract Backgrounds Craniopharyngiomas are benign epithelial tumors and difficult to complete due to the digitate brain infiltration. miR-200c has been studied in terms of development, stemness, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and therapy resistance in many cancers. However, the role of miR-200c remains to be elucidated in adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma.Methods Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to evaluate the expression of miR-200c, ZEB1, ZEB2, and CTNNB1. Immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and immunofluorescence analyses were used to evaluate the expression of E-cadherin and β-catenin at the protein level. A Transwell assay was used to evaluate the invasiveness of ten primary craniopharyngioma cell.Results miR-200c was significantly downregulated in adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma compared with papillary craniopharyngioma. Conversely, ZEB1, ZEB2, and CTNNB1 were overexpressed in adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma. Inhibition of miR-200c significantly promoted the invasion of primary adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma cells. Moreover, E-cadherin was overexpressed and β-catenin was downregulated in miR-200c mimic primary adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma cell culture.Conclusion Our data demonstrated that miR-200c maybe reduce the invasive activity of adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma cells through E-cadherin/β-catenin. These findings suggest that the targets of miR-200c may regulate the EMT of adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma.

scholarly journals Quantifying Cancer Epithelial-Mesenchymal Plasticity and Its Association with Stemness and Immune Response

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongya Jia ◽  
Xuefei Li ◽  
Federico Bocci ◽  
Shubham Tripathi ◽  
Youyuan Deng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Immune Suppression ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Therapy Resistance ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
Systematic Understanding ◽  
Small Clusters ◽  
Stable Hybrid

Cancer cells can acquire a spectrum of stable hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal (E/M) states during epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Cells in these hybrid E/M phenotypes often combine epithelial and mesenchymal features and tend to migrate collectively commonly as small clusters. Such collectively migrating cancer cells play a pivotal role in seeding metastases and their presence in cancer patients indicates an adverse prognostic factor. Moreover, cancer cells in hybrid E/M phenotypes tend to be more associated with stemness which endows them with tumor-initiation ability and therapy resistance. Most recently, cells undergoing EMT have been shown to promote immune suppression for better survival. A systematic understanding of the emergence of hybrid E/M phenotypes and the connection of EMT with stemness and immune suppression would contribute to more effective therapeutic strategies. In this review, we first discuss recent efforts combining theoretical and experimental approaches to elucidate mechanisms underlying EMT multi-stability (i.e. the existence of multiple stable phenotypes during EMT) and the properties of hybrid E/M phenotypes. Following we discuss non-cell-autonomous regulation of EMT by cell cooperation and extracellular matrix. Afterwards, we discuss various metrics that can be used to quantify EMT spectrum. We further describe possible mechanisms underlying the formation of clusters of circulating tumor cells. Last but not least, we summarize recent systems biology analysis of the role of EMT in the acquisition of stemness and immune suppression.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastatic bladder cancer profile under vinflunine treatment.

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e22021-e22021
Author(s):  
Angelica Figueroa ◽  
Vanessa Abella ◽  
Guadalupe Aparicio ◽  
Mar Haz-Conde ◽  
Javier Gayo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanism ◽  
Bladder Carcinoma ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Carcinoma Cell ◽  
Human Bladder ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Carcinoma Cell Lines ◽  
Emt Markers ◽  
E Cadherin

e22021 Background: Given the role of vinflunine (VFL) in the microtubule dynamics and the link between microtubules and cell adhesions through cadherins, we have investigated the possible influence of VFL on adherens junctions through its interaction with microtubules. We have studied the implication of VFL on the reversion of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in bladder transitional cell carcinoma and explored a possible novel molecular mechanism. Methods: Four human bladder transitional carcinoma cell lines were used to carry out the following experimental procedure: Cytotoxicity assay by using MTT assay, qRTPCR to analyze mRNA markers of the EMT, Western blotting using specific antibodies for EMT markers, and immunofluorescence images, analyzed by epifluorescence microscopy. Results: Cell growth reduction was detected in human bladder carcinoma cells under VFL treatment compared to control. VFL induces mesenchymal to epithelial phenotype and modulates the EMT markers: E-cadherin and Cytokeratin-19 were enhanced under treatment, while significantly reduction of mRNA mesenchymal markers expression (Vimentin, N-cadherin) and EMT-transcriptional factors (Snail and Zeb1) was detected. Strong reduction of Hakai protein was seen under VFL treatment. Hakai was discovered as an E3 ubiquitin-ligase that mediates the posttranslational downregulation of E-cadherin. Epifluorescence images showed that VFL treatment promotes E-cadherin localization specifically at cell-cell contact; while, Hakai expression decreases its expression in the nuclei and cytoplasm. Conclusions: These results suggest that VFL up-regulates E-cadherin contributing to mesenchymal to epithelial transition, and that Hakai modulation might be the molecular mechanism by which the increasing E-cadherin at cell-cell contacts in bladder carcinoma cell lines is detected. Given the relevant in vitro role of VFL on E-cadherin expression and on the reversion of EMT process, we hypothesized that VFL could exert a clinical benefit in delaying the metastasis in urothelial tumors.

scholarly journals Different Shades of L1CAM in the Pathophysiology of Cancer Stem Cells

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Giordano ◽  
Ugo Cavallaro
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Therapy Resistance ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Cytotoxic Agents ◽  
Tumor Initiating Cells ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Tumor Types

L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) is aberrantly expressed in several tumor types where it is causally linked to malignancy and therapy resistance, acting also as a poor prognosis factor. Accordingly, several approaches have been developed to interfere with L1CAM function or to deliver cytotoxic agents to L1CAM-expressing tumors. Metastatic dissemination, tumor relapse and drug resistance can be fueled by a subpopulation of neoplastic cells endowed with peculiar biological properties that include self-renewal, efficient DNA repair, drug efflux machineries, quiescence, and immune evasion. These cells, known as cancer stem cells (CSC) or tumor-initiating cells, represent, therefore, an ideal target for tumor eradication. However, the molecular and functional traits of CSC have been unveiled only to a limited extent. In this context, it appears that L1CAM is expressed in the CSC compartment of certain tumors, where it plays a causal role in stemness itself and/or in biological processes intimately associated with CSC (e.g., epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and chemoresistance). This review summarizes the role of L1CAM in cancer focusing on its functional contribution to CSC pathophysiology. We also discuss the clinical usefulness of therapeutic strategies aimed at targeting L1CAM in the context of anti-CSC treatments.

scholarly journals ZNRF3 Inhibits the Invasion and Tumorigenesis in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells by Inactivating the Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 571-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongwei Wang ◽  
Yali Wang ◽  
Hongtao Ren ◽  
Yingying Jin ◽  
Ya Guo
Keyword(s):  
Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Ring Finger ◽  
Carcinoma Cells ◽  
Tumor Xenograft ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
And Function

Zinc and ring finger 3 (ZNRF3), which belongs to the E3 ubiquitin ligase family, is involved in the progression and development of cancer. However, the expression and function of ZNRF3 in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remain unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of ZNRF3 in human NPC. Our results showed that ZNRF3 was downregulated in NPC cell lines. Restoration of ZNRF3 significantly inhibited the proliferation of NPC cells and tumor xenograft growth in vivo. In addition, overexpression of ZNRF3 suppressed migration and invasion, as well as attenuated the epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in NPC cells. Furthermore, restoration of ZNRF3 obviously downregulated the expression levels of β-catenin, cyclin D1, and c-Myc in NPC cells. In conclusion, these data suggest that ZNRF3 inhibited the metastasis and tumorigenesis via suppressing the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in NPC cells. Thus, ZNRF3 may act as a novel molecular target for the treatment of NPC.

scholarly journals Lineage Plasticity in Cancer: The Tale of a Skin-walker

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Archana P. Thankamony ◽  
Ayalur Raghu Subbalakshmi ◽  
Mohit Kumar Jolly ◽  
Radhika Nair
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Progression ◽  
Tissue Repair ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Therapy Resistance ◽  
Therapeutic Resistance ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Lineage Switch ◽  
Lymphoid Lineage

Lineage plasticity, the switching of cells from one lineage to another has been recognized to be a cardinal property essential for embryonic development, tissue repair and homeostasis. However, such a highly regulated process goes awry when cancer cells exploit this inherent ability to their advantage, resulting in tumorigenesis, relapse, metastasis and therapy resistance. In this review, we summarize our current understanding on the role of lineage plasticity in tumor progression and therapeutic resistance in multiple cancers. Lineage plasticity can be triggered by treatment itself and is reported across various solid as well as liquid tumors. Here we focus on the importance of lineage switching in tumor progression and therapeutic resistance of solid tumors such as the prostate, lung, hepatocellular and colorectal carcinoma and the myeloid and lymphoid lineage switch observed in leukemias. Besides this, we also discuss the role of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in facilitating the lineage switch in biphasic cancers such as aggressive carcinosarcomas. We also discuss the mechanisms involved, current therapeutic approaches and challenges that lie ahead in taming the scourge of lineage plasticity in cancer.

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