Snail and Slug, key regulators of TGF-beta-induced EMT, are sufficient for the induction of single-cell invasion
- Authors
- Naber, H.P., Drabsch, Y., Snaar-Jagalska, B.E., Ten Dijke, P., and van Laar, T.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-130507-3
- Date
- 2013
- Source
- Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 435(1): 58-63 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Snaar-Jagalska, Ewa B.
- Keywords
- TGF-β, single cell invasion, EMT, slug, snail
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Blotting, Western
- Cell Line
- Cell Movement/drug effects*
- Cell Movement/genetics
- Embryo, Nonmammalian/drug effects
- Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism
- Embryo, Nonmammalian/pathology
- Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/drug effects*
- Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/genetics
- Gene Expression/drug effects
- Humans
- Mice
- Neoplasm Invasiveness/genetics
- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Transcription Factors/genetics
- Transcription Factors/metabolism*
- Transforming Growth Factor beta3/pharmacology*
- Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays/methods
- Zebrafish/embryology
- Zebrafish/genetics
- PubMed
- 23618854 Full text @ Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun.
TGF-β plays a dual role in cancer; in early stages it inhibits tumor growth, whereas later it promotes invasion and metastasis. TGF-β is thought to be pro-invasive by inducing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) via induction of transcriptional repressors, including Slug and Snail.
In this study, we investigated the role of Snail and Slug in TGF-β-induced invasion in an in vitro invasion assay and in an embryonic zebrafish xenograft model. Ectopic expression of Slug or Snail promoted invasion of single, rounded amoeboid cells in in vitro. In an embryonic zebrafish xenograft model, ectopic expression of Slug and Snail promoted single cell invasion and metastasis. Slug and Snail are sufficient for the induction of single-cell invasion in an in vitro invasion assay and in an embryonic zebrafish xenograft model.