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- Title
Astrocyte elevated gene-1(AEG-1) induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lung cancer through activating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.
- Authors
Weiling He; Shanyang He; Zuo Wang; Hongwei Shen; Wenfeng Fang; Yang Zhang; Wei Qian; Millicent Lin; Jinglun Yuan; Jinyang Wang; Wenhua Huang; Liantang Wang; Zunfu Ke
- Abstract
Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a highly metastatic cancer with limited therapeutic options, so development of novel therapies that target NSCLC is needed. During the early stage of metastasis, the cancer cells undergo an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a phase in which Wnt/β-catenin signaling is known to be involved. Simultaneously, AEG-1 has been demonstrated to activate Wnt-mediated signaling in some malignant tumors. Methods: Human NSCLC cell lines and xenograft of NSCLC cells in nude mice were used to investigate the effects of AEG-1 on EMT. EMT or Wnt/β-catenin pathway-related proteins were characterized by western blot, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry. Results: In the present study, we demonstrated that astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) ectopic overexpression promoted EMT, which resulted from the down-regulation of E-cadherin and up-regulation of Vimentin in lung cancer cell lines and clinical lung cancer specimens. Using an orthotopic xenograft-mouse model, we also observed that AEG-1 overexpression in human carcinoma cells led to the development of multiple lymph node metastases and elevated mesenchymal markers such as Vimentin, which is a characteristic of cells in EMT. Furthermore, AEG-1 functioned as a critical protein in the regulation of EMT by directly targeting multiple positive regulators of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade, including GSK-3β and CKIδ. Notably, overexpression of AEG-1 in metastatic cancer tissues was closely associated with poor survival of NSCLC patients. Conclusions: These results reveal the critical role of AEG-1 in EMT and suggest that AEG-1 may be a prognostic biomarker and its targeted inhibition may be utilized as a novel therapy for NSCLC.
- Subjects
LUNG cancer treatment; ASTROCYTES; WNT genes; TRANSITIONAL cell carcinoma; CATENINS; EPITHELIAL cells; MESENCHYME
- Publication
BMC Cancer, 2015, Vol 15, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
1471-2407
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1186/s12885-015-1124-1