Canonical BMP signaling executes epithelial-mesenchymal transition downstream of SNAIL1
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE143297 | GEO | 2020/04/22
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) superfamily signaling is a prime inducer of epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMT) that foster cancer cell invasion and metastasis, a major cause of cancer-related deaths. Yet, TGFβ signaling is frequently inactivated in human tumor entities including colorectal cancer (CRC) and pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) with a high proportion of mutations incapacitating SMAD4, which codes for a transcription factor (TF) central to canonical TGFβ and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling. Beyond its role in initiating EMT, SMAD4 was reported to crucially contribute to subsequent gene regulatory events during EMT execution. It is therefore widely assumed that SMAD4-mutant (SMAD4mut) cancer cells are unable to undergo EMT. Here, we scrutinized this notion and probed for potential SMAD4-independent EMT execution using SMAD4mut CRC cell lines. We show that SMAD4mut cells exhibit morphological changes, become invasive, and regulate EMT marker genes upon induction of the EMT-TF SNAIL1. Furthermore, SNAIL1-induced EMT in SMAD4mut cells was found to be entirely independent of TGFβ/BMP receptor activity. Global assessment of the SNAIL1‑dependent transcriptome confirmed the manifestation of an EMT gene regulatory program in SMAD4mut cells highly related to established EMT signatures. Finally, analyses of human tumor transcriptomes showed that SMAD4 mutations are not underrepresented in mesenchymal tumor samples and that expression patterns of EMT‑associated genes are similar in SMAD4mut and SMAD4 wild-type cases. Altogether, our findings reveal considerable plasticity of gene regulatory networks operating in EMT execution and establish that EMT is not categorically precluded in SMAD4mut tumors, which is relevant for their diagnostic and therapeutic evaluation. To identify genes regulated during EMT execution in HT29 cells, two clonal HT29 cell populations (4F5 and 3C2) overexpressing Snail1-HA in a doxycycline (Dox)-inducible manner, as well as control cells were treated with Dox for different periods of time.
2021-11-29 | GSE169735 | GEO
Project description:Cell plasticity is emerging as a key regulator of tumor progression and metastasis. During carcinoma dissemination epithelial cells undergo epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes characterized by the acquisition of migratory/invasive properties, while the reverse, mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) process, is also essential for metastasis outgrowth. Different transcription factors, called EMT-TFs, including Snail, bHLH and Zeb families are drivers of the EMT branch of epithelial plasticity, and can be post-transcriptionally downregulated by several miRNAs, as the miR-200 family. The specific or redundant role of different EMT-TFs and their functional interrelations are not fully understood. To study the interplay between different EMT-TFs, comprehensive gain and loss-of-function studies of Snail1, Snail2 and/or Zeb1 factors were performed in the prototypical MDCK cell model system. We here describe that Snail1 and Zeb1 are mutually required for EMT induction while continuous Snail1 and Snail2 expression, but not Zeb1, is needed for maintenance of the mesenchymal phenotype in MDCK cells. In this model system, EMT is coordinated by Snail1 and Zeb1 through transcriptional and epigenetic downregulation of the miR-200 family. Interestingly, Snail1 is involved in epigenetic CpG DNA methylation of the miR-200 loci, essential to maintain the mesenchymal phenotype. The present results thus define a novel functional interplay between Snail and Zeb EMT-TFs in miR200f regulation providing a molecular link to their previous involvement in the generation of EMT process in vivo. Expression analysis of MDCK over-expression EMT-TF Analysis of 7 overexpression MDCK cells each of them using biological rpelicates (MDCK-E47, Snail2, Snail1, Twist1, Tiwst2, Zeb1, Zeb2)
2014-09-09 | E-GEOD-61217 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Cell plasticity is emerging as a key regulator of tumor progression and metastasis. During carcinoma dissemination epithelial cells undergo epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes characterized by the acquisition of migratory/invasive properties, while the reverse, mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) process, is also essential for metastasis outgrowth. Different transcription factors, called EMT-TFs, including Snail, bHLH and Zeb families are drivers of the EMT branch of epithelial plasticity, and can be post-transcriptionally downregulated by several miRNAs, as the miR-200 family. The specific or redundant role of different EMT-TFs and their functional interrelations are not fully understood. To study the interplay between different EMT-TFs, comprehensive gain and loss-of-function studies of Snail1, Snail2 and/or Zeb1 factors were performed in the prototypical MDCK cell model system. We here describe that Snail1 and Zeb1 are mutually required for EMT induction while continuous Snail1 and Snail2 expression, but not Zeb1, is needed for maintenance of the mesenchymal phenotype in MDCK cells. In this model system, EMT is coordinated by Snail1 and Zeb1 through transcriptional and epigenetic downregulation of the miR-200 family. Interestingly, Snail1 is involved in epigenetic CpG DNA methylation of the miR-200 loci, essential to maintain the mesenchymal phenotype. The present results thus define a novel functional interplay between Snail and Zeb EMT-TFs in miR200f regulation providing a molecular link to their previous involvement in the generation of EMT process in vivo. Expression analysis of MDCK over-expression EMT-TF
2014-09-09 | GSE61217 | GEO
Project description:During Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), apical-basal polarized epithelial cells are converted to front-to-back polarized mesenchymal cells that only form loose cell-cell adhesions. These phenotypic changes are accompanied by acquisition of increased motility and invasiveness. EMT programs are orchestrated by pleiotropic transcription factors (TFs), such as Twist1 and Snail1 and effect morphogenetic steps during embryogenesis, including mesoderm formation and neural crest migration. EMTs have also been implicated in the acquisition of aggressive traits by carcinoma cells, including the ability to complete several steps of the metastatic cascade as well as propagation of the tumor by single cells (clonogenicity), a defining trait of tumor-initiating or cancer stem cells. However, the molecular links between the expression of EMT-TFs, the process of EMT and acquisition of clonogenicity remain obscure. Using inducible Twist1 or Snail1 expressed in CD24-positive mammary epithelial cells, we show that clonal growth in anchorage independence and EMT are induced sequentially and independently: clonogenic potential is induced prior to EMT and requires transient TF-activity. By contrast, EMT depends on continuous TF-activation over a longer period. In 3D-collagen assays, continuous Twist1 activity suppresses colony formation, whereas transient activation induces highly invasive growth independently of EMT. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that transient Twist1 activation suffices to drive tumor progression of CD24-positive breast epithelial cells, assessed by invasive as well as anchorage-independent clonal growth, whereas chronic Twist1 exposure can suppress these traits of aggressive tumor cells. We performed gene expression microarray analysis on CD24high and CD24negative populations derived from HMLE-Twist1-ER or HMLE-Snail1-ER cell lines upon various culture conditions
2015-07-02 | E-GEOD-61206 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Recent fate mapping studies concluded that EMT is not required for metastasis of carcinomas. Here we challenge this conclusion by showing that it failed to account for possible crosstalk between EMT and non-EMT cells that promotes dissemination of non-EMT cells. In breast cancer models, EMT cells induce increased metastasis of weakly metastatic, non-EMT tumor cells in a paracrine manner in part by non-cell autonomous activation of the GLI transcription factor. Treatment with GANT61, a GLI1/2 inhibitor, but not with IPI-926, a Smoothened inhibitor, blocks this effect, and inhibits growth in PDX models. In human breast tumors, the EMT-TFs strongly correlate with activated Hedgehog/GLI signaling, but not with the Hh ligands. Our findings indicate that EMT contributes to metastasis in part via non-cell autonomous effects that activate the Hh pathway. While all Hh inhibitors may act against tumors with canonical Hh/GLI signaling, only GLI inhibitors would act against EMT-induced GLI activation. In recent years, immunohistochemical analyses and multiplex high-throughput single cell sequencing of human tumor cells have shown that tumors are composed of diverse cell subpopulations containing different driver mutations, gene and protein expression profiles, growth rates, and responses to chemotherapeutics. Such heterogeneity is exacerbated by cellular plasticity, where some cells may undergo oncogenic epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), resulting in loss of cell-cell adhesion and polarity, reduced epithelial and elevated mesenchymal protein expression, increased migration and invasion, and enhanced dissemination from the primary tumor. Because metastases in patients appear epithelial, the reverse process, mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET), may occur to allow tumor cell colonization in secondary metastatic sites, establishing cellular plasticity as an important aspect of tumor progression. However, the role of EMT in carcinoma metastasis is controversial. Recent lineage tracing studies argue against the requirement of EMT for metastasis, as reporter-tagged cells that underwent a previous EMT were not found at the secondary site. However, these studies did not address the potential cooperation between EMT and non-EMT cells during the metastatic process, as EMT cancer cells may enable non-EMT cells to gain access to the secondary site, leading to macrometastatic growth. Thus, metastasis can be influenced by intratumoral heterogeneity: where a small proportion of primary tumor cells that have undergone an EMT may influence neighboring, non-EMT tumor cells. Twist1, Snail1, and Six1 are EMT-inducing transcription factors (EMT-TFs) that have all been associated with breast cancer metastasis. All three EMT-TFs regulate critical developmental processes such as cell survival, migration and invasion; in part by influencing EMT. In addition, they are downregulated post-embryogenesis, but re-expressed in various cancers where they cell autonomously induce EMT, resulting in increased percentages of tumor initiating cells (TICs) and enhanced metastasis. In carcinomas, Twist1 and Snail1 transcriptionally repress E-Cadherin (E- Cad) and upregulate mesenchymal genes. Similarly, Six1 overexpression induces EMT by regulating E-Cad localization and altering other EMT markers. During development and cancer, EMT-TFs act in concert with several signaling networks including TGFβ, Wnt, and Hedghog (Hh). The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is a prominent regulator of embryonic development, where Hh ligands function as morphogens to control numerous developmental processes. Interestingly, in Drosophila eye development, hh is a direct target of sine oculis (the homolog of Six1) and Six1 regulates Hh/GLI signaling during lung development and in fibroblasts. Additionally, Twist1 and Hh/GLI signaling are intimately linked during development, and recently Twist1 and Snail1 were associated with the Hh pathway in TICs. In mammals, canonical activation of Hh/GLI signaling involves binding of one the Hh ligands such as(either, Desert (DHH), Indian (IHH), or Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) to Patched-1 (PTCH1) or Patched-2 (PTCH2) receptors, relieving the inhibitory activity of PTCH on Smoothened (SMO). When inhibition is relieved, levels of the transcriptional activator forms of one or more GLI transcription factors (GLI1, 2, or 3) increase in the nucleus, resulting in activation of Hh target genes 12. Non-canonical activation of the GLI TFs can occur in a Hh- or SMO-independent manner via secreted factors like TGF-β19. Importantly, autocrine and paracrine Hh-mediated crosstalk between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment 20 results in increased proliferation, stem cell self-renewal and metastasis in various cancers 21. In basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and medulloblastoma, activated Hh signaling is often due to mutations in pathway components such as PTCH and SMO, while in other tumor types including breast, mutations are not observed at high frequency. Instead there is evidence for Hh ligand-dependent pathway hyperactivity. Because numerous studies link Hh signaling to progression in multiple tumor types, derivatives of cyclopamine (e.g. GDC-0449 and IPI926), a naturally occurring plant-derived steroidal alkaloid which targets SMO, are in clinical trials for select patients with BCC and medulloblastoma with promising efficacy. However, these inhibitors have not shown promise in breast cancer despite evidence for activation of this pathway. Herein, we demonstrate that EMT-TFs Twist1, Snail1 and Six1 influence neighboring carcinoma cells in a non-cell autonomous manner, by increasing EMT features and aggressive properties of cells not expressing these TFs. Six1 is a key mediator of the non-cell autonomous effects downstream of Twist1 and Snail1, and can induce metastasis of non-Six1, non-EMT cells. All three EMT-TFs function non-cell autonomously by activation of GLI-mediated transcription in non-EMT cells, but employ different mechanisms of pathway activation, some of which are Hh ligand and SMO-independent. We find that pharmacological inhibition of GLI, but not SMO, in the non-EMT cells efficiently inhibits the non-cell autonomous phenotypes imparted by all three EMT-TFs. Importantly, we demonstrate that in selected patient derived breast cancer xenograft (PDX) models endogenously expressing high levels of these EMT-TFs (but not Hh ligands), GANT61 (a GLI1/2 inhibitor) inhibits tumor growth whereas IPI926 (a SMO inhibitor) did not. Our data suggest that upstream SMO inhibitors may not prove efficacious in tumors where a proportion of cells activate GLI-TF via EMT-TFs, and instead argue that inhibitors directly targeting GLI may be more effective.
2017-04-13 | GSE97726 | GEO
Project description:This model is an expansion of the Regan2022 - Mechanosensitive EMT model (MODEL2208050001); it includes a TGFβ signaling module and autocrine signaling in mesenchymal cells. The expanded 150-node (630 link) modular model undergoes EMT triggered by biomechanical and growth signaling crosstalk, or by TGFβ. As its predecessor, this model also reproduces the ability of the core EMT transcriptional network to maintain distinct epithelial, hybrid E/M and mesenchymal states, as well as EMT driven by mitogens such as EGF on stiff ECM. We also reproduce the observed lack of stepwise MET, in that our model's dynamics does not pass through the hybrid E/M state during MET. We show that in the absence of strong autocrine signals such as TGFβ (not included in this version), cells cannot maintain their mesenchymal state in the absence of mitogens, on softer matrices, or at high cell density. In contrast, potent autocrine signaling can stabilize the mesenchymal state in all but very dense monolayers on soft ECM. This expanded model also reproduces the inhibitory effects of TGFβ on proliferation and anoikis resistance in mesenchymal cells, as well as its ability to trigger apoptosis on soft ECM vs. EMT on stiff matrices. The model offers several experimentally testable predictions related to the effect of neighbors on partial vs. full EMT, the tug of war between mitosis and the maintenance of migratory hybrid E/M states, as well as cell cycle defects in dynamic, heterogeneous populations of epithelial, hybrid E/M and mesenchymal cells.
2023-12-13 | MODEL2208050002 | BioModels
Project description:Snail1 transcriptional factor is essential for triggering epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and inducing tumor cell invasion. We report here that Snail1 plays also a key role in tumor associated fibroblasts since is necessary for enhancement by these cells on epithelial cells tumor invasion. Snail1 expression in fibroblast requires signals derived from tumor cells such as TGF-b; reciprocally, in fibroblasts Snail1 organizes a complex program that favors collective invasion of epithelial cells at least in part by the secretion of diffusible signaling molecules, such as prostaglandin E2. The capability of human or murine tumor-derived cancer associated fibroblasts to promote tumor invasion is associated to Snail1 expression and obliterated by Snail1 depletion. In vivo experiments show that tumor cells co-transplanted with Snail1 depleted fibroblasts show lower invasion than those xenografted with control fibroblasts. Finally Snail1 depletion in mice prevents the formation of breast tumors and decreased their invasion. Therefore, these results demonstrate that the role of Snail1 in tumor invasion is not limited to its effect in EMT but dependent on its expression in stromal fibroblasts where it orchestrates its activation and the crosstalk with epithelial cells.
2016-12-22 | GSE74057 | GEO
Project description:Snail1 transcriptional factor is essential for triggering epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and inducing tumor cell invasion. We report here that Snail1 plays also a key role in tumor associated fibroblasts since is necessary for enhancement by these cells on epithelial cells tumor invasion. Snail1 expression in fibroblast requires signals derived from tumor cells such as TGF-b; reciprocally, in fibroblasts Snail1 organizes a complex program that favors collective invasion of epithelial cells at least in part by the secretion of diffusible signaling molecules, such as prostaglandin E2. The capability of human or murine tumor-derived cancer associated fibroblasts to promote tumor invasion is associated to Snail1 expression and obliterated by Snail1 depletion. In vivo experiments show that tumor cells co-transplanted with Snail1 depleted fibroblasts show lower invasion than those xenografted with control fibroblasts. Finally Snail1 depletion in mice prevents the formation of breast tumors and decreased their invasion. Therefore, these results demonstrate that the role of Snail1 in tumor invasion is not limited to its effect in EMT but dependent on its expression in stromal fibroblasts where it orchestrates its activation and the crosstalk with epithelial cells.
2016-12-22 | GSE74056 | GEO
Project description:TGFβ Induced SMAD4 Dependent Apoptosis Proceeded by EMT in CRC
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Project description:To test if ectopic overexpression of hepsin (TMPRSS1) induces TGFβ signaling in the context of tumorigenesis, we made use of a previously published tumor syngraft model of Myc-driven breast cancer (Partanen et al., 2012 PMID: 22308451). Wap-Myc mammary tumor cells, which express high Myc levels, were isolated from donor mice, transduced with the pIND21-HPN lentiviral construct that allows doxycycline (DOX)-induced hepsin overexpression, and subsequentially transplanted into recipient mice. Consistent with the notion that hepsin promotes TGFβ signaling, western blot analysis revealed increased phospho-Smad2/3 and upregulation of the TGFβ signaling downstream target SNAIL in Wap-Myc tumors with DOX-induced hepsin overexpression compared to control (-DOX) tumors. RNAseq analysis of these tumors provided additional evidence for TGFβ pathway upregulation by hepsin as the most significantly upregulated gene signatures corresponded to the TGFβ signaling pathway. The largest cluster of gene signatures affected by hepsin overexpression, however, was related to the ECM and integrins.
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