The process of metastasis is when cancer cells gain motility and spread to other sites of the body. Because this is one of the main causes of cancer-related deaths, researchers have aimed to develop therapeutic strategies that can block metastasis. In a recent article published in Cell Reports, a team led by researchers describe how a cell signaling molecule called transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) can help oral cancer cells acquire such dangerous motility.
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurs when cancer cells obtain more stem-like and invasive properties, and is induced by various signals and stimuli within the tumor microenvironment. The group focused on the signaling molecule TGF-β as its reported effects seem contradictory: TGF-β can induce EMT in cancer cells but also seems to block their proliferation by keeping them in an early phase of the cell division cycle called G1. Therefore, the researchers aimed to characterize the molecular details of these mechanisms at the single-cell level.
“It is not fully clear if tumor cells stimulated by TGF-β can display both EMT induction and cell cycle arrest,” says lead author of the study. “Single-cell analysis will help us understand if these events occur in distinct cell populations.”
To examine this, the team utilized specially engineered versions of oral cancer cells that fluoresce red if they are in the G1 phase or green if they are in any other cell cycle phase. The number of red cells increased when the culture was treated with TGF-β, implying more cells in G1. When examining cell migration in response to TGF-β, most cells that migrated also showed G1 arrest, suggesting a correlation between the two phenotypes.
“We then used a technique called single-cell RNA sequencing to examine gene expression in individual oral cancer cells treated with TGF-β,” explains the senior author of the article. “Interestingly, these experiments showed that TGF-β can induce EMT in these cells through two different pathways.”
The cells in EMT that showed G1 arrest were a distinct population from those without arrest. Further work showed that these cells were associated with expression of keratin-associated protein 2-3 (KRTAP2-3) which was also observed in the migrated cells.
“Survival analysis indicated that head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients with high KRTAP2-3 levels had poorer overall survival, suggesting KRTAP2-3 is a prognostic biomarker for this cancer,” says a lead author of the study.
Overall, these data provide important molecular details of the complex nature of TGF-β in oral cancer cells. By uncovering these mechanisms through single-cell analysis, this research offers crucial information that will help in the development of therapeutic methods targeting metastasis.
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(22)01252-9
http://sciencemission.com/site/index.php?page=news&type=view&id=publications%2Ftgf-b-generates-a&filter=22
How TGF-β orchestrates migration and proliferation of cancer cells
- 849 views
- Added
Latest News
New origin of deep brain waves
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Starving cells hijack prote…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Miniature battery-free epid…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Molecular causes of differe…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Apr
Cell's 'garbage disposal' h…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Apr
Other Top Stories
Increased risk of large bowel cancer for each 1 cm rise in waist ci…
Read more
Lower doses of common product ingredient might increase breast canc…
Read more
Testosterone levels found to rise in women in dominant role regardl…
Read more
Eating more fruits, veggies in youth linked to healthy heart decade…
Read more
Pregnancy antibiotics no cause for concern
Read more
Protocols
MemPrep, a new technology f…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
A tangible method to assess…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
Stem cell-derived vessels-o…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Apr
Single-cell biclustering fo…
By newseditor
Posted 01 Apr
Modular dual-color BiAD sen…
By newseditor
Posted 31 Mar
Publications
The immunobiology of herpes…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Circulating microbiome DNA…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Spindle oscillations in com…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Oligodendroglial macroautop…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
COPII with ALG2 and ESCRTs…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar