Browsing by Subject "Epithelial-mesenchymal transition"

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    Carcinosarcomas: tumors in transition?
    (F. Hernández y Juan F. Madrid. Universidad de Murcia: Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2015) Somarelli, Jason A.; Boss, Mary-Keara; Epstein, Jonathan I.; Armstrong, Andrew J.; Garcia-Blanco, Mariano A.
    Carcinosarcomas are rare, biphasic tumors that are comprised of carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements. While the exact mechanism by which these two phenotypes arise within a single tumor remains unclear, molecular evidence indicates that the epitheliod and spindle-cell components share a clonal origin. We propose that the biphasic nature of these neoplasms may represent an extreme case of epithelial plasticity, in which an epithelial-like cell undergoes a transition to a more mesenchymal phenotype. The present review will discuss both the histological and molecular biological evidence of the involvement of epithelial plasticity in driving the mixed phenotypes observed in carcinosarcomas.
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    Empagliflozin protected kidney function in CKD rat through suppressing hypoxic and fibrotic signalings mediated inflammation and EMT
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2026) Jui-Ning Yeh; Tsuen-Wei Hsu; John Y. Chiang; Ben-Chung Cheng; Pei-Hsun Sung; Shun-Cheng; Chi-Ruei Huang; Pei-Lin Shao; Hon-Kan Yip; Chih-Chao Yang; Biología Celular e Histología
    Background. This study tested the hypothesis that PI3K/Akt/GSK3β and TGF-β/Smad2/3 signaling play essential roles in mediating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and fibrosis, resulting in the deterioration of renal function and parenchyma in chronic kidney disease (CKD) rats, which is reversed by early empagliflozin treatment. Methods and results. NRK-52E cells were divided into the A1 (NRK-52E), A2 (NRK-52E + 200 μM p-Cresol), A3 (NRK-52E + 200 μM p-Cresol + 50 μM empagliflozin), B1 (NRK-52E), B2 (NRK-52E + 5 ng/mL TGF-β1) and B3 (NRK-52E + 5 ng/mL TGF-β1 + 50 μM empagliflozin) groups. Compared with those in the A1 group, the expression levels of proteins related to the EMT (TGF-β1/p-Smad2/p-Smad3/α-SMA), extracellular matrix (MMP2/9) and EMT (IGF-1) activators were significantly higher in the A2 group, but these changes were significantly reversed in the A3 group, whereas the protein expression levels of antifibrotic markers (TIMP1/TIMP2) exhibited the opposite pattern to the EMT-related proteins among the groups (all p<0.001). The expression of these proteins, along with the other EMT markers (snail, fibronectin, and vimentin) related to cellular function/protein expression, also exhibited an identical pattern to the A1 to A3 groups among Groups B1 to B3 (all p<0.001). Adult male SD rats were categorized into Groups 1 (sham-operated control), 2 (CKD) and 3 (CKD + empagliflozin). On Day 56 after CKD induction, the renal artery resistive index (RARI) was significantly higher in Group 2 than in Groups 1 and 3 and significantly higher in Group 3 than in Group 1 (all p<0.0001). The expression of EMT (Snail/α-SMA/ fibronectin/vimentin/TGF-β1/p-Smad2/3), apoptotic (cleaved caspase-3/cleaved-PARP), inflammatory (HIF-1α/IL-1β/TNF-α/MPO/MMP-2/MMP-9), and cell stress signaling (p-PI3K/p-Akt/GSK-3β) proteins and the cellular kidney injury score, expression of fibrosis and EMT markers (Snail/vimentin)/glomerular-hyper-cellularity/fibrocellular crescent formation displayed an identical pattern, whereas the cellular expression of podocyte components (podocin/synaptopodin/ZO-1) displayed the opposite pattern to the RARIs among the groups (all p<0.0001). Conclusions. Empagliflozin protected kidney function and architecture mainly by suppressing fibrosis, cellular oxidative stress signaling, the EMT and inflammation.
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    Ex vivo and in vivo modulatory effects of umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly stem cells on human oral mucosa stroma substitutes
    (Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2015) Alfonso-Rodríguez, C.A.; González-Andrades, E.; Jaimes-Parra, B.D.; Fernández-Valadé, R. s; Campos, A.; Sánchez-Quevedo, M. C.; Alaminos, M.; Garzon, I.
    Novel oral mucosa substitutes have been developed in the laboratory using human umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly stem cells -HWJSC- as an alternative cell source. In the present work, we have generated human oral mucosa substitutes with oral mucosa keratinocytes and HWJSC to determine the influence of these cell sources on stromal differentiation. First, acellular and cellular stroma substitutes and bilayered oral mucosa substitutes with an epithelial layer consisting of oral mucosa keratinocytes -OM samplesor HWJSC -hOM- were generated. Then, tissues were analyzed by light and electron microscopy, histochemistry and immunohistochemistry to quantify all major extracellular matrix components after 1, 2 and 3 weeks of ex vivo development, and OM and hOM were also analyzed after in vivo grafting. The results showed that bioengineered oral mucosa stromas displayed an adequate fibrillar mesh. Synthesis of abundant collagen fibers was detected in OM and hOM after 3 weeks, and in vivo grafting resulted in an increased collagen synthesis. No elastic or reticular fibers were found. Glycoprotein synthesis was found at the epithelialstromal layer when samples were grafted in vivo. Finally, proteoglycans, decorin, versican and aggrecan were strongly dependent on the in vivo environment and the presence of a well-structured epithelium on top. The use of HWJSC was associated to an increased synthesis of versican. These results confirm the usefulness of fibrinagarose biomaterials for the generation of an efficient human oral mucosa stroma substitute and the importance of the in vivo environment and the epithelialmesenchymal interaction for the adequate differentiation of the bioengineered stroma.
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    Knockdown of TBRG4 suppresses the migration, invasion, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of pancreatic cancer cells via TGF-β/smad3 signaling
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2025) Ye, Xiao; Zheng, Xiaolin; Zhu, Ling; Biología Celular e Histología
    Introduction. Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the deadliest malignancies worldwide, with a low five-year survival rate of less than 10%. Transforming growth factor β regulator 4 (TBRG4) is differentially expressed in PC tissues, but its specific functions and regulatory role in PC have not been clarified. Methods. TBRG4 mRNA expression in PC cells was measured by qRT-PCR. Protein levels of TBRG4, key markers related to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, and factors related to the TGF-β/smad3 pathway were quantified by western blot. The migratory and invasive abilities of PC cells were evaluated by wound healing and Transwell assays, respectively. Spearman’s correlation analysis was performed to analyze the expression correlation between TBRG4 and TGF-β1 (or SMAD3). Xenograft mouse models were established to explore the in vivo role of TBRG4. Results. The mRNA and protein expression of TBRG4 were elevated in PC cells. TBRG4 knockdown repressed PC cell migration, invasion, and the EMT process. Moreover, TBRG4 activated TGF-β/smad3 signaling in PC cells and positively correlated with TGF-β1 (or SMAD3) expression in PC tissues based on bioinformatics analysis. Furthermore, SRI-011381 (an agonist of TGF-β1) counteracted the inhibitory influence of TBRG4 knockdown on PC cellular behaviors, and SB431542 (an inhibitor of the TGF-β type I receptor) treatment countervailed the promoting influence of TBRG4 overexpression on PC cell invasion, migration, and EMT. Results of in vivo assays verified that TBRG4 silencing inhibited tumorigenesis and TGF-β/smad3 signaling. Conclusion. The silencing of TBRG4 inhibits PC cell invasion, migration, EMT, and tumorigenesis by inactivating TGF-β/smad3 signaling.
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    SIP1 predicts progression and poor prognosis in pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma
    (F. Hernández y Juan F. Madrid. Universidad de Murcia: Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2015) Jouppila-Mättö, Anna; Mannermaa, Arto; Sironen, Reijo; Kosma, Veli-Matti; Soini, Ylermi; Pukkila, Matti
    Objectives: The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial process in tumorigenesis that enables tumor cells to invade and metastasize. The transcription factors SIP1, SLUG, ZEB1, SNAI1, and TWIST are fundamental in regulating EMT. We investigated the relationships between several clinicopathological variables, prognosis, and SIP1, SLUG, or ZEB1 in a retrospective pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) cohort. Study Design: Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the expression of SIP1, SLUG, and ZEB1 in 108 tumor samples from a retrospective cohort of patients with PSCC. Results: Tumors with positive epithelial SIP1 immunostaining were more advanced (SIII-IV, p=0.02) and had more lymph node metastases (p=0.04) than SIP1-negative tumors. Tumors with positive stromal staining of SIP1 relapsed more often than SIP1-negative tumors (p=0.007). Negative SIP1 immunoreactivity correlated significantly with better disease-specific survival (DSS) and better overall survival (OS) (p=0.012 and p=0.003 for epithelial reactivity, p=0.018 and p=0.003 for stromal reactivity, respectively). Lack of epithelial SIP1 expression remained an independent and favorable prognostic factor in a Cox proportional hazards model (p=0.046), together with high Karnofsky performance status score and low T class (p<0.001 for both). Co-expression of SNAI1, TWIST, and SIP1 in tumor epithelium predicted even shorter DSS than SIP1 expression alone (p<0.001) in the present study cohort. Conclusions: SIP1 is related to cancer progression and appears to be an independent prognostic factor in PSCC.
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    TRIB1 facilitates the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells by inducing EMT progression
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Histología e Histopatología, 2025) Shi Guangyan; Holgersson Kristian; Xin Zhen; Szekely Laszlo; Du Qiqiao; Jing Xu; Biología Celular e Histología
    Aim. Ovarian cancer (OC) is a fatal female malignant tumor that severely impacts the health of women worldwide. Due to the lack of diagnostic biomarkers, 70% of OC patients are considered in the advanced stage at the first diagnosis. Exploring novel biomarkers for OC diagnosis has become an urgent clinical need to address. TRIB1 is a newly discovered oncogene in several malignant tumors, including acute myeloid leukemia, prostate cancer, and breast cancer. However, the biological function of TRIB1 in OC remains uncertain and, therefore, was explored in the present study. Methods. Levels of TRIB1 in OC and normal tissues were evaluated in the GEPIA database. TRIB1-KD was constructed in ES-2 cells and TRIB1-OE was constructed in OVCAR3 cells using a siRNA and OE vector, respectively. The proliferation ability was determined using the CCK-8 and clone formation assays. The migration ability was detected using the wound healing and Transwell assays. The expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) biomarkers was determined using western blotting. Results. TRIB1 was markedly upregulated in OC tissues compared with normal ovarian tissues in the GEPIA database. The TRIB1 level was slightly altered among ES-2, CAOV3, and SKOV3 cells, with the highest expression in ES-2 cells, which was greatly reduced in OVCAR3 cells. In TRIB1-KD ES-2 cells, a remarkably reduced proliferation ability was observed with the CCK-8 and clone formation assays, accompanied by a reduction in migration distance in the Wound healing assay and the number of migrated cells in the Transwell assay. In contrast, in TRIB1-OE OVCAR3 cells, increased proliferation ability was observed, accompanied by increased migration distance and number of migrated cells. Furthermore, EMT progression was markedly repressed in TRIB1-KD ES-2 cells and remarkably enhanced in TRIB1-OE OVCAR3 cells. Conclusion. TRIB1 facilitated the proliferation and migration of OC cells by enhancing EMT progression