Abstract 3313: Snail and slug-mediated epithelial mesenchymal transition in lung cancer cells

Abstract Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) has been classified as a unique process by which epithelial cells undergo remarkable morphologic changes characterized by a transition from epithelial cobblestone phenotype to elongated fibroblastic phenotype (mesenchymal phenotype) leading to increased motility and invasion. Accumulating evidence indicates that EMT-inducible transcription factors such as Snail homologues (Snail1, 2, and 3) and several basic helix-loop-helix factors Twist, are poor prognostic factors and associated with chemoresistance in oncology. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of SNAI-mediated EMT and its malignant potential in lung cancer cells. We introduced SNAI1 or SNAI2 gene into A549 or PC-9 lung cancer cell lines and established stable cell lines A549/GFP, /SNAI1, /SNAI2, PC-9/GFP, /SNAI1 and /SNAI2. Overexpression of SNAI1 and SNAI2 clearly mediated the EMT-related morphological changes including the cell scattering and the elongation of cell-shape. Real-time RT PCR demonstrated that overexpression of SNAI1 and SNAI2 markedly down-regulated the mRNA levels of E-cadherin about 1/2 to 1/100 compared with GFP-expressing control cell lines. The mRNA upregulation of N-cadherin, fibronectin 1 and Vimentin, which changes are characteristic of EMT, were also observed. We are now investigating its oncogenic properties, gene expression changes by microarray analysis and chemoresistance using these stable SNAI1 or SNAI2 transfectants. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3313.