Induction of mesenchymal to epithelial transition and suppression of cancer invasion by introduction of the reprogramming factors

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25461698
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Dermatology
• Research Institution: Kochi University
• Principal Investigator: TAKAISHI MIKIRO 高知大学, 教育研究部医療学系臨床医学部門, 助教 (10303223)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): TERAISHI Mika 高知大学, 医学部付属病院, 特任助教 (40437736) ; MAKAJIMA Hideki 高知大学, 教育研究部医療学系臨床医学部門, 講師 (70314995) ; SANO Shigetoshi 高知大学, 教育研究部医療学系臨床医学部門, 教授 (80273621)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: がん制御 / 間葉ー上皮移行

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Recent studies have indicated that mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) is observed during the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells by the reprogramming factors (RFs). In the present study, we investigated the effects of RFs on squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cells. RFs-introduced cancer cells (RICs) demonstrated the enhanced epithelial characteristics in morphology with altered expression of molecular markers. The motility and invasive activities of RICs in vitro were significantly reduced. Furthermore, xenografts of RICs on immune deficient mice exhibited no lymph node metastasis, whereas metastasis was detected in parental SCC-inoculated mice. Thus, we concluded that RICs regained epithelial properties through MET and showed reduced cancer malignancy in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, the understanding of the MET process in cancer cells by introduction of RFs may lead to the designing of a novel anticancer strategy.

Free Research Field

細胞生物学