TGF-β-induced mesenchymal markers in lung cancer lines

Abstract

Lung Cancer is a world-wide issue that has been object of study for years in the research field of molecular pathology. In recent times, it has become more and more important to understand the mechanisms involved in gene-expression and metastasis formation. The Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal transition (EMT) is one of the principal processes involved in metastasis, through a series of molecular changes and signalling pathways. Transforming Growth Factor β (TGF-β) is one of the main inducers of the EMT and has numerous effects on cancer cells behaviour. In this thesis, the gene-expression of mesenchymal and epithelial markers wa investigated in TGF-β-induced lung cancer cell lines. TGF-β was found to have a greater effect on the gene-expression of the A549 and H1975, in contrast to the HCC827 cell line that was found less receptive to the time-dose selected in this study. The gene-expression analysis was carried out using a multiplex approach, the QuantiGene 2.0 Plex Assay that targets several genes involved in the EMT process. An increase in the expression of FN1 that codes for Fibronectin-1 was observed for all the three lung cancer cell lines. A differential expression of other mesenchymal markers was found across the three lung cancer cell lines. These findings confirmed the role of TGF-β on the induction of the EMT process in lung cancer cell lines providing further opportunities to research on the molecular pathways involved in EMT and lung cancer.