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Jihu Y, Leng R, Liu M, Ren H, Xie D, Yao C, Yan H. Angiotensin (1-7) Inhibits Transforming Growth Factor-Β1-Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition of Human Keratinocyte Hacat Cells in vitro. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol 2024; 17:1049-1058. [PMID: 38737946 PMCID: PMC11088851 DOI: 10.2147/ccid.s441596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Introduction Angiotensin (1-7) (Ang-(1-7)) is an emerging component of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) with effective anti-fibrosis properties and has been shown to interfere with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by numerous studies. In recent years, EMT has been proposed as a new therapeutic target for skin fibrotic diseases such as keloids. However, the effect of Ang-(1-7) on EMT in skin is still unclear. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore the effect of Ang-(1-7) on Transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)-induced EMT of human immortalized keratinocytes HaCaT in vitro. Methods The study involved the use of the human immortalized keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT). The cells were cultured in high-glucose DMEM medium with 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% penicillin-streptomycin. Four groups were created for experimentation: control group (Group C), TGF-β1-treated group (Group T), Ang-(1-7)-treated group (Group A), and a group treated with both TGF-β1 and Ang-(1-7) (Group A + T). Various assays were conducted, including a cell proliferation assay using CCK-8 solution, a scratch wound healing assay to evaluate cell migration, and Western blotting to detect protein expressions related to cell characteristics. Additionally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to analyze epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related gene expression levels. The study aimed to investigate the effects of TGF-β1 and Ang-(1-7) on HaCaT cells. Results We found that Ang-(1-7) not only reduced the migration of HaCaT cells induced by TGF-β1 in vitro but also reduced the expression of α-SMA and vimentin, and restored the protein expression of E-cadherin and claudin-1. Mechanistically, Ang-(1-7) inhibits the phosphorylation levels of Smad2 and Smad3 in the TGF-β1 canonical pathway, and suppresses the expression of EMT-related transcription factors (EMT-TFs) such as SNAI2, TWIST1, and ZEB1. Discussion Taken together, our findings suggest that Ang-(1-7) inhibits TGF-β1-induced EMT in HaCaT cells in vitro by disrupting the TGF-β1-Smad canonical signaling pathway. These results may be helpful in the treatment of EMT in skin fibrotic diseases such as keloids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yueda Jihu
- Clinical College of Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Plastic and Burn Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ruobing Leng
- Clinical College of Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Mengchang Liu
- Clinical College of Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Plastic and Burn Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hongjing Ren
- Clinical College of Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Plastic and Burn Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Defu Xie
- Clinical College of Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Plastic and Burn Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Chong Yao
- Clinical College of Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Plastic and Burn Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hong Yan
- Clinical College of Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Plastic and Burn Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Lu zhou, People’s Republic of China
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Nagaoka Y, Takeishi Y, Miyake Y, Takeda K, Okamura K, Yao Y, Motomura K, Daitoku H, Fukamizu A, Hatta M. SOX4 reversibly induces phenotypic changes by suppressing the epithelial marker genes in human keratinocytes. Mol Biol Rep 2024; 51:116. [PMID: 38227121 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-023-09035-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND SOX4 is a transcription factor belonging to the SOX (Sry-related High Mobility Group [HMG] box) family and plays a pivotal role in various biological processes at various stages of life. SOX4 is also expressed in the skin in adults and has been reported to be involved in wound healing, tumor formation, and metastasis. METHODS AND RESULTS In this study, we investigated the role of SOX4 in keratinocyte phenotypic changes. We generated a SOX4-overexpressing keratinocyte cell line that expresses SOX4 in a doxycycline (DOX)-inducible manner. DOX treatment induced a change from a paving stone-like morphology to a spindle-like morphology under microscopic observation. Comprehensive gene analysis by RNA sequencing revealed increased expression of genes related to anatomical morphogenesis and cell differentiation as well as decreased expression of genes related to epithelial formation and keratinization, suggesting that SOX4 induced EMT-like phenotype in keratinocytes. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) obtained by RNA-seq were confirmed using qRT-PCR. DOX-treated TY-1 SOX4 showed a decrease in the epithelial markers (KRT15, KRT13, KRT5, and CLDN1) and an increase in the mesenchymal marker FN1. Protein expression changes by Western blotting also showed a decrease in the epithelial marker proteins keratin 15, keratin 13, and claudin 1, and an increase in the mesenchymal marker fibronectin. Removal of DOX from DOX-treated cells also restored the epithelial and mesenchymal markers altered by SOX4. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that SOX4 reversibly induces an EMT-like phenotype in human keratinocytes via suppression of epithelial marker genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshiyuki Nagaoka
- Department of Physiological Science and Molecular Biology, Fukuoka Dental College, 2-15-1 Tamura, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, 814-0193, Japan
| | - Yukimasa Takeishi
- Department of Physiological Science and Molecular Biology, Fukuoka Dental College, 2-15-1 Tamura, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, 814-0193, Japan
| | - Yuki Miyake
- Department of Oral Growth and Development, Fukuoka Dental College, 2-15-1 Tamura, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, 814-0193, Japan
| | - Kana Takeda
- Department of Physiological Science and Molecular Biology, Fukuoka Dental College, 2-15-1 Tamura, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, 814-0193, Japan
- Department of Oral Growth and Development, Fukuoka Dental College, 2-15-1 Tamura, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, 814-0193, Japan
| | - Kazuhiko Okamura
- Department of Morphological Biology, Fukuoka Dental College, 2-15-1 Tamura, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, 814-0193, Japan
| | - Yuan Yao
- Life Science Center for Survival Dynamics, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8577, Japan
| | - Kaori Motomura
- Life Science Center for Survival Dynamics, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8577, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Daitoku
- Life Science Center for Survival Dynamics, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8577, Japan
| | - Akiyoshi Fukamizu
- Life Science Center for Survival Dynamics, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8577, Japan
| | - Mitsutoki Hatta
- Department of Physiological Science and Molecular Biology, Fukuoka Dental College, 2-15-1 Tamura, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, 814-0193, Japan.
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Altered Expression of EMT-Related Factors Snail, Wnt4, and Notch2 in the Short-Term Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rat Kidneys. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12101486. [PMID: 36294921 PMCID: PMC9605095 DOI: 10.3390/life12101486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to determine the expression of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related transcription factors Snail, Wnt4, and Notch2 with key roles in renal fibrosis, in different renal areas of diabetic rats: glomeruli (G), proximal and distal convoluted tubules (PCT; DCT). Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were instilled with 55 mg/kg streptozotocin (diabetes mellitus type I model, DM group) or citrate buffer (control group). Kidney samples were collected 2 weeks and 2 months after DM induction and processed for immunohistochemistry. Results: Diabetic animals showed higher Wnt4 kidney expression both 2 weeks and 2 months post-DM induction, while Snail expression significantly increased only 2 weeks after DM initiation (p < 0.0001). We determined significantly higher expression of examined EMT-related genes in different kidney regions in diabetic animals compared with controls. The most substantial differences were observed in tubular epithelial cells in the period of 2 weeks after induction, with higher Snail and Wnt4 expression in PCT and increased Snail and Notch2 expression in DCT of diabetic animals (p < 0.0001; p < 0.001). Conclusion: The obtained results point to the EMT-related factors Snail, Wnt4, and Notch2 as a potential contributor to diabetic nephropathy development and progression. Changes in their expression, especially in PCT and DCT, could serve as diagnostic biomarkers for the early stages of DM and might be a promising novel therapeutic target in this condition.
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Hosseini K, Trus P, Frenzel A, Werner C, Fischer-Friedrich E. Skin epithelial cells change their mechanics and proliferation upon snail-mediated EMT signalling. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:2585-2596. [PMID: 35294513 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00159d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Skin cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in the USA and Germany, and the fourth most common cancer worldwide. Snail-dependent epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was shown to initiate and promote skin cancer. Previous studies could show that EMT changes actin cortex regulation and cellular mechanics in epithelial cells of diverse tissue origin. However, in spite of its potentially high significance in the context of skin cancer, the effect of EMT on cellular mechanics, mitotic rounding and proliferation has not been studied in skin epithelial cells so far. In this work, we show that TGF-β-induced partial EMT results in a transformation of the mechanical phenotype of skin epithelial cells in a cell-cycle dependent manner. Concomitantly, we looked at EMT-induced changes of cell proliferation. While EMT decreases proliferation in 2D culture, we observed an EMT-induced boost of cellular proliferation when culturing cells as mechanically confined aggregates of skin epithelial cells. This proliferation boost was accompanied by enhanced mitotic rounding and composition changes of the actin cortex. We give evidence that observed EMT-induced changes depend on the EMT-upregulated transcription factor snail. Overall, our findings indicate that EMT-induced changes of cellular mechanics might play a currently unappreciated role in EMT-induced promotion of skin tumor proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamran Hosseini
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
- Biotechnology Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Palina Trus
- Biotechnology Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Annika Frenzel
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
- Biotechnology Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Carsten Werner
- Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Max Bergmann Center, Dresden, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
- Biotechnology Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Faculty of Physics, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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LncRNA MALAT1 Modulates TGF-β1-Induced EMT in Keratinocyte. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222111816. [PMID: 34769245 PMCID: PMC8584148 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222111816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the major complications in diabetes is impaired wound healing. Unfortunately, effective therapies are currently lacking. Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical process involved in cutaneous wound healing. In response to injury, EMT is required to activate and mobilize stationary keratinocytes in the skin toward the wound bed, which allows for re-epithelialization. This process is stalled in diabetic wounds. In this study, we investigate the role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), MALAT1, in transforming growth factor beta 1(TGF-β1)-induced EMT of human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells. Initially, we detected MALAT1 and TGF-β1 expression in non-diabetic and diabetic wounds and found that these expression are significantly up-regulated in diabetic wounds. Then, HaCaT cells were cultured and exposed to TGF-β1. The EMT of HaCaT cells were confirmed by the increased expression of CDH2, KRT10, and ACTA2, in addition to the down-regulation of CDH1. Knockdown of MALAT1 was achieved by transfecting a small interfering RNA (SiRNA). MALAT1 silencing attenuates TGFβ1-induced EMT. Mechanistically, MALAT1 is involved in TGF-β1 mediated EMT through significantly induced ZEB1 expression, a critical transcription factor for EMT. In summary, lncRNA MALAT1 is involved in TGFβ1-induced EMT of human HaCaT cells and provides new understanding for the pathogenesis of diabetic wounds.
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