1364

CLDN4

Twist1 is a transcription factor that is involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition by suppressing intercellular adhesion. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of Twist1 in the regulation of claudin-4 expression and investigate its specific mechanisms and clinical implications using human esophageal carcinoma cell lines and tissues. As a result, up-regulation of Twist1 decreased both gene and protein expression levels of endogenous claudin-4 and the suppression was mediated by direct binding of Twist1 to the canonical E-box in the promoter region of claudin-4. In addition, there was a significant inverse correlation of claudin-4 with Twist1 in esophageal cancer tissues. High Twist1 and low claudin-4 expression was associated with the poorest prognosis and was more highly correlated with adverse outcome than any other subgroup with statistical significance (p=0.001). Our results indicate that Twist1 induces the repression of claudin-4 expression during the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in esophageal carcinoma.CI - Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) plays an important role in colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis, and both hypoxia and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are necessary for VM. In this study, HIF-1alpha expression was upregulated in the VM-positive CRC cell line HCT-116 and thereby affected the expression of the EMT-related markers Claudin-4, E-cadherin (E-cd) and Vimentin(VIM). SB431542 and U0126EtOH, which can inhibit of EMT were used to treat HCT-116 and HCT-8 in these experiments. Both of the inhibitors had significant effect on EMT markers and the formations of VM in CRC cells. In addition, knockdown of HIF-1alpha in the HCT-116 cells inhibited their capacity for VM. Our study reveals a regulatory role for HIF-1alpha in VM and suggests that targeting either HIF-1alpha or EMT may be a valuable strategy for the elimination of CRC metastasis.