6364

CCL20

Liver metastases represent the major cause of death in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Recent studies have suggested that the chemotactic responses of tumor cells are necessary for metastatic spread to the liver, and CCL20 and CXCL8 have a strong association with CRC metastasis. The aim of our study was to identify the mechanisms by which CCL20 and CXCL8 synergize to promote metastatic progression and evaluated their potential as prognostic markers for CRC patients. The abilities of CCL20 and CXCL8 to promote CRC cell progression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)phenotype were analyzed in vitro. Possible signaling pathways were investigated with specific pathway inhibitors and small interfering RNA (siRNA). 213 Patients with CRC who underwent surgery were enrolled for analysis of CCL20, CXCL8 and E-cadherin expressions in tumor tissues. Prognostic factors were then identified. CCL20 or CXCL8 alone was not sufficient to induce complete EMT in CRC cells, but both of them could coordinately induce EMT-like phenotype that was required to maintain CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. PI3K/AKT-ERK1/2 pathway crosstalk was demonstrated to be responsible for this process. Coexpression of CCL20 and CXCL8 was negatively correlated with E-cadherin expression in human CRC tissues. CRC patients with coexpression of CCL20 and CXCL8 were more likely to develop liver metastases and both coexpression was an independent high-risk factor for a most poor prognosis. CCL20 and CXCL8 synergize to promote CRC metastatic progression by coordinated induction of EMT via PI3K/AKT-ERK1/2 signaling axis. Detection of both coexpressions can be used to predict clinical outcomes in CRC patients.CI - Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

AIM: To identify the mechanisms of chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis and evaluate it as a prognostic marker. METHODS: expression of CCL20 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in HCC tissues from 62 patients who underwent curative resection. The relationship between CCL20 expression and clinicopathologic features was analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate its predictive value for recurrence and survival of HCC patients. The expression levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-and signaling pathway-related proteins were evaluated by Western blotting and immunocytochemistry. The effects of CCL20 on HCC cell proliferation and migration were analyzed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenoltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and Transwell assays. RESULTS: CCL20 immunoreactivity was detected in all 62 patient specimens. CCL20 expression was associated with preoperative alpha-fetoprotein level (P = 0.043), tumor size (P = 0.000), tumor number (P = 0.008), vascular invasion (P = 0.014), and tumor differentiation (P = 0.007). Patients with high CCL20 expression had poorer recurrence-free and overall survivals compared to those with low CCL20 expression (both P < 0.001). CCL20 induced EMT-like changes in HCC cells and increased their proliferation and migration ability (P < 0.05). Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining showed that CCL20 induced an EMT-like phenotype in HCC cells, and increased expression of phosphorylated AKT, beta-catenin and vimentin, and decreased E-cadherin expression (P < 0.05). The correlation analysis revealed that high CCL20 expression in HCC tissue specimens was negatively correlated with E-cadherin expression (13.33%, 4/30), and positively correlated with vimentin (90.0%, 27/30), beta-catenin (96.67%, 29/30) and p-AKT (76.67%, 23/30) expression. CONCLUSION: CCL20 expression is associated with HCC recurrence and patient survival and promotes HCC cell proliferation and migration by inducing EMT-like changes via PI3K/AKT and Wnt/beta-catenin pathways.

We previously found that CCL20 induced primarily cultured healthy breast cell proliferation and migration. The objective of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that CCL20 modulated the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of primarily cultured healthy breast epithelial cells and the angiogenesis in areas adjacent to the tumor. Key results showed that CCL20 (a) down-regulated E-cadherin and ZO-1; (b) up-regulated N-cadherin, vimentin, and Snail expressions; (c) increased mRNA and secretion of VEGF and (d) increased angiogenic micro vessel sprouting. Thus, the signal transduction pathways evoked by CCL20 were investigated. We showed that NF-kB p65 down-regulation (by small interfering RNA, siRNA) reversed CCL20-induced Snail and blocked the up-regulation of vimentin and N-cadherin mRNAs. Furthermore, PI3K/AKT inhibition (by LY294002) completely blocked CCL20-induced Snail and NF-kB activation. Inhibition of JNK1/2 (by SP60125) or PKC-alpha (by siRNA) or src (by PP1) blocked NF-kB activation and Snail expression suggesting that these kinases are all upstream of NF-kB/Snail. Inhibition of mTOR (by rapamycin) abolished the effects of CCL20 on N-cadherin and vimentin protein synthesis. Furthermore, siRNA of PKC-delta inhibited the phosphorylation of CCL20-induced mTOR and S6, increased vimentin and N-cadherin expressions and, finally, blocked the CCL20 induced-EMT. CCL20 increased mRNA and secretion of VEGF by healthy breast cells by using PKC-alpha, src, Akt, NF-kB, and Snail signalling. In summary, tumor cells signal to the surrounding healthy cells through CCL20 inducing the modulation of the expression of molecules involved in EMT and promoting angiogenesis directly and indirectly through the secretion of VEGF, a major contributor to angiogenesis. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.CI - (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In recent years, astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) has been recommended as an important mediator that is involved in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. However, the mechanisms underlying the chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 20 (CCL20)/chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 6 (CCR6)-AEG-1 pathway-mediated EMT in cervical cancer (CC) have not been well featured till now. We used immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting to assess the expression of AEG-1 in 94 cervical cancer tissues and cells. Subsequently, cervical cancer SiHa cells were treated with si-AEG-1 and then subjected to in vitro assays. We observed that AEG-1 proteins were highly expressed in cervical cancer tissues and closely correlated with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and metastasis. Importantly, we validated the expression of AEG-1, p-Erk1/2, p-Akt, vimentin, N-cadherin, and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) increased in SiHa with CCL20 treatment in a concentration-dependent manner. When cells were treated with si-AEG-1, the expression of p-Erk1/2, p-Akt, vimentin, N-cadherin, and MMP2 was also downregulated. Using the cell cycle assay, the knockdown of AEG-1 inhibited the entry of G1 into S phase. In conclusion, AEG-1 mediates CCL20/CCR6-induced EMT development via both Erk1/2 and Akt signaling pathway in cervical cancer, which indicates that CCL20/CCR6-AEG-1-EMT pathway could be suggested as a useful target to affect the progression of cervical cancer.

RANK/RANKL facilitates migration/invasion via epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in certain malignant tumors. The relationship and mechanism between RANK/RANKL and EMT in endometrial cancer (EC) cells, however, remain unclear. In this study, we firstly showed that RANK/RANKL activation was correlated with EC staging and EMT markers in human EC tissue specimen. RANK/RANKL promoted migration/invasion and initiated EMT of EC cell lines. Then, protein chip analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) revealed that the expression and secretion of chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) was dramatically enhanced in RANKL-treated RANK over-expressed EC cells. Moreover, the higher level of CCL20 in both serum and tumor tissue was detected in orthotopic transplantation mouse models. Finally, we confirmed that CCL20 contributed to invasion and EMT of RANK over-expressed EC cells. In summary, all data supported the hypothesis that RANK/RANKL elevated the expression and secretion of CCL20 in EC cells, which promoted cancer progression through EMT.