TY - JOUR
T1 - Overexpression of angiotensin II type 1 receptor in breast cancer cells induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition and promotes tumor growth and angiogenesis
AU - Oh, Eunhye
AU - Kim, Ji Young
AU - Cho, Youngkwan
AU - An, Hyunsook
AU - Lee, Nahyun
AU - Jo, Hunho
AU - Ban, Changill
AU - Seo, Jae Hong
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Lee Farrand for editing the manuscript. This research was supported by a grant from the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HI12C1852 ) and the Brain Korea (BK) 21 Plus Program.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2016/6/1
Y1 - 2016/6/1
N2 - The angiotensin II type I receptor (AGTR1) has been implicated in diverse aspects of human disease, from the regulation of blood pressure and cardiovascular homeostasis to cancer progression. We sought to investigate the role of AGTR1 in cell proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration, invasion, angiogenesis and tumor growth in the breast cancer cell line MCF7. Stable overexpression of AGTR1 was associated with accelerated cell proliferation, concomitant with increased expression of survival factors including poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP), as well as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation. AGTR1-overexpressing MCF7 cells were more aggressive than their parent line, with significantly increased activity in migration and invasion assays. These observations were associated with changes in EMT markers, including reduced E-cadherin expression and increased p-Smad3, Smad4 and Snail levels. Treatment with the AGTR1 antagonist losartan attenuated these effects. AGTR1 overexpression also accelerated tumor growth and increased Ki-67 expression in a xenograft model. This was associated with increased tumor angiogenesis, as evidenced by a significant increase in microvessels in the intratumoral and peritumoral areas, and enhanced tumor invasion, with the latter response associated with increased EMT marker expression and matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) upregulation. In vivo administration of losartan significantly reduced both tumor growth and angiogenesis. Our findings suggest that AGTR1 plays a significant role in tumor aggressiveness, and its inhibition may have therapeutic implications.
AB - The angiotensin II type I receptor (AGTR1) has been implicated in diverse aspects of human disease, from the regulation of blood pressure and cardiovascular homeostasis to cancer progression. We sought to investigate the role of AGTR1 in cell proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration, invasion, angiogenesis and tumor growth in the breast cancer cell line MCF7. Stable overexpression of AGTR1 was associated with accelerated cell proliferation, concomitant with increased expression of survival factors including poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP), as well as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation. AGTR1-overexpressing MCF7 cells were more aggressive than their parent line, with significantly increased activity in migration and invasion assays. These observations were associated with changes in EMT markers, including reduced E-cadherin expression and increased p-Smad3, Smad4 and Snail levels. Treatment with the AGTR1 antagonist losartan attenuated these effects. AGTR1 overexpression also accelerated tumor growth and increased Ki-67 expression in a xenograft model. This was associated with increased tumor angiogenesis, as evidenced by a significant increase in microvessels in the intratumoral and peritumoral areas, and enhanced tumor invasion, with the latter response associated with increased EMT marker expression and matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) upregulation. In vivo administration of losartan significantly reduced both tumor growth and angiogenesis. Our findings suggest that AGTR1 plays a significant role in tumor aggressiveness, and its inhibition may have therapeutic implications.
KW - AGTR1
KW - Angiogenesis
KW - Breast cancer
KW - EMT
KW - Losartan
KW - Smad4
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84960930905&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2016.03.010
DO - 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2016.03.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 26975580
AN - SCOPUS:84960930905
VL - 1863
SP - 1071
EP - 1081
JO - Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Cell Research
JF - Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Cell Research
SN - 0167-4889
IS - 6
ER -