Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 2 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition by activating transforming growth factor-β1/small mother against decapentaplegic 2 signaling in gastric cancer.

Yonggang Liu, Minyu Zhou, Jianhua Wu, Zhaowei Wen, Yisheng Fang, Li Lin, Meihua Luo, Li Sun, Wangjun Liao

Molecular biology reports 2022 Feb

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Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most prevalent malignancy around the world. Primary tumor cells are enabled to invade and migrate into adjacent normal tissues to form secondary tumors. Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMT) plays a pivotal role in facilitating tumor progression. Abundant evidence suggested that the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) triggered the process of EMT. Nonetheless, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying EMT requires further elucidation, and there still lacks effective specific therapeutic target. In our recent research, we demonstrated that the interferon (IFN)-induced transmembrane protein 2 (IFITM2) promoted the growth and metastasis of GC. However, it remains unclear whether IFITM2 involves in TGF-β1 mediated EMT in GC. In the present research, we investigated the functional role of IFITM2 in EMT process and TGF-β1 signaling pathway in two GC cell lines. We noticed that silencing IFITM2 can effectively inhibit TGF-β1 signaling mediated EMT by regulating down stream small mother against decapentaplegic (SMAD) 2/3 and transcription factors.This finding was further determined in both tumor tissues from GC patients and normal tissues adjacent to cancer. Our data demonstrated the key role of IFITM2 in TGF-β1 signaling and EMT in GC. The findings enriched our understanding of the underlying mechanism in EMT during the progression of GC. In addition, IFITM2 would be a potential target for treating GC and other malignant tumors. © 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.

Citation

Yonggang Liu, Minyu Zhou, Jianhua Wu, Zhaowei Wen, Yisheng Fang, Li Lin, Meihua Luo, Li Sun, Wangjun Liao. Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 2 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition by activating transforming growth factor-β1/small mother against decapentaplegic 2 signaling in gastric cancer. Molecular biology reports. 2022 Feb;49(2):997-1006