title: Twist and epithelial-mesenchymal transition are induced by the EBV oncoprotein latent membrane protein 1 and are associated with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), an EBV-associated malignancy, is highly metastatic compared with other head and neck tumors, perhaps because of its viral link. Here, we show that the principal EBV oncoprotein, latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) via Twist, a master transcriptional regulator in embryogenesis and newly implicated in metastasis, which, in turn, are likely to contribute to the highly metastatic character of NPC. LMP1 could induce EMT and its associated cell motility and invasiveness in a cell culture model, whereas expression of Twist small interfering RNA reversed LMP1-induced EMT. In diverse EBV-infected cell lines, expression of Twist correlates with expression of LMP1. Dominant-negative LMP1 could suppress Twist expression in EBV-positive cells, whereas LMP1 could induce Twist in EBV-negative nasopharyngeal cells. LMP1 signals through the nuclear factor-kappaB pathway, and an IkappaB superrepressor inhibited induction of Twist by LMP1. Finally, in human NPC tissues, expression of Twist and LMP1 is directly correlated and expression of Twist is associated with metastasis clinically. These results suggest that induction of Twist by a human viral oncoprotein LMP1 directly contributes to the metastatic nature of NPC.
authors.affiliation: Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Horikawa
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Tomokazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshizaki
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Joab
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Pagano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D002465:Cell Movement; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000378:metabolism; D004285:Dogs; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1 / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D017735:Virus Latency
chemical_list: C037662:EBV-associated membrane antigen, Epstein-Barr virus; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C103173:TWIST1 protein, human; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins