title: Role of Twist in vasculogenic mimicry formation in hypoxic hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro.
abstract: Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) refers to the unique ability of highly aggressive human tumor cells to form matrix-rich networks de novo when cultured on a three-dimensional matrix, thus mimicking embryonic vasculogenesis. Some studies have shown that tumor hypoxia can promote tumor cells to form vessel-like tubes in vitro and express genes associated with VM. Although, the mechanisms involved in hypoxia-induced VM remain elusive, we hypothesized that the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulator Twist may play a major role in hypoxia-induced VM. We investigated this hypothesis in vitro by pretreating hepatocellular carcinoma cells under hypoxic conditions. Following the hypoxia treatment, the cells formed typical pipe-like VM networks. Moreover, the expression of VM markers was increased. Hypoxia-induced VM was accompanied by the increased expression of Twist. Twist siRNA reversed the effects of hypoxia on VM. These results suggest that the overexpression of Twist correlates to hypoxia-induced VM in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The FirstAffiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 277 Yanta West Road, Xi’an, PR China.
authors.forename: Jin-lu
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Su-xia
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
mesh_terms: D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015687:Cell Hypoxia; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement; D006801:Humans; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000378:metabolism; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 / Q000378:metabolism; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins; C497442:HIF1A protein, human; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C103173:TWIST1 protein, human; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1; C522361:MMP2 protein, human; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9