title: Potential signaling pathway involved in sphingosine-1-phosphate-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer.
abstract: The developmental process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurs when epithelial cells acquire invasive mesenchymal cell characteristics, and the activation of this process has been indicated to be involved in tumor progression. EMT could be induced by growth factors, cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a biologically-active lipid that plays an important role in cancer metastasis. S1P also contributes to the activation of EMT. However, the mechanism underlying S1P-induced EMT is unclear. Increased evidence has demonstrated that the cell surface glycocalyx is closed associated with S1P and plays an important role in tumor progression, suggesting that S1P-induced EMT could be Snail-MMP signaling-dependent. Thus, we hypothesize that an S1P-glycocalyx-Snail-MMP signaling axis mediates S1P-induced EMT. This is an essential step towards improved understanding of the underlying mechanism involved in S1P-regulted EMT, and the development of novel diagnostic and anticancer therapeutic strategies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, School of Preclinical and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Y E
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xing-Hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, School of Preclinical and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Ping
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, School of Preclinical and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jing-Xia
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, School of Preclinical and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Heng
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: epithelial-mesenchymal transition; glycoclayx; matrix metalloproteinase; sphingosine-1-phosphate