Lentiviral Vector Mediated Claudin1 Silencing Inhibits Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition in Breast Cancer Cells

Viruses

Xianqi Zhao²  Yanan Zou²  Qingqing Gu¹  Guannan Zhao¹  Horace Gray¹  Lawrence M. Pfeffer¹  Junming Yue¹ 

[1] Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA; E-Mails:;Department of Medicine, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, China; E-Mails:

关键词: CLDN1;    epithelial to mesenchymal transition;    breast cancer;   

DOI  :  10.3390/v7062755

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Breast cancer has a high incidence and mortality rate worldwide. Several viral vectors including lentiviral, adenoviral and adeno-associated viral vectors have been used in gene therapy for various forms of human cancer, and have shown promising effects in controlling tumor development. Claudin1 (CLDN1) is a member of the tetraspan transmembrane protein family that plays a major role in tight junctions and is associated with tumor metastasis. However, the role of CLDN1 in breast cancer is largely unexplored. In this study, we tested the therapeutic potential of silencing CLDN1 expression in two breast cancer (MDA-MB-231 and MCF7) cell lines using lentiviral vector mediated RNA interference. We found that a CLDN1 short hairpin (shRNA) construct efficiently silenced CLDN1 expression in both breast cancer cell lines, and CLDN1 knockdown resulted in reduced cell proliferation, survival, migration and invasion. Furthermore, silencing CLDN1 inhibited epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) by upregulating the epithelial cell marker, E-cadherin, and downregulating mesenchymal markers, smooth muscle cell alpha-actin (SMA) and Snai2. Our data demonstrated that lentiviral vector mediated CLDN1 RNA interference has great potential in breast cancer gene therapy by inhibiting EMT and controlling tumor cell growth.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.