Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer with distinct molecular profiles. Gene expression profiling previously identified sonic hedgehog (SHH) as part of a gene signature that is differentially regulated in IBC patients.Methods
The effects of reducing GLI1 levels on protein expression, cell proliferation, apoptosis and migration were determined by immunoblots, MTT assay, Annexin-V/PI assay and conventional and automated cell migration assays.Results
Evaluation of a panel of breast cancer cell lines revealed elevated GLI1 expression, typically a marker for hedgehog-pathway activation, in a triple-negative, highly invasive IBC cell line, SUM149 and its isogenic-derived counterpart rSUM149 that has acquired resistance to ErbB1/2 targeting strategies. Downregulation of GLI1 expression in SUM149 and rSUM149 by small interfering RNA or a small molecule GLI1 inhibitor resulted in decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis. Further, GLI1 suppression in these cell lines significantly inhibited cell migration as assessed by a wound-healing assay compared with MCF-7, a non-invasive cell line with low GLI1 expression. A novel high-content migration assay allowed us to quantify multiple effects of GLI1 silencing including significant decreases in cell distance travelled and linearity of movement.Conclusion
Our data reveal a role for GLI1 in IBC cell proliferation, survival and migration, which supports the feasibility of targeting GLI1 as a novel therapeutic strategy for IBC patients.
SUBMITTER: Thomas ZI
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3101910 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Thomas Z I ZI Gibson W W Sexton J Z JZ Aird K M KM Ingram S M SM Aldrich A A Lyerly H K HK Devi G R GR Williams K P KP
British journal of cancer 20110419 10
<h4>Background</h4>Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer with distinct molecular profiles. Gene expression profiling previously identified sonic hedgehog (SHH) as part of a gene signature that is differentially regulated in IBC patients.<h4>Methods</h4>The effects of reducing GLI1 levels on protein expression, cell proliferation, apoptosis and migration were determined by immunoblots, MTT assay, Annexin-V/PI assay and conventional and automated cell migration ...[more]