Ceramide Kinase Is Upregulated in Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells and Contributes to Migration and Invasion by Activation of PI 3-Kinase and Akt.

ABSTRACT: Ceramide kinase (CerK) is a lipid kinase that converts the proapoptotic ceramide to ceramide 1-phosphate, which has been proposed to have pro-malignant properties and regulate cell responses such as proliferation, migration, and inflammation. We used the parental human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 and two single cell progenies derived from lung and bone metastasis upon injection of the parental cells into immuno-deficient mice. The lung and the bone metastatic cell lines showed a marked upregulation of CerK mRNA and activity when compared to the parental cell line. The metastatic cells also had increased migratory and invasive activity, which was dose-dependently reduced by the selective CerK inhibitor NVP-231. A similar reduction of migration was seen when CerK was stably downregula

SUBMITTER: Schwalm S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7073039 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature