Analysis of epithelial mesenchymal transition markers in breast cancer cells in response to stromal cell-derived factor 1

Introduction: Metastasis is the main cause of cancer death; however, the underlying mechanisms of metastasis are largely unknown. The chemokine of stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF1) and the process of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), both have been declared as important factors to promote cancer metastasis; however, Conspicuously, the relation between them has not been recognized well yet. Due to the importance of investigating the factors involved in cancer metastasis to develop new therapeutic strategies, in this study the effect of SDF1 on the expression of transcription factors involved in EMT was analyzed in breast cancer cells. Materials and Methods: MDA-MB-361 cells were treated with 100 ng/ml SDF1 in different time points of 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours. Then the expression of EMT markers were analyzed by Real time PCR (Cyber green) and western blot methods. Results: Snail and Zeb1 genes had upregulation in response to SDF1 treatment (P<0.05). Moreover, western blot analysis revealed increased expression of Zeb1 and Vimentin and decreased expression of E-cadherin and Claudin1 in breast cancer cells (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that SDF1 changes the expression of some factors controlling EMT in breast cancer cells and it might be one of the underlying mechanisms of SDF1 effect on metastasis in breast cancer cells.