Inhibitor of β-catenin and TCF (ICAT) promotes cervical cancer growth and metastasis by disrupting E-cadherin/β-catenin complex

Oncol Rep. 2017 Nov;38(5):2597-2606. doi: 10.3892/or.2017.5962. Epub 2017 Sep 18.

Abstract

The inhibitor of β-catenin and TCF (ICAT) blocks the binding of TCF to β-catenin and has been demonstrated as a suppressor of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. It has been reported to exert a different function around a wide variety of cancers. However, its function and underlying mechanisms in human cervical cancer remains unknown. In the present study, the expression of ICAT in 41 human cervical cancer tissues and 30 normal cervical tissues was evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis. ICAT was found highly expressed in cancer tissues. ICAT overexpression significantly promoted SiHa cell proliferation in vitro by causing G1 arrest, and enhanced cell migration and invasion whereas, ICAT knockdown induced opposite effects in Caski cells which have higher expression of ICAT. Downregulation or overexpression of ICAT resulted in an altered expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, immunoprecipitation assays revealed that ICAT pormoted cervical cancer EMT by competing in E-cadhenin binding to β-caterin. Overexpression of ICAT in SiHa cells promoted tumor growth and EMT was also demonstrated by the xenograft mouse experiment. These results demonstrate that ICAT contributed to the progression of cervical cancer and may play a role in the regulation of EMT by distrupting the E-cadherin/β-catenin complex. It may be a novel potential therapeutic target for therapy in human cervical cancer.

MeSH terms

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing
  • Animals
  • Antigens, CD
  • Cadherins / metabolism*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Movement
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / genetics*
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Neoplasm Transplantation
  • Up-Regulation
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / genetics
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / pathology*
  • beta Catenin / metabolism*

Substances

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing
  • Antigens, CD
  • CDH1 protein, human
  • CTNNB1 protein, human
  • CTNNBIP1 protein, human
  • Cadherins
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • beta Catenin