In: PLOS ONE
9(1), e87386
[PDF, 823kB]
Abstract
Tumor cells are stressed by unfavorable environmental conditions like hypoxia or starvation. Driven by the resulting cellular stress tumor cells undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Additionally, cellular stress is accompanied by endoplasmic reticulum-stress which induces an unfolded protein response. It is unknown if epithelial-mesenchymal transition and endoplasmic reticulum-stress are occurring as independent parallel events or if an interrelationship exists between both of them. Here, we show that in colorectal cancer cells endoplasmic reticulum-stress depends on the induction of ZEB-1, which is a main factor of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In the absence of ZEB-1 colorectal cancer cells cannot mount endoplasmic reticulum-stress as a reaction on cellular stress situations like hypoxia or starvation. Thus, our data suggest that there is a hierarchy in the development of cellular stress which starts with the presence of environmental stress that induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition which allows finally endoplasmic reticulum-stress. This finding highlights the central role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition during the process of tumorigenesis as epithelial-mesenchymal transition is also associated with chemoresistance and cancer stemness. Consequently, endoplasmic reticulum-stress might be a well suited target for chemotherapy of colorectal cancers.
Item Type: | Journal article |
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Faculties: | Medicine > Institute of Pathology |
Subjects: | 600 Technology > 610 Medicine and health |
URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:19-epub-33781-6 |
ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
Language: | English |
Item ID: | 33781 |
Date Deposited: | 15. Feb 2017, 14:45 |
Last Modified: | 04. Nov 2020, 13:11 |