Hypoxia-induced vasculogenic mimicry formation in human colorectal cancer cells: Involvement of HIF-1a, Claudin-4, and E-cadherin and Vimentin

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 37534
• Main Authors: Li, Wen, Zong, ShaoQi, Shi, Qi, Li, HongJia, Xu, Jian, Hou, Fenggang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 21.11.2016
• Subjects: Colorectal cancer; Colorectal carcinoma; E-cadherin; Hypoxia; Hypoxia-inducible factor 1a; Mesenchyme; Metastases; Metastasis; Mimicry; Vimentin
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep37534

Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) plays an important role in colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis, and both hypoxia and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are necessary for VM. In this study, HIF-1α expression was upregulated in the VM-positive CRC cell line HCT-116 and thereby affected the expression of the EMT-related markers Claudin-4, E-cadherin (E-cd) and Vimentin(VIM). SB431542 and U0126EtOH, which can inhibit of EMT were used to treat HCT-116 and HCT-8 in these experiments. Both of the inhibitors had significant effect on EMT markers and the formations of VM in CRC cells. In addition, knockdown of HIF-1α in the HCT-116 cells inhibited their capacity for VM. Our study reveals a regulatory role for HIF-1α in VM and suggests that targeting either HIF-1α or EMT may be a valuable strategy for the elimination of CRC metastasis.