Stearoyl-CoA-desaturase-1 regulates gastric cancer stem-like properties and promotes tumour metastasis via Hippo/YAP pathway
Menée in vitro et à l'aide de modèles murins, cette étude met en évidence un mécanisme par lequel la stéaryl-CoA-désaturase-1 favorise l'accroissement de la population des cellules souches cancéreuses des tumeurs gastriques primitives et le développement de métastases via la voie de signalisation Hippo/YAP
Résumé en anglais
Background : Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1) is reported to play essential roles in cancer stemness among several cancers. Our previous research revealed significant overexpression of SCD1 in primary gastric cancer stem cells (GCSCs), with its functional role still unknown.
Methods : We stably established three primary GCSCs by sphere-forming assays and flow cytometry. Protein quantification and bioinformatics analysis were performed to reveal the differential protein pattern. Lentivirus-based small-interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown and pharmacological inhibition approaches were used to characterise the function and molecular mechanism role of SCD1 in the regulation of GC stemness and tumour metastasis capacity both in vitro and in vivo.
Results : SCD1 was found to increase the population of GCSCs, whereas its suppression by an SCD1 inhibitor or knockdown by siRNA attenuated the stemness of GCSCs, including chemotherapy resistance and sphere-forming ability. Furthermore, SCD1 suppression reversed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and reduced the GC metastasis probability both in vitro and in vivo. Downregulation of SCD1 in GCSCs was associated with the expression of Yes-associated protein (YAP), a key protein in the Hippo pathway, and nuclear YAP translocation was also blocked by the SCD1 decrease.
Conclusions : SCD1 promotes GCSC stemness through the Hippo/YAP pathway. Targeting SCD1 might be a novel therapeutic strategy, especially to suppress GC metastasis and sensitise chemotherapy.
