β-Catenin gene promoter hypermethylation by reactive oxygen species correlates with the migratory and invasive potentials of colon cancer cells

• Published in: Cellular oncology (Dordrecht) 2018-10, Vol.41 (5), p.569-580
• Main Authors: Banskota, Suhrid, Dahal, Sadan, Kwon, Eunju, Kim, Dong Young, Kim, Jung-Ae
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine; Acetic acid; beta Catenin - genetics; beta Catenin - metabolism; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Caco-2 Cells; Cancer Research; Cell adhesion & migration; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell migration; Colon cancer; Colonic Neoplasms - genetics; Colonic Neoplasms - metabolism; Colonic Neoplasms - pathology; Colorectal cancer; Confocal microscopy; CTNNB1 gene; DNA methylation; DNA Methylation - genetics; DNA Methylation - physiology; E-cadherin; Epigenetics; Gene expression; HCT116 Cells; HT29 Cells; Humans; Hydrogen peroxide; Invasiveness; Metastases; Migratory species; NAD(P)H oxidase; NADPH Oxidases - genetics; NADPH Oxidases - metabolism; Oncology; Original Paper; Pathology; Polymerase chain reaction; Reactive oxygen species; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Western blotting; Wound healing; β-catenin
• ISSN: 2211-3428; 2211-3436
• DOI: 10.1007/s13402-018-0391-7

Purpose Over half of the colon cancer patients suffer from cancer-related events, mainly metastasis. Loss of β-catenin activity has previously been found to facilitate cancer cell dissociation and migration. Here, we aimed to investigate whether epigenetic silencing of β-catenin induces human colon cancer cell migration and/or invasion. Methods HCT-116, Caco-2, HT-29 and SW620 cell migration and invasion capacities were assessed using scratch wound healing and Matrigel invasion assays, respectively. Confocal microscopy, qRT-PCR and Western blotting were performed to determine gene expression levels, whereas methylation-specific quantitative real-time PCR was used to assess the extent of β-catenin gene ( CTNNB1 ) promoter methylation after treatment of the cells with TPA, hydrogen peroxide, 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine and/or VAS2870. Results We found that treatment of HT-29 and Caco-2 cells (differentiated and low metastatic) with 12- O -tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA; a tumor promoter) suppressed E-cadherin and β-catenin expression at both the mRNA and protein levels and, in addition, enhanced cell migration. Furthermore, we found that the CTNNB1 gene promoter methylation levels were higher in the more invasive HCT-116 and SW620 colon cancer cells than in HT-29 and CCD-841 (normal colon epithelial) cells. We also found that TPA or hydrogen peroxide induced CTNNB1 gene promoter methylation to a higher extent in HT-29 and CCD-841 cells than in HCT-116 and SW620 cells, and that the degree of CTNNB1 gene promoter methylation positively correlated with cell dissociation and migration. In addition, we found that co-treatment with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (decitabine, a DNA methyl transferase inhibitor) and VAS2870 (a NADPH oxidase inhibitor) almost completely blocked the invasion of TPA-treated HT-29 and TPA-untreated HCT-116 and SW620 cells, and that these inhibitions surpassed those of the cells treated with decitabine or VAS2870 alone. Conclusions From our data we conclude that the extent of CTNNB1 gene promoter methylation by reactive oxygen species correlates with the migratory and invasive abilities of colon cancer cells. Our results suggest that epigenetic regulation of CTNNB1 may serve as a novel avenue to block colon cancer cell migration and invasion.