Abstract. Human choriocarcinoma is one of the most aggressive malignant tumors characterized by early hematogenous spread to lung and brain tissues, and may be a cause of death in patients. Choriocarcinoma may occur following pregnancy and during implantation; however, trophoblastic invasion in human pregnancy is tightly regulated. The transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) has been suggested to play a role in controlling this process. In this study, we investigated the impact of TGF-β1 on invasion, as well as its sites of action in the TGF-β1/Smad pathway using a JEG-3 choriocarcinoma cell line. Following the treatment of cells with different doses of TGF-β1, cell invasion was observed. We also detected the expression of TGF-β receptor type I (TβR I) and TGF-β receptor type II (TβR II), Smad4, matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-9 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 in JEG-3 cells. Our data demonstrated that TGF-β1 promoted the invasive capability of JEG-3 cells depending on the downregulation of TβR I, TβR II, Smad4 and the upregulation of MMP-9 and TIMP-1. These observations suggest that TGF-β1 may play a critical role in the initiation of the trophoblastic invasion process.
IntroductionA successful human pregnancy requires embryonic trophocytes to invade into the womb and adhere to the endometrium; however, this kind of invasion is strictly regulated temporospatially (1). The deregulation of the invasion process may cause a series of pregnancy-related diseases, such as hydatidiform mole and invasive mole; however, excessive invasion of trophocytes is significantly associated with the formation of placental choriocarcinoma (2). In this process, one critical step of choriocarcinoma invasion and metastasis is the degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM), in which the MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio plays a significant role (3,4).The main treatment for choriocarcinoma is 5-fluorouracil, which has a very good therapeutic efficacy; however, it may also cause toxic reactions, side effects and drug resistance (5). Since conventional treatments including surgery and chemotherapy often fail, it is necessary to explore the metastasis mechanisms of proliferation and invasiveness, and find a new target for drug therapy.TGF-β belongs to a growth factor super-family which consists of a highly evolutionary conserved group of secreted cytokines (6). The TGF-β family consists of TGF-β, activins, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), nodals, inhibins and antimullerian hormone (AMH). TGF-β1 is the prototypic family member and is secreted as an inactive latent precursor (7,8). It plays a significant role in the control of growth and development, including the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation, the promotion of ECM formation and suppression of the immune response (9). TGF-β1 exerts its cellular effects through TβR I, TβR II and the Smad transcription factors, which have pivotal roles in intracellular signaling (7,10). Moreover, Smad4 is an essential factor in TGF-β signaling and is a frequently mutated tumor ...