[Construction of retroviral vector carrying Twist gene and its induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human mammary epithelial cells].

Objective: To construct a retroviral vector carrying Twist gene and investigate its effect on human mammary MCF10A epithelial cells.

Methods: Myc-Twist was digested from pcDNA3/myc-Twist and subcloned into the retroviral vector pBABE-puro to construct a recombinant plasmid (pBABE-myc-Twist). The inserted Twist gene was confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion and DNA sequencing. The plasmid pBABE-myc-Twist and the packaging plasmid pAmpho were co-transfected into HEK293T cells for packaging of retrovirus. Meanwhile, the control plasmid pBABE-puro and the packaging plasmid were co-transfected into the other HEK293T cells as a control group. Human mammary MCF10A epithelial cells were infected with the retroviruses carrying Twist gene or the controls, and selected by puromycin. The expression of Twist in the MCF10A-Twist and MCF10A-Vector cells was determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The expressions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker proteins induced by Twist in MCF10A cells were detected using immunofluorescence cytochemistry and Western blotting. Cell migration and invasion abilities were analyzed by Transwell(R); assay.

Results: The myc-tagged Twist gene was correctly inserted into the retroviral expression vector as a recombinant plasmid (pBABE-myc-Twist) as identified by restriction analysis and DNA sequencing. The Twist gene was efficiently delivered into human mammary MCF10A epithelial cells by the retrovirus, resulting in the stable expression of Twist mRNA and myc-tagged Twist protein as shown by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The expression of the epithelial biomarker E-cadherin was downregulated whereas, the mesenchymal marker vimentin upregulated in MCF10A-Twist cells as shown by immunofluorescence cytochemistry and Western blotting. Cell migration and invasion abilities were enhanced notably in MCF10A-Twist cells as compared with MCF10A-Vector control cells (P<0.01).

Conclusion: Twist induces EMT of MCF10A cells and plays an important role in the promotion of cell migration and invasion.