RESUMO
Mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) converts cells from migratory mesenchymal to polarized epithelial states. Despite its importance for both normal and pathological processes, very little is known about the regulation of MET in vivo. Here we exploit midgut morphogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster to investigate the mechanisms underlying MET. We show that down-regulation of the EMT transcription factor Serpent is required for MET, but not sufficient, as interactions with the surrounding mesoderm are also essential. We find that midgut MET relies on the secretion of specific laminins via the CopII secretory pathway from both mesoderm and midgut cells. We show that secretion of the laminin trimer containing the Wingblister α-subunit from the mesoderm is an upstream cue for midgut MET, leading to basal polarization of αPS1 integrin in midgut cells. Polarized αPS1 is required for the formation of a monolayered columnar epithelium and for the apical polarization of αPS3, Baz, and E-Cad. Secretion of a distinct LamininA-containing trimer from midgut cells is required to reinforce the localization of αPS1 basally, and αPS3 apically, for robust repolarization. Our data suggest that targeting these MET pathways, in conjunction with therapies preventing EMT, may present a two-pronged strategy toward blocking metastasis in cancer.
Assuntos
Sistema Digestório/metabolismo , Proteínas de Drosophila/metabolismo , Drosophila melanogaster/metabolismo , Células Epiteliais/metabolismo , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal , Laminina/metabolismo , Animais , Animais Geneticamente Modificados , Vesículas Revestidas pelo Complexo de Proteína do Envoltório/genética , Vesículas Revestidas pelo Complexo de Proteína do Envoltório/metabolismo , Caderinas/genética , Caderinas/metabolismo , Movimento Celular , Polaridade Celular , Sistema Digestório/embriologia , Proteínas de Drosophila/genética , Drosophila melanogaster/embriologia , Drosophila melanogaster/genética , Fatores de Transcrição GATA/genética , Fatores de Transcrição GATA/metabolismo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento , Cadeias alfa de Integrinas/genética , Cadeias alfa de Integrinas/metabolismo , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/genética , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/metabolismo , Laminina/genética , Microscopia Confocal , Microscopia de Fluorescência , Transdução de Sinais , Fatores de Tempo , Imagem com Lapso de TempoRESUMO
Metastasis underlies the majority of cancer-related deaths yet remains poorly understood due, in part, to the lack of models in vivo. Here we show that expression of the EMT master inducer Snail in primary adult Drosophila intestinal tumors leads to the dissemination of tumor cells and formation of macrometastases. Snail drives an EMT in tumor cells, which, although retaining some epithelial markers, subsequently break through the basal lamina of the midgut, undergo a collective migration and seed polyclonal metastases. While metastases re-epithelialize over time, we found that early metastases are remarkably mesenchymal, discarding the requirement for a mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition for early stages of metastatic growth. Our results demonstrate the formation of metastases in adult flies, and identify a key role for partial-EMTs in driving it. This model opens the door to investigate the basic mechanisms underlying metastasis, in a powerful in vivo system suited for rapid genetic and drug screens.
