E-cadherin Gene Expression Changes in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Line Under Simulated Microgravity Condition

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common type of malignancy in women. Metastasis and invasion of breast tumor cells are responsible for many deaths from breast cancer. Simulated microgravity can alter tumor cell adhesion, proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. The degradation and regeneration of the extracellular matrix play essential roles in the migration and metastasis of tumor cells. E-cadherin is a cell adhesion molecule whose primary function is to mediate cell-matrix and cell-cell contacts, maintaining the integrity of the extracellular matrix. Loss of E-cadherin is one of the initial events in metastasis and tumor invasion.In the present study, the expression of the E-cadherin gene in the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line was examined under simulated microgravity conditions using a clinostat for one and three days, utilizing real-time PCR with GAPDH as a reference gene. The effects of weightlessness on cell proliferation and metabolic activity were evaluated using the MTT assay. MTT data indicated that microgravity for one and three days had no significant effects on cell proliferation and metabolic activity. However, exposure to microgravity for one day led to a doubling of E-cadherin gene expression. Continued exposure to microgravity for three days resulted in a further increase.These findings suggest that microgravity conditions may reduce the invasive phenotype of breast cancer, potentially decreasing breast cancer invasion and metastasis. Studying cancer cells in a microgravity environment can enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying cancer progression and may lead to the development of new treatment methods.

Keywords

• simulated microgravity: clinostat: breast cancer: mcf
• 7 cell line: e
• cadherin gene