👤 Pithi Chanvorachote

Particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) is known to adversely affect human health. While its involvement in lung cancer pathogenesis is recognized, its specific impact on metastasis-related behaviors of lung cancer cells remains largely unexplored. In this study, we employed cell culture models, proteomic analysis, and bioinformatic analysis. Target proteins and signaling pathways were validated using western blotting and immunofluorescence assay. Wound healing, transwell migration and phalloidin-rhodamine assays were used to determine the migratory activity. Proteomic analysis identified 3,795 proteins in both control and PM2.5-treated groups. Among these, proteins associated with metastasis, particularly those related to "cell migration" (GO: 0016477), were highlighted, identifying six key proteins involved in cancer metastasis. Protein-protein interaction analysis pinpointed fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) as a central target influenced by PM2.5, which promoted cell migration These results indicate that FGFR1 is a crucial target in PM2.5-induced metastasis in lung cancer cells, operating through an FGFR1/integrin/Akt signaling axis. This study advances our understanding of the role of PM2.5 in lung cancer metastasis and suggests potential therapeutic strategies to mitigate cancer progression. Show less

Metastasis negatively affects the survival of lung cancer patients, however, relatively few compounds have potential in metastasis suppression. This study investigated the molecular targets of N,N-bis (5-ethyl-2-hydroxybenzyl) methylamine (EMD) for metastatic inhibition. Proteins were analyzed by proteomic and bioinformatic analyses. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were created with the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database and hub genes were used to determine dominant pathways. Immunofluorescence and western blot analyses validated the proteomic results and investigated signaling pathways in NCI-H23 lung cancer cells. A total of 1,751 proteins were common to the control, EMD and N,N-bis(5-methoxy-2-hydroxybenzyl) methylamine (MeMD) groups; 1,980 different proteins were categorized using metastatic capacity category and analyzed for unique proteins affected by EMD. Fifteen proteins were associated with cell adhesion and six with cell migration. Nectin cell adhesion molecule 2 (NECTIN2) was expressed in the control and MeMD-treated groups but not the EMD-treated group, suggesting NECTIN2 as an EMD target. PPI network showed association of NECTIN2 with proteins regulating cancer metastasis. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways revealed that NECTIN2 is an upstream target of cytoskeletal regulation via SRC signaling. Western blot and immunofluorescence analyses confirmed that EMD suppressed NECTIN2, and its downstream targets, including p-SRC (Y146 and Y527) and the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition markers tight junction protein 1, vimentin, β-catenin, snail family transcriptional repressor 1 (SNAI1), and SNAI2, while increasing E-cadherin. EMD suppressed NECTIN2-induced activation of EMT signaling. These data support the development of EMD to prevent metastasis of lung cancer. Show less