Snail is critical for tumor growth and metastasis of ovarian carcinoma
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026
Murine Model for Non-invasive Imaging to Detect and Monitor Ovarian Cancer Recurrence
Published on: November 2, 2014
Hongyan Jin1, Yinhua Yu, Tao Zhang
1Department of Pathology, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Snail, a key inducer of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), plays an important role in cancer metastasis. To better understand the role of Snail in the metastasis of ovarian carcinoma, expression of Snail was knocked down by antisense-Snail in the highly metastatic ovarian cancer cell line HO8910PM. Gene array analysis revealed that blocking Snail expression suppressed the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and upregulated TIMP3, an MMP inhibitor. These findings suggest that Snail interacts with MMP during tumor invasion and metastasis. In addition, we examined the role of Snail in an ovarian cancer orthotopic model by using the antisense-Snail HO8910PM cell line. We found that the size of primary ovarian cancer tumor and the number of metastatic lesions were significantly reduced when Snail was knocked down. Confirming our initial findings, the activity of MMP2 was greatly inhibited in tumors from antisense-Snail cells. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis on ovarian cancer progression tissue array demonstrated that the expression of Snail was significantly higher in metastatic lesions, and Snail expression correlated with the stage of ovarian cancer. Interestingly, in early-stage tumors, Snail was localized in both the cytoplasm and nucleus. In late stage and metastatic lesions, the level of Snail was elevated, and Snail was localized to the nucleus. The expression level and nuclear localization of Snail were also inversely correlated with E-cadherin expression. Overall, our study indicates that Snail plays a critical role in tumor growth and metastasis of ovarian carcinoma through regulation of MMP activity.
Insights
Snail protein drives ovarian cancer metastasis by promoting matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity. Inhibiting Snail significantly reduced tumor growth and spread, highlighting its therapeutic potential.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Snail is a key inducer of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process crucial for cancer metastasis.
- Ovarian carcinoma is a significant cause of cancer-related mortality, with metastasis being a primary driver of poor prognosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of Snail in the metastasis of ovarian carcinoma.
- To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which Snail contributes to ovarian cancer progression.
Main Methods:
- Knockdown of Snail expression using antisense-Snail in the HO8910PM ovarian cancer cell line.
- Gene array analysis to assess gene expression changes upon Snail knockdown.
- Orthotopic ovarian cancer model in mice to evaluate tumor growth and metastasis.
- Immunohistochemical analysis of ovarian cancer tissue arrays.
Main Results:
- Snail knockdown suppressed matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and upregulated TIMP3, an MMP inhibitor.
- Reduced primary tumor size and metastatic lesions were observed in the orthotopic model with Snail knockdown.
- Snail expression was significantly higher in metastatic ovarian lesions and correlated with advanced cancer stage.
- Snail expression and nuclear localization increased with tumor progression and inversely correlated with E-cadherin.
Conclusions:
- Snail plays a critical role in ovarian carcinoma tumor growth and metastasis.
- Snail regulates ovarian cancer progression through the modulation of MMP activity.
- Targeting Snail may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for ovarian cancer metastasis.
