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Updated: Jun 1, 2026
Development of an In Vitro Assay to Evaluate Contractile Function of Mesenchymal Cells that Underwent Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
Published on: June 10, 2016
[The influence of SiO2 on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human bronchial epithelial cells]
Guan-nan Liang1, Jian-hua Zhou, Yong-bin Hu
1Department of pathology, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China.
Objective:
To investigate SiO2-induced EMT in human bronchial epithelial cells HBE in vitro.
Methods:
HBE cells were cultured and then stimulated with indicated doses of SiO2 (0, 50, 100, 200, 300 µg/ml). The morphological changes were observed by microscope. In addition, Western blot was per-formed to detect the expression of E-cad, α-SMA and Vim. The changes of migration ability were examined by wound-healing assay in vitro.
Results:
(1) After exposure to SiO2, HBE cells lost contact with their neighbor and displayed a spindle-shape, fibroblast-like morphology. (2) Compared with the control, the E-cad (300 µg/ml group) expression downregulated 2.98 fold (P < 0.05), and the Vim (300 µg/ml group) and α-SMA (200 µg/ml group) expression upregulated 4.46 fold and 3.55 fold (P < 0.05). There were significant differences between 100, 200, 300 µg/ml groups and the control group (P < 0.05). (3) In the test group, the percentage of wound-healing areas/wound areas were larger than those in control group (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
SiO2 could induce EMT in human bronchial epithelial cells.
