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Updated: Jul 27, 2025

Studying TGF-β Signaling and TGF-β-induced Epithelial-to-mesenchymal Transition in Breast Cancer and Normal Cells
Published on: October 27, 2020
Selective activation of TGFβ signaling by
Shegan Gao1,2, Ke Liu2, Yelin Jiao1
1State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention & Treatment, Henan Key Laboratory of Microbiome and Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Henan Key Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics, Cancer Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine, Medical College of Henan University of Science and Technology Luoyang 471003, Henan, China.
Porphyromonas gingivalis infection activates TGFβ/Smad signaling in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) via GARP, promoting tumor growth and poor prognosis. Targeting this pathway offers a potential ESCC treatment strategy.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Aberrant transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) signaling is implicated in cancer progression.
- The role of TGFβ signaling in the context of infections like Porphyromonas gingivalis in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanism by which Porphyromonas gingivalis infection influences TGFβ/Smad signaling in ESCC.
- To explore the role of Glycoprotein A repetitions predominant (GARP) in this process and its prognostic significance.
Main Methods:
- Global transcriptomic analysis was employed to identify molecular changes.
- Experiments involved cultured cells, clinical ESCC samples, and xenograft models.
- Key techniques included assessing TGFβ secretion, Smad2/3 phosphorylation, GARP expression, and the impact of P. gingivalis, TGFβ, and GARP manipulation.
Main Results:
- Porphyromonas gingivalis infection was found to increase TGFβ secretion and activate TGFβ/Smad signaling in ESCC.
- P. gingivalis enhanced GARP expression, which in turn activated TGFβ/Smad signaling, partly dependent on P. gingivalis fimbriae (FimA).
- Inhibition of P. gingivalis, TGFβ, or GARP attenuated ESCC cell malignancy and Smad2/3 phosphorylation. Both GARP and p-Smad2/3 levels correlated with poor ESCC prognosis.
Conclusions:
- TGFβ/Smad signaling mediates the oncogenic effects of P. gingivalis in ESCC, with GARP augmenting this process.
- The P. gingivalis-GARP-TGFβ axis represents a potential therapeutic target for ESCC treatment.
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