Selenate induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition in a colorectal carcinoma cell line by AKT activation.

In addition to potent anticancer effects of selenite, a modest therapeutic effect of sodium selenate has been demonstrated in prostate cancer patients. Selenate acts by activating protein phosphatase 2A, which inhibits various signal transduction cascades, including the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway. The human colorectal carcinoma cell line DLD-1 harbors a constitutive active mutation in PIK3CA encoding the PI3K p110α catalytic subunit. Thus, we examined the anticancer effect of sodium selenate in DLD-1 cells. As expected, selenate significantly decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis at a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 0.88mM, whereas selenite was much more potent at an IC50 of 0.0061mM. Surprisingly, at lower concentrations (0.04-0.16mM), selenate induced changes in cell morphology and motility that are characteristic of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Moreover, selenate-induced EMT was associated with AKT activation, increased expression of the EMT-inducing transcription factor TWIST1 and the mesenchymal cell-specific intermediate filament vimentin, and decreased expression of the epithelial cell-specific adhesion molecule E-cadherin. The critical role of AKT activation in selenate-induced EMT was identified using the AKT inhibitor Akti-1/2, which suppressed EMT-associated cell motility and invasion. These results suggest that although sodium selenate is a potential anticancer drug, deleterious effects of EMT induction should be taken into careful consideration.