TGF-β1 promotes the migration and invasion of bladder carcinoma cells by increasing fascin1 expression.

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is a multifunctional cytokine that is reported to regulate cellular motility and invasive capability during tumor progression. Fascin1, an actin-bundling protein, increases cell motility, migration and adhesion. To investigate the function of TGF-β1 and test whether fascin1 is an important mediator of the tumor response to TGF-β1 in bladder carcinoma cells, real-time RT-PCR and western blot analysis were used to test changes in fascin1 expression after TGF-β1 (10 ng/ml) treatment in T24 and BIU87 cells. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) technique was performed to silence fascin1. Cell viability and biological behavior changes were evaluated by cell growth (MTT), wound-healing and Matrigel invasion assays. In the present study, we found that the mRNA and protein levels of fascin1 in the T24 and BIU87 cells were significantly increased after 10 ng/ml TGF-β1 treatment (p<0.05). The proliferation of T24 cells (p=0.005) was also significantly increased, while no significant change was observed in BIU87 cells (p=0.318). In addition, the migratory and invasive potential of the two cell lines were promoted. Furthermore, we successfully silenced fascin1, and observed that fascin1 siRNA significantly attenuated the migration and invasiveness induced by TGF-β1. The findings suggested that TGF-β1 can promote invasion and migration of T24 and BIU87 bladder carcinoma cells, and the increase in fascin1 expression may be the key point of this impact of TGF-β1.