Tight junction protein 1 is regulated by transforming growth factor-beta and contributes to cell motility in NSCLC cells

Abstract

Tight junction protein 1 (TJP1), a component of tight junction, has been reported to play a role in protein networks as an adaptor protein, and TJP1 expression is altered during tumor development. Here, we found that TJP1 expression was increased at the RNA and protein levels in TGF-beta-stimulated lung cancer cells, A549. SB431542, a type-I TGF-beta receptor inhibitor, as well as SB203580, a p38 kinase inhibitor, significantly abrogated the effect of TGF-beta on TJP1 expression. Diphenyleneiodonium, an NADPH oxidase inhibitor, also attenuated TJP1 expression in response to TGF-beta in lung cancer cells. When TJP1 expression was reduced by shRNA lentiviral particles in A549 cells (A549-sh TJP1), wound healing was much lower than in cells infected with control viral particles. Taken together, these data suggest that TGF-beta enhances TJP1 expression, which may play a role beyond structural support in tight junctions during cancer development.