Major fluctuations in the localization and concentration of cellular metal ions play important regulatory roles in numerous biological signaling processes. In addition to new insights into regulatory checkpoints in the meiotic cell cycle, mechanisms controlling fertilization of oocytes, sperm function, and host-pathogen interactions, their roles in cancer cell functions have been examined. Because most cancer deaths are largely caused by metastasis, many studies of metastatic mechanisms have been being carried out to stop cancer progression. Phenotypical and transcriptomic changes of epithelial cells into mesenchymal ones, termed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), are observed in many invasive cancer developments. Along with the unique changes, interestingly, it has also been reported that the EMT process can change homeostasis of metal ions such as calcium, copper, manganese, iron, and zinc in some cancer cells. Although these reports showed significant connection between EMT and metal homeostasis, since their observation is limited to one type of cancer cell line, it is hard to claim that their discoveries can be applied to various cancer cells originated from different organs. In this conference, I will report inorganic signatures of four different cancer cell lines–A549, DU-145, MDA-MB-468, and A431 originated from lung, prostate, breast, and skin, respectively–and their fluctuations during EMT. With the aid of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), this study shows that the amounts of many inorganic elements in various cancer cells are significantly different from each other and they have unique and distinguishable metal fluctuation profiles depending on their origins during EMT. In contrast to most of previous studies, We were able to simultaneously scrutinize many elements including labile metal ions such as K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ in various kinds of cancer cell lines thanks to the new Wash-Free ICP-MS method that we have recently developed. Together with the new methodology, the high sensitivity and accuracy of ICP-MS technology in inorganic element detection did not only enable us to detect very rare elements such as Mn and Cu, but also to observe subtle metal fluctuation during EMT. Thus, the new discovery in this study will significantly contribute to a better understanding of the roles of metal ions in cancer metastasis.

Effect of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition on metal homeostasis of various cancer cells

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.