Sulforaphane suppresses bladder cancer metastasis via blocking actin nucleation-mediated pseudopodia formation

Lei Huang, Jiaxin Wang, Xinyi Wang, Sicong Zheng, Kailin Liang, Yea Eun Kang, Jae Won Chang, Bon Seok Koo, Lihua Liu, Annamaria Gal, Yujuan Shan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Metastasis is the primary stumbling block to the treatment of bladder cancer (BC). In order to spread, tumor cells must acquire increased migratory and invasive capacity, which is tightly linked with pseudopodia formation. Here, we unravel the effects of sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate in cruciferous vegetables, on the assembly of pseudopodia and BC metastasis, and its molecular mechanism in the process. Our database analysis revealed that in bladder tumor, pseudopodia-associated genes, CTTN, WASL and ACTR2/ARP2 are upregulated. SFN caused lamellipodia to collapse in BC cells by blocking the CTTN-ARP2 axis. SFN inhibited invadopodia formation and cell invasion by reducing WASL in different invasive BC cell lines. The production of ATP, essential for the assembly of pseudopodia, was significantly increased in bladder tumors and strongly inhibited by SFN. Overexpressing AKT1 reversed the downregulation of ATP in SFN-treated bladder cancer cells and restored filopodia and lamellipodia morphology and function. Bioluminescent imaging showed that SFN suppressed BC metastases to the lung of nude mice while downregulating Cttn and Arp2 expression. Our study thus reveals mechanisms of SFN action in inhibiting pseudopodia formation and highlights potential targeting options for the therapy of metastatic bladder cancer.
Original languageEnglish
Article number217145
JournalCancer Letters
Volume601
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Jul 2024

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© 2024 Elsevier B.V.

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