The roles of TG-interacting factor in cadmium exposure-promoted invasion and migration of lung cancer cells.

Cadmium (Cd) is an established human carcinogen. Previous documents have demonstrated the association of Cd exposure with lung cancer progression. However, the underlying mechanisms of Cd-promoted invasion and migration of lung cancer cells have not yet been fully understood. The objective of this study was to explore the functional roles of TG-interacting factor (TGIF) in Cd exposure-promoted invasion and migration of lung cancer cells. Lung cancer cells were exposed to Cd for eight weeks. Invasion assay and migration assay were used to evaluate the cell invasive and migratory ability. qRT-PCR and western blot analyses were applied to analyze the expression levels of mRNA and protein. Our results showed that Cd-exposed lung cancer cells expressed markedly increased TGIF protein and mRNA compared to control cells. Cd-exposed lung cancer cells exhibited higher migratory and invasive ability than control cells did. However, silencing TGIF blocked Cd exposure-accelerated lung cancer cell invasion and migration. In addition, we found that the upregulation of Snail protein expression induced by exposure to Cd was modulated by TGIF in lung cancer cells. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that TGIF might play a crucial role in invasion and migration of lung cancer cells exposed to Cd.