Tumor-associated macrophage enhances invasion and migration of breast cancer cells T47D

Objective To explore the effect of tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) on invasion and migration of breast cancer cells T47D. Methods Briefly, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) was employed to treat mononuclear cells THP-1. And then interleukin 4 (IL-4) was applied to stimulate mentioned cells to establish activated TAM. Furthermore, the supernatant of M0 and M2 was used to culture T47D cells, respectively. Then, the wound healing experiment and transwell assay were carried out to investigate cells invasion and migration. Finally, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) biomarkers in T47D cells treated with M0 or M2 were determined by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot assays. Results Activated TAM model was successfully established by PMA following with IL-4. Comparing with M0, M2 evidently accelerated invasion and migration in T47D cells. Meanwhile, M2 upregulated N-cadherin, vimentin and β-catenin, downregulated E-cadherin at mRNA and protein expression levels. Conclusions M2 promotes invasion and migration of T47D cells via EMT. Key words: Macrophages; Breast neoplasms; Cell migration assays; In vitro