Objective To investigate the effect of the adrenal gland’s function and the adrenal hormone on the breast cancer metastasis and the underlying mechanisms.
Methods The mice was divided into three groups after adrenal gland transplantation, sham operation and adrenalectomy and then were inoculated with 4T1-luc cells. We monitored the growth and metastasis of tumors using India ink staining and luciferase assay. The effect of epinephrine (E) and dexamethasone (DEX) on 4T1 migration ability was detected by wound healing assay and Transwell assay. And we used RT-PCR, real-time PCR and Western blot to detect the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related genes including E-cadherin, vimentin and ZEB1 mRNA and protein.
Results The tumor in the adrenal gland transplantation group was larger than those in other two groups, and also the pulmonary nodule was increased obviously and the distant metastases in the abdomen were the most significant; while the tumor growth and metastasis showed an opposite effect in the adrenalectomy group. DEX could promote the migration ability of 4T1 cells while epinephrine induced an unobvious effect. Moreover, DEX increased the mRNA and protein expression of vimentin and ZEB1 while decreased E-cadherin expression.
Conclusion Glucocorticoid promotes the growth and metastasis of the breast tumor in mice, and the effect may be mediated by promoting EMT.
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