Silencing TGIF suppresses migration, invasion and metastasis of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells

This study explored the potential role of TG-interacting factor (TGIF) in migration, invasion and metastasis of the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. Western blot assay, immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR assays were applied to detect the expression of protein and mRNA. Wound healing assay, Transwell invasion assay and tail vein metastatic assay were performed to assess the migration, invasion and metastasis of stable TGIF-silenced MDA-MB-231 cell line in vitro and in vivo. The significantly higher frequency of TGIF high-expression was observed in metastatic breast cancer (62.9%) compared to that in non-metastatic breast cancer (25.8%). Silencing TGIF suppressed migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro and tumor metastasis in nude mouse models. The expression of Snail1, matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) and beta-catenin was markedly decreased in the stable TGIF-silenced MDA-MB-231 cells compared with the control cells. Our results suggest that silencing TGIF suppressed the migration, invasion and metastasis of the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 using in vitro and in vivo experiments.