Notch signaling induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition to promote invasion and metastasis in adenoid cystic carcinoma

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is considered to have pivotal roles in the invasive and metastatic of Adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) which is marked by local infiltration and distant metastasis. Notch signaling abnormity has been implicated as important molecular events in recent next generation sequencing studies of AdCC, but the detail is still unclear. This study was designed to investigate the expression of Notch signaling pathway and its relation with EMT program in AdCC. We constructed custom-made Tissue microarray (TMA) to evaluate the immunoreactivity of Notch signaling and EMT program and found that Notch signaling increase consecutively from NSG, PMA to AdCC, suggesting Notch signaling pathway may be associated with human AdCC progression. Then, we carried out Pearson correlation analysis and showed a close correlation of Notch signaling and EMT progression. When blocking Notch signaling pathway with gamma-secretase inhibitor DAPT, EMT progression was decreased and migration and invasion ability were declined. Collectively, these findings suggest the vital roles of Notch signaling pathway in AdCC progression through their relationship with EMT progress. Targeting Notch signaling may provide further understanding of the mechanism of invasion and metastasis of AdCC as well as potential clinical therapeutics.