IGF-1 and latent TGF-β1 caused morphological changes in MCF-7 cells consistent with EMT. Vehicle treated cells showed typical rounded epithelial morphology (a). Treatment of MCF-7 cells with 100 nM recombinant IGF-1 + 10 nM latent TGF-β1 caused a mesenchymal morphological phenotype characterized by a fibroblast-like appearance (g). Treatment with IGF-1 or latent TGF-β1 alone did not result in a morphological change (c, e). Pre-treatment of cells with PI3K or MAPK inhibitors abolished IGF-1 + latent TGF-β1 induced mesenchymal morphological phenotype (d, f). BB94 or TGF-β1 inhibitor prevented the morphological changes associated with IGF-1 + TGF-β1 treatment (b, h). Cytoskeleton was stained with phalloidin (red) and the nucleus with DAPI (blue). Images are representative of 3 independent experiments with consistent results.
Walsh and Damjanovski Cell Communication and Signaling 2011 9:10 doi:10.1186/1478-811X-9-10