Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial process for the invasion and
metastasis of epithelial
tumors. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this transition are poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that
interferon regulatory factor 4
binding protein (
IBP) regulates EMT and the motility of
breast cancer cells through Rac1, RhoA and Cdc42 signaling pathways. We found that increased expression of
IBP was associated with the progression of
breast cancer and that
IBP protein levels were significantly elevated in matched distant
metastases. High
IBP levels also predict shorter overall survival of
breast cancer patients. Furthermore, the forced expression of
IBP decreased the expression of the epithelial marker
E-cadherin but increased the mesenchymal markers in
breast cancer cells. In contrast, silencing
IBP in metastatic
breast tumor cells promoted a shift toward an epithelial morphology concomitant with increased expression of
E-cadherin and decreased expression of mesenchymal markers.
IBP silencing also reduced the expression of EMT-inducing
transcription factors (Snail, Slug, ZEB1 and ZEB2). Moreover, we identified a role for
IBP in endogenous EMT induced by
epidermal growth factor (
EGF) and deletion of
IBP attenuated
EGF receptor (EGFR) signaling in
breast cancer cells. Furthermore,
IBP regulates the migration, invasion and matrix
metalloprotease production in
breast cancer cells as well as actin cytoskeleton rearrangement and the activation of GTP-Rac1,
GTP-RhoA and GTP-Cdc42. Taken together, our findings demonstrate an oncogenic property for
IBP in promoting the metastatic potential of
breast cancer cells.