0BJECTIVE To study the expression levels of Twist and epithelialmesenchymal transitions in multidrug-resistant MCF-7/ADR breast cancer cells, and to study the relationship between multidrug resistance (MDR) and metastatic potential of the cells. METHODS RT-PCR, immunohistochemical and Western blotting methods were used to examine the changes of expression levels of the transcription factor Twist, E-cadherin and N-cadherin in the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line and its multidrug-resistant variant, MCF-7/ADR. RESULTS In MCF-7 cells, the expression of E-cadherin can be detected, but there is no expression of Twist or N-cadherin. In MCF-7/ADR cells, E-cadherin expression is lost, but the expression of two other genes was significantly positive. CONCLUSION Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions induced by Twist, may have a relationship with enhanced invasion and metastatic potential during the development of multidrug-resistant MCF-7/ADR breast cancer cells.
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