DETERMINAZIONE DEGLI EFFETTI DEL KENPAULLONE SULLA TRANSIZIONE EPITELIO MESENCHIMALE DELL'EMBRIONE DI PARACENTROTUS LIVIDUS

Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is a key step in activating carcinoma cellmotility and metastasis. Here, I evaluate the effect of Kenpaullone (9-bromo-7,12-dihydroindolo-[3,2-d][1]benzazepin-6(5H)-one) on the EMT process using an in vivomodel, the sea urchin Paracentrotuslividusembryo. In sea urchin embryos, early EMT isrelated to the physiological migration of primary mesenchyme cells into the blastocoel.Treatment with Kenpaullone at very early stages caused the development of an emptyblastula morphotype. In these embryos, mesenchyme cells differentiation was perturbed, asmanifested by aberrant development, the lack of expression of the mesenchymal-specificmarker msp130, and a negative reaction to wheat germ agglutinina (WGA). Moreover, theexpression of genes involved inthe EMT process wasevaluated.