Differential gene expression between DLD-1 cells lines with moderately and significantly upregulated levels of Snail

Using human colon cancer DLD-1 cells, we engineered a cell line with a doxycycline-inducible single-copy of Snail and compared it to an existing EMT models in DLD-1 where Snail was introduced by episome transfection. Induction of the single-copy line (Snail-lo) with doxycycline increased Snail expression to a level similar to that observed in cancer cell lines spontaneously expressing Snail and results in partial EMT. In comparison, higher levels of overexpression arising from introduction of episomal-Snail (Snail-hi), results in complete EMT. The changes in expression of 84 epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated genes in were measured in Snail-lo and Snail-hi cells using a QIAGEN RT2 Profiler PCR Array Human Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition and its accompanying data analysis package (QIAGEN PCR Array Data Analysis Software). There were three biological repeats per line.