Salinomycin induces expression of ER and Golgi apparatus related genes in EMT cell model

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) gives rise to cells with properties similar to cancer stem cells (CSCs) that drive tumor metastasis. Recently, a screening of a large compound library on a breast EMT model has identified salinomycin, a K+/H+ ionophore, as a highly selective drug towards CSCs. We used the same EMT model to show that salinomycin targets Golgi apparatus. We have performed RNA-seq analysis on HMLE-Twist and HMLE-pBp cells (EMT and non-EMT) that were either mock treated or treated for 24h with micro molar concentration (0.2uM) of salinomycin. Salinomycin induced expression of genes enriched by known ER and Golgi stressors. Total RNA from biological triplicates from mock and salinomycin treated HMLE-Twist and HMLE-pBp cells was extracted (12 biological samples in total). Library was prepared with TrueSeq Stranded mRNA kit (Illumina) from 750 ng of RNA. Library was sequenced on a NextSeq500 using High output flow-cell in pair-end mode (75+75 cycles). Raw data yielded total over 920 million high-quality reads (Q30 > 75%).