Abstract

Metastasis, the movement of cancer cells from one site to another, is responsible for the highest number of cancer deaths, especially in lung cancer patients. In this study, we first identified a prognostic marker of lung adenocarcinoma, TCP-1 β subunit (CCT-β). We showed a compound that disrupted the interaction of CCT-β with β-tubulin killed a highly metastatic non-small cell lung cancer cell line CL1-5 through inducing ER-stress and caspases activation. Moreover, at the dosage of EC20, the compound inhibited migration and invasion of the lung cancer cells by suppressing matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2/9 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins through downregulating MAPKs, Akt/β-catenin, and integrin-FAK signaling pathways. Unlike the anti-cancer drugs, such as taxol, that target the ATP-site of β-tubulin, this study reveals a therapeutic target, β-tubulin/CCT-β complex, for metastatic human lung adenocarcinoma.