Effect of Nanog overexpression on the metastatic potential of a mouse melanoma cell line B16-BL6

Nanog, a marker and regulator of the undifferentiated state in embryonic stem cells were anticipated to be an effective enhancer of cancer metastasis. We have developed a Nanog overexpressing mouse melanoma cell line B16-BL6 (BL6). BL6 was well recognized as a cell line with a high metastatic potential. In vitro tests revealed the enhancement of cell proliferation, wound healing activity, and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) activity. Nanog-induced up- or down-regulated genes were comprehensively analyzed by transcriptome sequencing using Nanog(+)BL6 and wild-type BL6. Principally, up-regulated genes were involved in vesicle-aided glucose transport and oxidative phosphorylation, while down-regulated genes were associated with immunosuppression and apoptosis. A marked finding was that TGF-β1 was down-regulated, because TGF-β1 has been well discussed about its suppressive/progressive dual role in cancer. In vivo test showed that the number and volume of metastatic colonies of BL6 to lung were as high as 115 colonies/lung and 5.6 mm(3)/lung. Under this condition, Nanog overexpression caused a progressive effect (150 colonies/lung, p = 0.25; 9.2 mm(3)/lung, p = 0.13) rather than a suppressive effect on the metastasis. In this study, the effectiveness of Nanog overexpression in enhancing the metastatic potential of melanoma cell lines has been demonstrated for the first time. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11010-021-04110-8.