Knockdown of OLA1, a regulator of oxidative stress response, inhibits motility and invasion of breast cancer cells

To explore the role of a novel Obg-like ATPase 1 (OLA1) in cancer metastasis, small interference RNA (siRNA) was used to knockdown the protein, and the cells were subjected to in vitro cell migration and invasion assays. Knockdown of OLA1 significantly inhibited cell migration and invasion in breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. The knockdown caused no changes in cell growth but affected ROS production. In wound-healing assays, decreased ROS in OLA1-knockdown cells were in situ associated with the cells' decreased motile morphology. Further, treatment of N-acetylcysteine, a general ROS scavenger, blunted the motility and invasiveness of MDA-MB-231 cells, similar to the effect of OLA1-knockdown. These results suggest that knockdown of OLA1 inhibits breast cancer cell migration and invasion through a mechanism that involves the modulation of intracellular ROS levels.