Effects of angiopoietin-1 on attachment and metastasis of human gastric cancer cell line BGC-823

AIM： To evaluate the effects of angiopoietin-1 （Ang-1） on adhesion of gastric cancer cell line BGC-823 and expression of integrin β1, CD44V6, urokinase-type plasminogen activator （uPA） and matrix metalloproteinase-2 （MMP-2）. METHODS： BGC-823 cells were transfected transiently with adenovirus-Ang-1 （Ad-Ang-1）. Cells transfected transiently with adenovirus-green fluorescent protein （Ad-GFP） and untransfected cells were used as a negative and blank control group, respectively. The cell adhesion rate between cell and extracellular matrix （ECM） was determined by cell adhesion assay. To investigate whether Ang-1 could reinforce gastric carcinoma metastasis, we performed migration and invasion assays in BGC-823 cells. The mRNA and protein expression of integrin β1, CD44V6, uPA and MMP-2 were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. The expression of integrin β1 and CD44V6 was measured by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS： BGC-823 cells were transfected successfully. The adhesion rate increased significantly in the Ad-Ang-1 group （P 〈 0.05）. The Ad-Ang-1-transfected group had a significant increase in migration and invasion compared with that of the mock-transfected and Ad-GFP groups. The mRNA and protein expression of integrin β1, CD44V6, uPA and MMP-2 in the Ad- Ang-1 group was higher than that in the Ad-GFP and blank control groups （P 〈 0.05）. Compared with mocktransfected and Ad-GFP groups, integrin 131 and CD44V6 expression intensity greatly increased （P 〈 0.05）. CONCLUSION： Transfection of Ang-1 into human gastric cancer cell line BGC-823 can significantly increase expression of integrin β1 and CD44V6, by which cell adhesion and metastasis to the ECM are promoted.