Biological characteristics of a specific brain metastatic cell line derived from human lung adenocarcinoma

To study the expression of VEGF, MMP-9, EGFR, and S100B in a highly brain metastases sub-clone cell line, PC14/B. The in vitro metastases-related behaviors of PC14/B cells, such as adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM), migration, and invasion were determined and compared with primary PC14 cells and A549 cells that do not metastasize to brain. The expression of vascular epithelial growth factor (VEGF), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), S100B, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in the above three cell lines were measured by immunohistochemical staining and Western blot assay.The PC14/B cells have enhanced abilities of adhesion, migration, and invasion than PC14 cells and A549 cells. The expression levels of VEGF and MMP-9 in PC14/B cells are much higher than in PC14 and A549 cells. Two protein polymers of S100B are expressed specially in PC14/B cells. The expression of EGFR has a significant lower level in PC14 cells than in the other two cell lines. The increased expression of VEGF and MMP-9 may lead to the enhancement of adhesion, migration, and invasion of PC14/B cells. The expression of EGFR in PC14/B cells may have negative correlation with their capacities of metastasizing to brain. The specific expression of S100B in PC14/B cells strongly suggest that S100B might be a potential target for developing new therapy to brain metastases of lung cancer.