Effects of resistin-like molecule β over-expression on gastric cancer cells in vitro

AIM: To investigate the effects of resistin-like molecule beta (RELM beta) over-expression on the invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis of gastric cancer cells. METHODS: Human RELM beta encoding expression vector was constructed and transfected into the RELM beta lowly-expressed gastric cancer cell lines SGC-7901 and MKN-45. Gene expression was measured by Western blotting, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time quantitative PCR. Cell proliferation was measured by 2-(4,5-dimethyltriazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide colorimetry, colony formation and 5-ethynyl-20-deoxyuridine incorporation assays. The in vitro migration, invasion and metastasis of cancer cells were measured by cell adhesion assay, scratch assay and matrigel invasion assay. The angiogenic capabilities of cancer cells were measured by tube formation of endothelial cells. RESULTS: Transfection of RELM beta vector into SGC-7901 and MKN-45 cells resulted in over-expression of RELM beta, which did not influence the cellular proliferation. However, over-expression of RELM beta suppressed the in vitro adhesion, invasion and metastasis of cancer cells, accompanied by decreased expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9. Moreover, transfection of RELM beta attenuated the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and in vitro angiogenic capabilities of cancer cells. CONCLUSION: Over-expression of RELM beta abolishes the invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis of gastric cancer cells in vitro, suggesting its potentials as a novel therapeutic target for gastric cancer. (C) 2012 Baishideng. All rights reserved.