Wnt2 contributes to the progression of gastric cancer by promoting cell migration and invasion

Wnt2 plays a pivotal role in human cancer. However, it is not yet known whether Wnt2 contributes to promoting migration and invasion of gastric cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the expression of Wnt2 in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines, and to analyze the effect of Wnt2 on gastric cancer cells. Wnt2 expression level was evaluated in gastric cancer samples and adjacent normal gastric tissues by immunohistochemical and western blot analysis. To investigate the effect of Wnt2 on gastric cancer cells, an in vitro Wnt2 secreting system was established using CHO cells. The results indicated that Wnt2 is overexpressed in gastric cancer and is implicated in metastasis and TNM stage. Additionally, the results of in vitro experiments demonstrated that Wnt2 contributes to enhancing the migration and invasion abilities of gastric cancer cells. These results suggested that Wnt2 may be an effective target of treatment for patients with advanced gastric cancer.