High expression of osteoglycin decreases the metastatic capability of mouse hepatocarcinoma Hca-F cells to lymph nodes

Osteoglycin, one of the matrix molecules, belongs to the small leucine-rich proteoglycan gene family and might play important roles in cell growth and differentiation and in pathological processes such as fibrosis and cancer growth. In this study, a eukaryotic expression plasmid pIRESpuro3 osteoglycin(+) was constructed and transfected into mouse hepatocarcinoma Hca-F cells to evaluate the contribution of osteoglycin to the malignant behavior of Hca-F. It was found that Hca-F cells transfected with pIRESpuro3 osteoglycin(+) showed significantly decreased potential for both migration and invasion. Furthermore, Hca-F cells transfected with osteoglycin showed decreased metastatic potential to peripheral lymph nodes. However, proliferation potential and adhesive capacity of Hca-F cells to different protein substrates were not influenced by osteoglycin transfection. In summary, high expression of osteoglycin decreases the metastatic capability of Hca-F to lymph nodes.