Molecules (Feb 2012)

GHGKHKNK Octapeptide (P-5m) Inhibits Metastasis of HCCLM3 Cell Lines via Regulation of MMP-2 Expression in in Vitro and in Vivo Studies

  • Xun Zhu,
  • Shuang Jiang,
  • Bai-Rong Du,
  • Pei-Ge Du,
  • Peng Li,
  • Wei-Guang Ding,
  • Matsuura Hiroshi,
  • Xiang-Feng Zhao,
  • Dong-Mei Yan,
  • Xiao Han

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules17021357
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 2
pp. 1357 – 1372

Abstract

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P-5m, an octapeptide derived from domain 5 of HKa, was initially found to inhibit the invasion and migration of melanoma cells. The high metastatic potential of melanoma cells was prevented by the HGK motif in the P-5m peptide in vitro and in an experimental lung metastasis model, suggesting that P-5m may play an important role in the regulation of tumor metastasis. The aim of this study was to measure the effect of P-5m on tumor metastasis of human hepatocarcinoma cell line (HCCLM3) in vitro and in vivo in a nude mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and detect the mechanisms involved in P-5m-induced anti-metastasis. By gelatin zymography, matrix metallo-proteinases 2 (MMP-2) activity in HCCLM3 was dramatically diminished by P-5m peptide. In addition, the migration and metastasis of HCCLM3 cells was also inhibited by the peptide in vitro. In an orthotopic model of HCC in nude mice, P-5m treatment effectively reduced the lung metastasis as well as the expression of MMP-2 in the tumor tissues. Overall, these observations indicate an important role for P-5m peptide in HCC invasion and metastasis, at least partially through modulation MMP-2 expression. These data suggests that P-5m may have therapeutic potential in metastatic human hepatocarcinoma.

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