Molecular Cancer (Sep 2012)

Coronin 3 promotes gastric cancer metastasis via the up-regulation of MMP-9 and cathepsin K

  • Ren Gui,
  • Tian Qifei,
  • An Yanxin,
  • Feng Bin,
  • Lu Yuanyuan,
  • Liang Jie,
  • Li Kai,
  • Shang Yulong,
  • Nie Yongzhan,
  • Wang Xin,
  • Fan Daiming

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-4598-11-67
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
p. 67

Abstract

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Abstract Background Coronins are a family of highly evolutionary conserved proteins reportedly involved in the regulation of actin cytoskeletal dynamics, although only coronin 3 has been shown to be related to cancer cell migration. In glioblastoma cells, the knockdown of coronin 3 inhibits cell proliferation and invasion. Coronin 3 is also associated with the aggression and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma. In this paper, we analyze the migration, invasion and metastasis abilities of gastric cancer cells after up- or down-regulation of coronin 3, and explore the mechanism of coronin 3 in the process of gastric cancer metastasis. Results The expression of coronin 3 was higher in the highly metastatic sub-cell line MKN28-M, which we established in our laboratory. We also demonstrated that the expression of coronin 3 was remarkably higher in lymph lode metastases than in primary gastric cancer tissues, and over-expression of coronin 3 was correlated with the increased clinical stage and lymph lode metastasis. Recombinant lentiviral vectors encoding shRNAs were designed to down-regulate coronin 3 expression in gastric cancer cell lines. Stable knockdown of coronin 3 by this lentiviral vector could efficiently inhibit the migration and invasion of MKN45 gastric cancer cells. In contrast, up-regulation of coronin 3 significantly enhanced migration and invasion of MKN28-NM cells. In addition, knockdown of coronin 3 significantly reduced liver metastasis in mice after tail vein injection of gastric cancer cells. The Human Tumor Metastasis PCR Array was used to screen the metastasis-associated genes identified by the down-regulation of coronin 3, and the results suggested that, following the knockdown of coronin 3, the tumor cell migration and invasion were inhibited by the reduced expression of MMP-9 and cathepsin K. Conclusion Coronin 3 is highly expressed in gastric cancer metastases and can promote the metastatic behaviors of gastric cancer cells, including their migration and invasion.

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