Search

Malignant tumors are often associated with denervation, suggesting the functional implication of axonal guidance molecules in tumor growth. Here, we assessed the role of semaphorin 3 C (sema3 C) in the progression of gastric cancer. Immunohistochemistry of human samples revealed that sema3 C was strongly expressed in neoplastic cells, especially at the invasion front. Stable transfection of target sequences of sema3C mi RNA did not affect the in vitro proliferative activity of human gastric cancer AZ-521 cells. However, when the tumor growth was examined in vivo using an orthotopic model in nude mice, primary stomach tumors as well as metastatic liver tumors were significantly suppressed by sema3 C silencing with the reduction of microvessel density. Immunostaining of primary tumor indicated the rate of Ki-67 positive carcinoma cells was decreased, whereas that of apoptotic cells was significantly increased in sema3 C-silenced tumor. In addition, capillary-like tubular formation was reduced by the addition of culture media of sema3 C mi RNA cells compared with the media of control mi RNA cells. Semaphorin 3 C is positively expressed in gastric cancer cells and may be involved in tumor progression, presumably through the stimulation of angiogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a lipid mediator with diverse effects on various cells. Here, we investigated the effects of LPA on human colon carcinoma DLD1 cells. Northern blot analysis revealed that DLD1 highly expressed LPA1/Edg-2 but showed only low expression of LPA2/Edg-4 and no expression of LPA3/Edg-7 at the mRNA level. Western blot analysis revealed that DLD1 cells highly expressed LPA1 at the protein level. Using the Boyden chamber assay, LPA markedly increased DLD1 cell migration at concentrations as low as 10 nM, with maximum stimulation at 100 nM (3.6-fold increase). Checkerboard analysis indicated that LPA stimulated both the chemotactic and chemokinetic migration of DLD1 cells. LPA induced a dose-dependent increase in the proliferation of DLD1 cells (3.2-fold increase at 20 microM). Furthermore, LPA stimulated DLD1 cell adhesion to collagen type I (2.0-fold increase at 10 microM) and also stimulated the secretion of both vascular endothelial growth factor (1.4-fold increase at 20 microM) and interleukin 8 (19-fold increase at 20 microM) by ELISA. In contrast, as for matrix metalloproteinase, LPA had no significant effect on pro-matrix metalloproteinase-2 secretion and its activation, as measured by Western blot analysis. Thus, LPA, at concentrations that are present physiologically, enhanced DLD1 cell migration, proliferation, adhesion, and secretion of angiogenic factors, all of which are crucial for cancer metastasis. In comparison, other human colon carcinoma cells (HT29 and WiDR) exclusively expressed LPA2. LPA enhanced their proliferation and secretion of angiogenic factors, whereas LPA did not enhance migration or adhesion. Our results suggest that LPA acts as a potent stimulator of colon cancer progression, although the binding to LPA1 and LPA2 induces slightly different responses.