Notch1 signaling pathway promotes growth and metastasis of gastric cancer via modulating CDH5.

Objective: To explore the underlying molecular mechanism of Notch1/cadherin 5 (CDH5) pathway in modulating in cell malignant behaviors of gastric cancer (GC).
Methods: We performed bioinformatic analyses to screen the potential target genes of Notch1 from cadherins in GC. Western blot and RT-PCR were conducted to detect CDH5 expression in GC tissues and cells. We utilized chromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIP) assays to assess the interaction of Notch1 with CDH5 gene. The effects of Notch1/CDH5 axis on the proliferation, invasion, migration and vasculogenic mimicry in GC cells were evaluated by EdU, wound healing, transwell, and tubule formation assays.
Results: Significantly increased CDH5 expression was found in GC tissues compared with paracancerous tissues and associated to clinical stage and poor overall survival (OS) in patients with GC. Notch1 positively regulate the expression of CDH5 in GC cells. CHIP assays validated that CDH5 was a direct target of Notch1. In addition, Notch1 upregulation enhanced the proliferation, migration, invasion and vasculogenic mimicry capacity of GC cells, which could be attenuated by CDH5 silencing.
Conclusions: These results indicated Notch1 upregulation enhanced GC malignant behaviors by triggering CDH5, suggesting that targeting Notch1/CDH5 axis could be a potential therapeutic strategy for GC progression.