Different maspin functions in the lung adenocarcinoma A549 and SPC-A1 cell lines

作者:Jun Zhou; Qin Hualong; Peng Zhou; Feng Guo*
来源:International Journal of Molecular Medicine, 2015, 36(5): 1440-1448.
DOI:10.3892/ijmm.2015.2336

摘要

Mammary senile protease inhibitor (maspin) is a tumor suppressor gene that is silenced in the majority of cancer cells during metastatic progression by transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms. The function of maspin in non-small cell lung cancer cells (NSCLC) has not been clearly defined. In the present study, the expression of maspin in NSCLC cell lines, in particular, the adenocarcinoma cell lines, was heterogeneous. While the expression levels of maspin in PC-9 and H460 cell lines were intact, the expression of maspin in the A549 and SPC-A1 cells was hardly detected. Ectopic expression of maspin in A549 cells carrying the K-ras gene point mutation significantly inhibited cell migration and invasion abilities, which was associated with downregulated expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and integrin beta 1. Ectopic expression of maspin in SPC-A1 cells harboring the wild-type K-ras gene predominantly affected cell growth via targeting the AKT signaling molecules. Maspin functions differently in lung adenocarcinoma cells, possibly due to the varied molecular characteristics.