Conclusion
Neuritin was key in the progression of NSCLC through its biological activities, including anti-apoptosis, promoting VEC proliferation, migration, and cell cycle progression. Neuritin may affect its biological activity by positively regulating VEGFR expression and negatively regulating Notch1 signaling. Neuritin may serve as a potential biomarker for NSCLC.
Methods
Primary NSCLC-VECs were isolated from 10 cancer tissues from NSCLC patients, purified and identified by CD34 and Factor VIII staining. Real-time PCR and Western-blot were adopted for detecting the expression levels of Neuritin, Notch1, and VEGFR in NSCLC-VECs and HPMECs. Neuritin-overexpression, Neuritin-knockdown NSCLC-VECs and HPMECs were constructed by transfection of pcDNA3, 1-Neuritin vector, and pBS/U6-Neuritin siRNA. Changes in cell proliferation, migration, cell cycle, and apoptosis were determined by using the MTT assay, scratch assay, transwell migration assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. Post-transfection changes in cell morphology were examined by scanning electron microscopy.
Purpose
This study aims to elucidate the biological behavior of Neuritin abnormal expression in pulmonary vascular endothelial cells (VECs) of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and explore its possible underlying mechanisms. Patients and
Results
The expression of Neuritin in NSCLC-VECs was significantly higher compared to that in HPMECs (p<0.01). Overexpression of Neuritin increased the expression of VEGFR while it reduced the expression of Notch1 (p<0.01); it also promoted cell proliferation, scratch healing, and in vitro migration (p<0.05) in HPMECs and NSCLC-VECs cells. Additionally, overexpression of Neuritin stimulated cell cycle progression and inhibited apoptosis in HPMECs and NSCLC-VECs (p<0.001). Under electron microscope, the pseudopodium of cell surface was obvious, indicating that the intercellular adhesion was upregulated. However, knockdown of Neuritin in HPMECs and NSCLC-VECs played exactly the opposite roles.