Conclusions
These results provide novel insights into both intracellular and extracellular dynamics of c-Met expression profiles upon irradiation of OTSCC cells in vitro. It might also suggest that radiation enhances cell migration, indicative of invasiveness, through c-Met up-regulation, at least for certain types of OTSCC cells.
Methods
Six OTSCC cell lines were exposed to gamma radiation doses of 2, 4, and 6 Gray. The changes in c-Met protein levels were assessed by western blot and flow cytometry. c-Met gene expression, cell migration, proliferation and cell cycle assays were performed as phenotypic readouts.
Results
Irradiation resulted in upregulation of c.Met in all cell lines with different time kinetics. On average the cells displayed minimal c-Met expression on their surface ranging from 5 to 30% of total protein. Abrupt downregulation of c-Met surface expression occurred one hour after radiation but recovered 48 h post-radiation. Intracellularly, the highest level of expression was found on day 5 after radiation exposure. Irradiation induced aggressive invasive potential of the cells as determined in cell migration assays, particularly in cell lines with the highest c-Met expression. Conclusions: These results provide novel insights into both intracellular and extracellular dynamics of c-Met expression profiles upon irradiation of OTSCC cells in vitro. It might also suggest that radiation enhances cell migration, indicative of invasiveness, through c-Met up-regulation, at least for certain types of OTSCC cells.