Neurotrophic Artemin Promotes Motility and Invasiveness of MIA PaCa-2 Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Objective: To analyze the capacity of neurotrophic artemin to promote the motility and invasiveness of MIAPaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cells.
Methods: MIA PaCa-2 was cultured in vitro and studied using transwell chambersfor motility and invasiveness on treatment with different concentrations of aArtemin or its receptor GFRα3were also determined. Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin)was quantified using RT-PCR and Western blotting.
Results: MIA PaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cell motility andinvasiveness was significantly increased with artemin and its receptor GFRα3 with dose dependence (P<0.01).MMP-2 production was also significantly increased (t = 6.35, t = 7.32), while E-cadherin was significantly lowered(t = 4.27, t = 5.61) (P <0.01).
Conclusion: Artemin and its receptor GFRα3 can promote pancreatic cancer cellmotility and invasiveness and contribute to aggressive behavior. The mechanism may be related to increasedexpression of MMP-2 molecule and down-regulation of E-cadherin expression.