[Integrin α5 promotes the proliferation, invasion and adhesion of gastric cancer by regulating the FAK/Src/Rac1 signaling pathway].

Abstract

Objective: To elucidate the biological role and potential mechanism of integrin α5 (ITGA5) in gastric cancer (GC). Methods: From January 2019 to December 2020, 35 pairs of GC tissue [21 males and 14 females, aged (53.8±5.4) years] and matched adjacent tissue samples were collected from GC patients who underwent surgical resection in Zhejiang Provincial People s Hospital. GC and normal gastric mucosa cells were purchased from Beijing Biobw Biotech Company. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), immunohistochemistry, Western blotting were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of ITGA5, cell adhesion-related genes (pFAK, pSrc, aRac1) in GC cells. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), Transwell invasion, wound healing and cell adhesion assays were conducted for GC cell phenotype detection. Results: ITGA5 was highly expressed in GC compared with normal gastric mucosa cells (relative expression increased from 1.00±0.26 to 1.23±0.27,P<0.05). In addition, ITGA5 overexpression promoted the cell proliferation [from (1.14±0.14) OD to (1.61±0.14) OD], migration ability [from (20.3±2.3)% to (56.4±6.1)%], invasion ability (from 144.0±4.6 to 216.7±6.6), and adhesion ability of matrix protein (from 99.0±8.5 to 152.0±12.3) through FAK/Src/Rac1 signaling pathway in GC.(all P<0.05) Conclusions: ITGA5 acts as a cancer-promoting factor in GC. The current study provides theoretical evidence for probing the novel molecular targets for the treatment of GC.