Construction of MKK4 adenovirus and its effects on the proliferation and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells

Abstract

Objective To explore the effects of MKK4 gene on the proliferation and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells. Methods Western blotting was used to assay the expression of MKK4 in pancreatic cancer cell lines AsPC1, BxPC3, Hs766t, MiaPaCa2, and Pancl. MKK4 adenovirus was constructed and transfected into MKK4 negative pancreatic cancer cells. Thymidine incorporation assays were used to measure the DNA synthesis rate and Matrigel assays to measure the invasive ability of pancreatic cells. Results In pancreatic cancer cells, MKK4 lost expression in AsPC1 and BxPC3 cells. MKK4 adenovirus was constructed and transfected into MKK4 negative pancreatic cancer cell lines AsPC1 and BxPC3. The exogenous expression of MKK4 in AsPC1 and BxPC3 increased the proliferation ability by 53% and 61%( P ＜ 0. 05 ), increased the invasion ability by ( 8. 2 ± 2. 7) fold and ( 15.7 ± 1.6) fold ( P ＜ 0. 01 ), respectively. Conclusion The exogenous expression of MKK4 increases the proliferation and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells, which hints that MKK4 gene is a potential oncogene in pancreatic cancer. Key words: Pancreatic carcinoma; MKK4