Down-regulation of E26 transformation-specific homologous factor expression inhibits the growth of gastric cancer cells

Abstract

Objective To observe the effect of down-regulation of E26 transformation-specific homologous factor (EHF) expression on the growth of gastric cancer cells. Methods Western blotting and real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to detect the expression of EHF protein and mRNA in gastric cancer cell lines BGC823, SGC7901 and gastric mucosal epithelial cell line GES-1, respectively. Using the small interfering RNA (siRNA) interference technology, si-EHF-979 or control siRNA si-NC was transfected into gastric cancer cells BGC823 and SGC7901. The si-EHF-979 transfection group served as experimental group, and si-NC transfection group as control group. The methyl thiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay was utilized to detect the proliferation of gastric cancer cells. The effect of EHF on the migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells was measured by Transwell assay. The gastric cancer cell BGC823 transfected with si-EHF-979 or si-NC was inoculated into the right axilla of nude mice to establish a nude mouse exenograft model. Results Compared with GES-1 cells, the expression levels of EHF in BGC823 and SGC7901 cells were significantly up-regulated, with the difference being statistically significant (P=0.001). The ability of gastric cancer cells to proliferate, migrate and invade after EHF gene knockdown was significantly inhibited. The nude mouse xenograft model showed that knockdown of EHF expression significantly inhibited tumor growth in vivo, the difference was statistically significant (P=0.001). Conclusion EHF is highly expressed in gastric cancer cell lines. Knockdown of EHF expression can inhibit the proliferation of gastric cancer cells. Key words: Gastric cancer; E26 transformation-specific homologous factor; Cell proliferation; Cell migration