Effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide on cell migration and invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in prostate cancer DU145 cells

Abstract

Objective To observe the effect of intestinal peptide on cell migration and invasion of the DU145 cells, and explore the mechanism of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Methods DU145 cells were treated with VIP at concentrations of 0, 25, 50 and 100 μmol/L, respectively. E-cadherin, Vimentin, and Snail mRNA and protein were detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting respectively at 24 h. The cell mobility, migration and invasion ability of DU145 cells were respectively measured by wound-healing assay, Transwell migration and invasion assays at 48 h. Results With the increases of concentrations of VIP for 24 h, the expression levels of E-cadherin, Vimentin, and Snail mRNA in PC-3 cells were increased at 24 h (0.897±0.053, 0.715±0.041, 0.521±0.036, 0.343±0.029; 0.586±0.061, 0.827±0.089, 1.329±0.107, 1.764±0.135; 0.645±0.055, 0.917±0.074, 1.383±0.097, 1.725±0.124; P<0.05). Meanwhile, the cell mobility was increased, the number of migrative cells and invasive cells was significantly increased gradually with the increased concentrations of VIP [(76.7±5.8), (104.5±6.7), (128.3±10.4), (147.7±12.6) cells; (84.2±6.4), (118.3±10.3), (142.1±13.7), (173.6±15.4) cells; P<0.01]. Conclusion VIP can increase ability of movement, migration and invasion of prostate cancer DU145 cells by epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Key words: Vasoactive intestinal peptide; Prostate carcinoma; Tumor metastasis; Epithelial-mesenchymal transition