Expression of TCF21 in non-small cell lung cancer tissue and its effect on migration ability of lung cancer cells

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression of transcription factor 21 (TCF21) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue and its effect on the migration ability of lung cancer cells. Methods 118 patients with NSCLC treated in our hospital from May 2016 to December 2017 were selected and acted as study objects.The specimens of lung cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues were collected.TCF21 expression was detected by fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction.The difference of TCF21 expression between lung cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues was compared.The relationship of the level of TCF21 in lung cancer tissues with the clinical features and prognosis of patients was analysed.PCMV6-TCF21 plasmid and pCMV6 plasmid were transfected into lung cancer A549 cells, and the migration ability was evaluated by scratch test. Results The relative expression of TCF21 in lung cancer tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent normal tissues (0.37±0.15 vs 1.21±0.04, t=58.775, P=0.000). The expression of TCF21 in lung cancer tissues was not related to age, sex and pathological types of cancer, but it was related to TNM stage and differentiation grade of patients.The median survival time of TCF21 high expression group was significantly longer than that of TCF21 low expression group (P=0.000). The results of scratch test showed that the migration rate of lung cancer A549 cells transfected with pCMV6-TCF21 plasmid was significantly lower than that of lung cancer A549 cells transfected with pCMV6 plasmid [(28.14±3.32)% vs (45.48±2.50)%, t=9.329, P=0.000]. Conclusions The expression of TCF21 is low in NSCLC tissues and is related to TNM stage and the differentiation grade of cancer cells.The level of TCF21 may affect the prognosis of patients.The high expression of TCF21 can inhibit the migration of lung cancer cells, so as to exert the effect of cancer suppression. Key words: Non-small cell lung cancer; Transcription factor 21; Migration ability