RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To study the influence of proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2) on hepatic metastasis and microstructure of colon cancer cells in nude mice. METHODS: Hepatic metastases of colonic cancer were established in Babl/c nu/nu nude mice by splenic injection of colonic cancer cells SW480 which were transfected with sense-Pyk2 plasmid and antisense-Pyk2 plasmid. After six weeks, we counted the number of liver metastases in each group and observed the ultrastructure of tumor cells in each group by electron microscopy; furthermore, we tried to find out the correlationship between Pyk2 expression and the number of colonic cancer liver metastases. RESULTS: Difference was found between the nude mice injected with sense-Pyk2 plasmid and antisense-Pyk2 plasmid, and there was correlation between Pyk2 expression and the number of liver metastases, Pyk2 could inhabit the liver metastasis of colonic adenocarcinoma. In contrast, the ultrastructure of tumor cell had less heteromorphism in nude mice transfected with sense-Pyk2 plamisd. CONCLUSION: Pyk2 can reduce the number of liver metastasis of colonic adenocarcinoma, and also the heteromorphism of tumor cells which inhabit the progress of colonic adenocarcinoma liver metastasis.