[Integrin α5 promotes the proliferation, invasion and adhesion of gastric cancer by regulating the FAK/Src/Rac1 signaling pathway].

ABSTRACT

Objective: To elucidate the biological role and potential mechanism of integrin α5 (ITGA5) in gastric cancer (GC). Methods: From January 2019 to December 2020, 35 pairs of GC tissue [21 males and 14 females, aged (53.8±5.4) years] and matched adjacent tissue samples were collected from GC patients who underwent surgical resection in Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital. GC and normal gastric mucosa cells were purchased from Beijing Biobw Biotech Company. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), immunohistochemistry, Western blotting were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of ITGA5, cell adhesion-related genes (pFAK, pSrc, aRac1) in GC cells. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), Transwell invasion, wound healing and cell adhesion assays were conducted for GC cell phenotype detection. Results: ITGA5 was highly expressed in GC compared with normal gastric mucosa cells (relative expression increased from 1.00±0.26 to 1.23±0.27,P<0.05). In addition, ITGA5 overexpression promoted the cell proliferation [from (1.14±0.14) OD to (1.61±0.14) OD], migration ability [from (20.3±2.3)% to (56.4±6.1)%], invasion ability (from 144.0±4.6 to 216.7±6.6), and adhesion ability of matrix protein (from 99.0±8.5 to 152.0±12.3) through FAK/Src/Rac1 signaling pathway in GC.(all P<0.05) Conclusions: ITGA5 acts as a cancer-promoting factor in GC. The current study provides theoretical evidence for probing the novel molecular targets for the treatment of GC.