Expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor C and cortactin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and their clinical significance / 医学研究生学报

ABSTRACT

Objective Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC) and cortactin (CTTN) have been found to be closely related to the growth of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but their specific relationship has not been clearly defined up to the present time. This study aimed to investigate the effects of VEGFC and CTTN on the proliferation and apoptosis of ESCC cells. Methods Human ESCC TE1 cells were treated with normal culture medium (the blank control group), MATE transfection reagent ( the MATE group), negative control RNA and MATE reagent (the negative control group), positive control RNA and MATE reagent (the positive control group), VEGFC siRNA and MATE transfection reagent (the VEGFC siRNA group), and CTTN siRNA and MATE transfection reagent (the CTTN siRNA group). The proliferation of the ESCC TE1 cells in different groups was detected by CCK-8 assay and their apoptosis determined by flow cytometry. Results Compared with the blank control group, the ESCC cells of the VEGFC siRNA and CTTN siRNA groups showed significantly decreased expressions of VEGFC mRNA (1.00 ± 0.00 vs 0.13 ± 0.01, P < 0.05) and CTTN mRNA (1.00 ± 0.00 vs 0.29 ± 0.02, P < 0.05). The proliferation rate of the ESCC cells was remarkably lower in the VEGFC siRNA and CTTN siRNA than in the other groups (P < 0.05), and even lower in the VEGFC siRNA than in the CTTN siRNA group ([31.26 ± 5.25]% vs [46.99 ± 4.82]%, P < 0.05), but their apoptosis rate was markedly higher in the former than in the latter group ([48.41 ± 5.37]% vs [36.78 ± 4.29]%, P < 0.05). Conclusion Interfering with the expressions of VEGFC and CTTN can inhibit the proliferation and promote the apoptosis of ESCC cells, and VEGFC has an even better effect than CTTN.