Suppression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell by targeting ß-catenin signaling pathway.

ABSTRACT

AIM: To investigate the role of ß-catenin in pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: Cellular proliferation, apoptosis, matrix penetration assay, and western blotting were employed to determine cell biological changes in NPC cell lines transfected with ß-catenin siRNA. Immunohistochemistry staining was used to detect ß-catenin and Ki-67 expression in NPC tissue. RESULTS: ß-Catenin was upregulated in NPC cell lines and tissues compared with chronic nasopharyngitis tissue. ß-Catenin knockdown dramatically inhibited cellular growth, migration and invasion, but induced apoptosis of NPC cells. Further study showed that downstream genes of ß-catenin signaling pathway including cyclin D1, c-Myc, MMP2 and MMP9 expression were suppressed in NPC cell lines transfected with ß-catenin siRNA. CONCLUSION: Targeting ß-catenin signaling pathway may be a noval strategy for NPC therapy.