Expression and significance of Axin2 in pancreatic cancer cells

Objective To investigate the expression of Axin2 in pancreatic cancer cells,and to observe the influence of Axin2 on the proliferation,invasion,and migration of human pancreatic cancer cells( PANC- 1). Methods Quantitative real- time PCR was used to measure the expression of Axin2 in pancreatic cancer cell lines with different invasive abilities( PANC- 1,Mia Pa Ca- 2,and Bx PC- 3) and immortalized normal pancreatic cells( H6C7). PANC- 1 cells with low expression were transfected with over- expressed Axin2 plasmid by transient transfection. MTT assay,Transwell assay,and scratch assay were used to determine the proliferation,invasion,and migration of cells transfected with over- expressed Axin2. One- way analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups,and SNK- q test was used for comparison between any two groups. Results The relative expression levels of Axin2 in PANC- 1,Bx PC- 3,Mia Pa Ca- 2,and H6C7 cells were 0. 13 ± 0. 01,0. 42 ± 0. 05,0. 24 ± 0. 011,and 1. 00 ± 0. 00,respectively,and PANC- 1 cells had the lowest expression level of Axin2,with significant differences compared with the other cells( all P < 0. 05). When PANC- 1 cells were transfected with over- expressed Axin2 plasmid,the cells in the over- expression group had a significant increase in the expression level of Axin2 compared with those in the blank group and the negative control group( both P < 0. 05). Compared with those in the non- transfection group and the blank group,PANC- 1 cells in the over- expression group showed significant reductions in the proliferation,invasion,and migration abilities. Conclusion The expression of Axin2 is down- regulated in pancreatic cancer cell lines and decreases with the increasing invasion ability,suggesting the role of tumor suppressor gene. High expression of Axin2 can reduce the proliferation,invasion,and migration abilities of PANC- 1 cells.