Down-regulated MAC30 expression inhibits proliferation and mobility of human gastric cancer cells

Background: Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. MAC30/Transmembrane protein 97 (TMEM97) is aberrantly up-regulated in many human carcinoma cells. However, the function of MAC30 in gastric carcinoma cells is not studied.

Material and methods: To investigate the function of MAC30 in gastric carcinoma, we used RNA silencing technology to knock down the expression of MAC30 in gastric cancer cells BGC-823 and AGS. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot were used to analyze the mRNA level and the related protein expression. The localization of MAC30 and lamellipodia was observed by immunofluorescence. The biological phenotypes of gastric cells were examined by cell proliferation assay, cell cycle analysis, apoptosis assay, cell migration and invasion assay.

Results: We found that down-regulation of MAC30 expression efficiently inhibited the proliferation of gastric cancer cells. Furthermore, the mobility of gastric cancer cells was also inhibited by down-regulation of MAC30. Moreover, we found that MAC30 knockdown inhibited AKT phosphorylation and reduced the expression of cyclinB1 and WAVE2.

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report investigating the effect of MAC30 on growth, cell cycle, migration, and invasion in gastric carcinoma cells via suppressing AKT signaling pathway. MAC30 may be a potential therapeutic target for treatment of gastric carcinoma.