ABSTRACT
Objective:The aim of this study was to detect the P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) protein expression in pancreatic carcinoma and to analyze its association with clinicopathology features of pancreatic carcinoma.And furtherly to explore the effects and underlying mechanisms of P2X7R on invasion and migration of PANC-1 cell line.Methods:P2X7R expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in specimens of primary cancer and adjacent noncancerous tissues respectively,and analyzed the relationship between P2X7R expression and clinicopathology features of pancreatic carcinoma.The transwell assay and wound healing assay were used for investigating cell invasion and migration ability of PANC-1,and western blotting was performed to measure the expresions of MMP2 and MMP9.Results:P2X7R protein was highly expressed in both PANC-1 cell line and tumor tissue,and associated positively with the histological differentiation and lymph node staging.The active P2X7R could increase the cell migration and invasion ability of PANC-1 cell line through up-regulated MMP2 and MMP9.Conclusions:The overexpression of P2X7R plays crucial roles in the migration and invasion of pancreatic carcinoma,and may represent a novel molecular target in pancreatic carcinoma therapy.