Responses of pancreatic cancer cells to stimulations by nerve growth factor and the role of Trk-A expression / 南方医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the responses of different pancreatic cancer cells to stimulations by nerve growth factor (NGF) and explore the role of Trk-A in such responses.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Five pancreatic cancer cell lines (MIA-PaCa-2, PANC-1, SW-1990, AsPC-1, and BxPC-3) were exposed to different concentrations of NGF (0, 4, 20, 100, and 500 ng/ml). MTT and Matrigel invasion method were used to observe the changes in the cell proliferation and invasion ability. Trk-A expression in these cells was detected by PCR and Western blotting, and the relations of Trk-A expression to the cell proliferative and invasive abilities following NGF treatment were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>NGF at 100 ng/ml most obviously stimulated the cell proliferation, and PANC-1 cells showed the highest while AsPC-1 cells showed the least sensitivity to 100 ng/ml NGF stimulation. Matrigel invasion test showed that NGF enhanced the invasiveness of PANC-1 and MIA-PaCa-2 cells but produced only limited effect on AsPC-1 cells; the effect of NGF was completely inhibited by the Trk-A inhibitor CEP701. The expression levels of Trk-A mRNA and protein were the highest in PANC-1 cells and the lowest in AsPC-1 cells.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>NGF can enhance the proliferation and invasiveness of pancreatic cancer cells, and this effect is possibly mediated by Trk-A protein.</p>