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ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE Recent studies have shown that hepsin, a type of transmembrane serine protease, is highly upregulated in prostate cancer,
but, little is known about its role in progression and invasion of this cancer. We constructed a hepsin-expressing plasmid
and transfected it into PC-3 cells to investigate the effect of the hepsin gene on the biological behavior of the PC-3 cells.
METHODS Plasmid pHepsin-IRES2 was transfected into prostate cancer PC-3 cells using Fugene6, and the cells with stable hepsin expression
were screened and selected with Zeocin (600 mg/L). The hepsin mRNA level was measured by real-time PCR and the growth curve
of the PC-3-transfected cells assessed using MTT and BrdU assays. A Boyden chamber was used to examine the difference in invasion
and metastases between transfected and non-transfected cells.
RESULTS The hepsin mRNA level in pHepsin-IRES2 transfected -PC-3 cells was significantly higher than that found in the control PC-3
cells. While the growth curve of the hepsin gene transfected PC-3 cells showed that there was no significant effect on proliferation,
the invasive ability of the pHepsin-IRES2 transfected PC-3 cells, as compared with control cells, was significantly increased
(P<0.05).
CONCLUSION The results suggest that even though hepsin has no effect on the proliferation of prostate cancer PC-3 cells, it does promote
cellular invasion and metastasis. Therefore hepsin may have a role in the development of prostate cancer.
Chinese Journal of Clinical Oncology 04/2012; 3(4):288-291.
