Downregulation of SPARC expression decreases gastric cancer cellular invasion and survival

BACKGROUND: Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) plays a key role in the development of many tissues and organ types. Aberrant SPARC expression was found in a wide variety of human cancers, contributes to tumor development. Because SPARC was found to be overexpressed in human gastric cancer tissue, we therefore to explore the expression of SPARC in gastric cancer lines and the carcinogenic mechanisms. METHODS: SPARC expression was evaluated in a panel of human gastric cancer cell lines. MGC803 and HGC 27 gastric cancer cell lines expressing high level of SPARC were transiently transfected with SPARC-specific small interfering RNAs and subsequently evaluated for effects on invasion and proliferation. RESULTS: Small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of SPARC in MGC803 and HGC 27 gastric cancer cells dramatically decreased their invasion. Knockdown of SPARC was also observed to significantly increase the apoptosis of MGC803 and HGC 27 gastric cancer cells compared with control transfected group. CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed that downregulating of SPARC inhibits invasion and growth of human gastric cancer cells. Thus, targeting of SPARC could be an effective therapeutic approach against gastric cancer.