Hypoxia-induced ANGPTL4 sustains tumour growth and anoikis resistance through different mechanisms in scirrhous gastric cancer cell lines

Patients with scirrhous gastric cancer (SGC) frequently develop peritoneal dissemination, which leads to poor prognosis. The secreted protein angiopoietin-like-4 (ANGPTL4), which is induced by hypoxia, exerts diverse effects on cancer progression. Here, we aimed to determine the biological function of ANGPTL4 in SGC cells under hypoxia. ANGPTL4 levels were higher in SGC cells under hypoxia than in other types of gastric cancer cells. Hypoxia-induced ANGPTL4 mRNA expression was regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α). Under hypoxic conditions, monolayer cultures of ANGPTL4 knockdown (KD) 58As9 SGC (58As9-KD) cells were arrested in the G(1) phase of the cell cycle through downregulation of c-Myc and upregulation of p27, in contrast to control 58As9-SC cells. Moreover, the ability of 58As9-KD xenografts to form tumours in nude mice was strongly suppressed. When 58As9-KD cells were cultured in suspension, hypoxia strongly increased their susceptibility to anoikis through suppression of the FAK/Src/PI3K-Akt/ERK pro-survival pathway, followed by activation of the apoptotic factors caspases-3, -8 and -9. The development of peritoneal dissemination by 58As9-KD cells was completely inhibited compared with that by 58As9-SC cells. In conclusion, ANGPTL4 is uniquely induced by hypoxia in cultured SGC cells and is essential for tumour growth and resistance to anoikis through different mechanisms.