Clinical significance of ADAM29 promoting the invasion and growth of gastric cancer cells in vitro

ADAM metallopeptidase domain 29 (ADAM29) belongs to the ADAM family, is a type I integral membrane protein and secrets a glycoprotein that mediates cell-cell and cell-matrix interaction. Aberrant expression of ADAM29 is involved in a number of physiological processes diversification. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the expression and biological effect of ADAM29 in human gastric cancer (GC) specimens and cell lines in vitro. The expression of ADAM29 was examined in 83 GC samples and 25 adjacent normal gastric tissues using quantitative reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. The association between ADAM29 expression and cellular function of GC cells was assessed in vitro. The ADAM29 mRNA levels were significantly elevated in GC tissues compared with paracancerous tissues. Increased levels of ADAM29 were associated with high-grade staging and high Tumor-Node-Metastasis stages. Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrated that patients with GC and low ADAM29 transcript levels exhibited longer overall survival (OS) (P<0.01) and progression-free survival (PFS) time (P<0.01) compared with patients with high ADAM29 expression levels. ADAM29 significantly promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of GC cells in vitro when overexpressed in MGC803 cells and knocked down in AGS cells. ADAM29 was increased in GC and the elevated expression of ADAM29 was associated with a poor survival rate of patients. ADAM29 may become a prognostic factor and therapeutic candidate for human GC.