Effects of SDF-1/CXCR7 on the Migration, Invasion and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition of Gastric Cancer Cells

We found that SDF-1/CXCR7 axis played an important role in the growth and proliferation of gastric cancer in the previous studies. The objectives of this study were to explore the effects of SDF-1/CXCR7 on the metastatic ability of gastric cancer cells and the possible mechanisms. CXCR7 expression in SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells was stably knocked down via lentiviral vectors. The cell migration and invasion abilities were detected by transwell migration and invasion assays. The expressions of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), MMP-9, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and Akt phosphorylation were detected with real-time PCR and/or western blot. We found that SDF-1 markedly enhanced the migration and invasion abilities of SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells; CXCR7 knockdown inhibited these effects. SDF-1/CXCR7 increased the expressions of MMP-2, MMP-9 and VEGF. SDF-1/CXCR7 also downregulated E-cadherin expression but upregulated N-cadherin, vimentin and Snail expressions, suggesting that SDF-1/CXCR7 could promote the development of EMT in gastric cancer cells. Furthermore, SDF-1/CXCR7 could promote Akt phosphorylation. Our results indicated that SDF-1/CXCR7 enhanced the migration, invasion and EMT of gastric cancer cells and thus CXCR7 supression may be a strategy for inhibiting gastric cancer metastasis.