Abstract

To study the expression and significance of hypoxia-inducible factor -1 alpha (HIF-1α) in prostate cancer, successfully established recombinant expression plasmids pcDNA3.1-HIF-1α and pll3.7-siHIF-1α were transfected into PC-3 prostate cancer cells using Fermentas transfection reagents. Stable HIF-1α expression cell lines were selected using G418 selective culture. Protein and mRNA expressions of HIF-1α, MMP-2 and MMP-9 were assayed by Western blot and RT-PCR. Cell growth was evaluated using the MTT assay growth curve. The ability of invasion of prostate cancer cells was assayed in Transwell chambers. Compared to other four groups, HIF-1α mRNA expression was not obviously upregulated in pcDNA3.1-HIF-1α-PC-3 cells, while it was obviously downregulated in pll3.7-siHIF-1α-PC-3 cells. MMP-2 and MMP-9 mRNA were significantly upregulated in pcDNA3.1-HIF-1α-PC-3 cells. HIF-1α, MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein were upregulated in pcDNA3.1-HIF-1α-PC-3 cells by Western blot, while they were downregulated in pll3.7-siHIF-1α-PC-3 cells. The abilities of proliferation and invasion of prostate cancer cells were statistically significantly enhanced in pcDNA3.1-HIF-1α-PC-3 cells (P0.05). Proliferation and invasion of PC-3 prostate cancer cells are promoted by HIF-1α, which provides a foundation for the research on HIF-1α in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer and suggests that HIF-1α gene may be a good target for anti-tumor therapy.

Key words: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha, prostate cancer, expression, significance.