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[Identification of TGF-beta/Smads pathway in human prostate cancer cell lines and its significance]
Kai-jie Wu1, Guang-feng Zhu, Dong Zhang
1Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China. yidaiwujin@126.com
Objective:
To determine the TGF-beta/Smads signal pathway in different human prostate cancer cell lines, and to explore the role of the TGF-beta/Smads pathway in the progression and metastasis of prostate cancer and its possible mechanisms.
Methods:
We detected the expressions of the key proteins involved in the TGF-beta/Smads pathway, TbetaR II, Smad2/3, p-Smad2 and Smad4, in prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP, PC-3, DU145, IF11 and IA8 with different metastatic potentials by Western blotting.
Results:
TbetaR II was expressed highly in PC-3, DU145, IF11 and IA8, but extremely lowly in LNCaP. Smad2/3 was highly expressed in all the cell lines with different intensity, while p-Smad2 only in PC-3 and DU145. The expression of Smad4 was detected in LNCaP, PC-3 and DU145, but not in IF11 and IA8.
Conclusion:
The status of the TGF-beta/Smads pathway differs in the cell lines with different metastatic potentials, only active in PC-3 and DU145. The TGF-beta/Smads pathway may be involved in the invasion and metastasis of prostate cancer through altering the expressions of the key proteins in it.
