Abstract |
Introduction: 13-cis-retinoic acid is a derivative of vitamin A that involved in various important biological processes, including growth, apoptosis, differentiation, and cellular homeostasis. The anti-tumor ability of 13-cis-retinoic acid has been previously reported, however, the mechanism underlying its anti-tumor effect is little known. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 13-cis-retinoic acid on cell migration, invasion, and the mechanism underlying these effects in human cholangiocarcinoma KKU-214 cells.
Materials and Methods: KKU-214 cells were treated with 1.25 or 2.5 µM 13-cis-retinoic acid for 24 hours. Cell migration was assessed by Transwell-migration assay, while cell invasion was determined by Matrigel-invasion assay. The influence of 13-cis-retinoic acid on the expression level of E-cad, vimentin, MMP-2, MMP-9, and ICAM mRNA was evaluated by RT-qPCR.
Results: 13-cis-retinoic acid significantly inhibited cell migration and invasion ability of KKU-214 cells with a dose-dependent manner. 13-cis-retinoic acid could suppress cell migration at least through up-regulating E-cad and down-regulating vimentin mRNA. Moreover, 13-cis-retinoic acid suppressed cell invasion through inhibiting expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, and ICAM mRNA.
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that 13-cis-retinoic acid has anti-migration and anti-invasion effects in human cholangiocarcinoma KKU-214 cells. Thus, 13-cis-retinoic acid has a potential anti-tumor ability which might be used for cholangiocarcinoma therapy. Further investigations into the in vivo anti-tumor effect of 13-cis-retinoic acid must follow. |