c-Met expression in a gastric cancer cell line producing alpha-fetoprotein.
OBJECTIVE
We previously reported a higher frequency of c-Met protein expression and high proliferative status in gastric cancers producing alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) than in those not producing AFP.


METHODS
To investigate this further, we established an AFP-producing gastric cancer cell line, designated as AME-1, from the primary tumor of a patient with AFP-producing gastric cancer.


RESULTS
alpha-Fetoprotein production in the AME-1 cell line was confirmed at the protein level by immunocytochemistry and at the mRNA level by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A high amount of AFP was also detected in the supernatant of cultured AME-1. The AME-1 cell line expressed c-Met both at the mRNA and protein levels. A semiquantitative RT-PCR method indicated that AME-1 had a higher amount of c-Met mRNA than well-known gastric cancer cell lines (MKN-28, MKN-45) with strong c-Met expression. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a ligand for the c-Met receptor, was not detected in the mRNA or protein of AME-1. The AME-1 cell line showed a proliferative response to exogenous HGF treatment in a dose-dependent manner, but the activity of migration was not stimulated by exogenous HGF.


CONCLUSIONS
The AME-1 cell line may be a useful model for elucidating aggressive behavior, especially related to regulation of the c-Met/HGF system, in AFP-producing gastric cancers.
Amemiya
Hideki
H
First Department of Surgery, Yamanashi Medical University, 1110 Shimokato, Tamaho, Nakakoma, Yamanashi 409-3898, Japan.
Kono
Koji
K
Takahashi
Akihiro
A
Kamei
Shigeo
S
Sugai
Hidemitsu
H
Ichihara
Fumiko
F
Fujii
Hideki
H
Matsumoto
Yoshiro
Y
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002460:Cell Line; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met