title: Depleting NFAT1 expression inhibits the ability of invasion and migration of human lung cancer cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) is a general name applied to a family of transcription factors shown to be important in immune response. One or more members of the NFAT family are expressed in most cells of the immune system. NFAT1 is considered to involve in the development of cardiac, skeletal muscle, nervous systems, and tumorigenesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the current study, we analyzed MEKK1 expression in 159 surgically resection non-small cell lung cancer patient's samples by immunohistochemistry and determined its role in SK-EMS-1 cells via RNAi experiment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The abilities of invasion, motility, and adhesion of SK-EMS-1 cells were detected by transwell assay, wound healing assay and adhesion assay, respectively. The result showed NFAT1 was highly expressed in lung tumor tissues instead of adjacent lung tissues (54.1% vs 8.8%, p < 0.05); its overexpression was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (p < 0.05). Depleting its expression in SK-EMS-1 cells can inhibit its invasion and migration abilities significantly (p < 0.05); and also can reduce proliferation of lung cancer cells (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study showed NFAT1 plays an important role in origination, invasion and metastasis of non-small lung cancer cells; its underlying action mechanism needs further study.
authors.affiliation: Department of thoracic surgery, General Hospital of Beijing Military Region, Nan Men Cang 5, Dongcheng District, Beijing, China. jifu.liu@yahoo.cn.
authors.forename: Ji-Fu
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shou-Hua
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Shan-Shan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Wu