title: Galectin-9 suppresses the proliferation of gastric cancer cells in vitro.
abstract: Gastric cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, and the prognosis of advanced gastric cancer remains poor. Galectin-9 (Gal-9) is a tandem-repeat-type galectin that has recently been demonstrated to exert anti-proliferative effects on various types of cancer cells. The aim of our present study was to evaluate the effects of Gal-9 on human gastric cancer cells and the expression levels of microRNAs (miRNAs) associated with the antitumor effects of Gal-9 in vitro. In our initial experiments, Gal-9 suppressed the proliferation of gastric cancer cell lines in vitro. Our data further revealed that Gal-9 increased caspase-cleaved keratin 18 (CCK18) levels in gastric cancer cells. Additionally, Gal-9 reduced the phosphorylation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R). Furthermore, miRNA expression levels were markedly altered with Gal-9 treatment in vitro. In conclusion, Gal-9 suppressed the proliferation of human gastric cancer cells by inducing apoptosis. These findings suggest that Gal-9 could be a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Jitsuko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takano
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Asahiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morishita
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Shintaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujihara
authors.affiliation: Life Science Research Center, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisakazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwama
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Fuyuko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kokado
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Taiga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chiyo
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tadokoro
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Teppei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Takako
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Joji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisaaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyoshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirohito
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoneyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kobara
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirohito
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Immunopathology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Niki
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Immunopathology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuomi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirashima
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masaki
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D037161:Galectins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D037161:Galectins; C105032:LGALS9 protein, human