title: Cyclooxygenase-2 is associated with malignant phenotypes in human lung cancer.
abstract: The objective of the present study was to investigate whether cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is associated with malignancy, and to investigate its molecular mechanisms in human lung cancer tumor malignancy. The present study used RNA interference (RNAi) methodology and celecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor, to investigate the effect of COX-2 knockdown on the proliferation and invasion abilities of lung cancer cells and the molecular mechanisms involved. Human lung adenocarcinoma A549-si10 and LTEP-A2 cells transfected with a specific small interfering RNA (A549-si10 and LTEP-A2-si10, respectively) grew more slowly compared with parental cell lines and cells transfected with pU6. The colony formation of A549-si10 and LTEP-A2-si10 cells was also reduced. In addition, A549-si10 and LTEP-A2-si10 cells were characterized by decreased metastatic and invasive abilities. The proliferation and invasive potential of parental A549 and LTEP-A2 cells was inhibited following treatment with celecoxib.In vivo, a COX-2 knockdown resulted in a decrease of proliferation and reduction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and endothelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression in A549 xenografts. In conclusion, the present study revealed that COX-2 plays a extremely important role in tumor growth, infiltration and metastasis via the regulation of VEGF, MMP-2 and EGRF expression. Therefore, COX-2 is a potential therapeutic target for lung cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular & Molecular Biology, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Weiying
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular & Molecular Biology, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wentao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular & Molecular Biology, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular & Molecular Biology, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Baitang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular & Molecular Biology, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xuehui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular & Molecular Biology, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular & Molecular Biology, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular & Molecular Biology, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gu
keywords: COX-2; celecoxib; lung cancer; malignant phenotype