Background and Aims: C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 14 (CXCL14) is a chemokine that induces migration of tumor cells, and closely related to the occurrence and development of various malignant tumors. This study was conducted to investigate the expression of CXCL14 in colorectal cancer cells and its influence on angiogenesis.
Methods: The expressions of CXCL14 mRNA and protein in different colorectal cancer cell lines (HT-29, WiDr, CaCo-2 and Colo-320) were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis respectively, and the effects of CXCL14 siRNA transfection on these cells were also observed. The effects of different concentrations of CXCL14 alone or with simultaneous addition of CXCL14 antibodies on proliferation, migration and angiogenesis abilities of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were measured by WST-1 assay, Transwell migration assay and angiogenesis assay, respectively. The differences in angiogenesis ability of HUVECs after co-culture with different colorectal cancer cell lines were also observed.
Results: The CXCL14 mRNA and protein were expressed in colorectal cancer cell lines with high hepatic metastasis potential (HT-29 and WiDr), but were absent in colorectal cancer cell lines with low hepatic metastasis potential (CaCo-2 and Colo-320). After CXCL14 siRNA transfection, the CXCL14 protein expressions in HT-29 and WiDr cells were remarkably decreased, and were remained unchanged in CaCo-2 and Colo-320 cells. After CXCL14 treatment, the proliferation, migration and angiogenesis abilities of HUVECs were all significantly enhanced with a concentration dependent manner (all P<0.05), but these effects were all abolished by simultaneous addition of CXCL14 antibodies (all P<0.05). The number of vessel formation of HUVECs after co-culture with CaCo-2 cells that didnot express CXCL14 was significantly lower than that of HUVECs after co-culture with HT-29 cells that express CXCL14 (P<0.05), but showed no significant difference with that of HUVECs after co-culture with HT-29 cells transfected with CXCL14 siRNA (P>0.05).
Conclusion: CXCL14 is expressed in colorectal cancer cells with high liver metastasis potential. It may increase the angiogenesis through enhancing the proliferation and migration abilities of vascular endothelial cells, and thereby promote the metastasis of colorectal cancer to the liver.