Title:Downregulation of CCKBR Expression Inhibits the Proliferation of Gastric
Cancer Cells, Revealing a Potential Target for Immunotoxin Therapy
Volume: 22
Issue: 3
Author(s): Meng Li, Jiang Chang, Honglin Ren, Defeng Song, Jian Guo, Lixiong Peng, Xiaoshi Zhou, Ke Zhao, Shiying Lu, Zengshan Liu and Pan Hu*
Affiliation:
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine,
Double-First Class Discipline of Human-Animal Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China
Keywords:
CCKBR, ribonucleic acid interference, gastric cancer proliferation, targeted therapy, immunotoxin, FQ17P.
Abstract:
Background: Increased CCKBR expression density or frequency has been reported in
many neoplasms.
Objective: We aimed to investigate whether CCKBR drives the growth of gastric cancer (GC) and
its potential as a therapeutic target of immunotoxins.
Methods: A lentiviral interference system was used to generate CCKBR-knockdown gastric cancer
cells. Cell Counting Kit-8 and clonogenic assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation. Woundhealing
and cell invasion assays were performed to evaluate cell mobility. Cell cycle was analyzed
by flow cytometry. Tumor growth in vivo was investigated using a heterologous tumor transplantation
model in nude mice. In addition, we generated the immunotoxin FQ17P and evaluated the combining
capacity and tumor cytotoxicity of FQ17P in vitro.
Results: Stable downregulation of CCKBR expression resulted in reduced proliferation, migration
and invasion of BGC-823 and SGC-7901 cells. The impact of CCKBR on gastric cancer cells was
further verified through CCKBR overexpression studies. Downregulation of CCKBR expression also
inhibited the growth of gastric tumors in vivo. Furthermore, FQ17P killed CCKBR-overexpressing
GC cells by specifically binding to CCKBR on the tumor cell surface.
Conclusion: The CCKBR protein drives the growth, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer
cells, and it might be a promising target for immunotoxin therapy based on its aberrant expression,
functional binding interactions with gastrin, and subsequent internalization.