BACKGROUNDTo study the regulation of nm23-H1 gene on the expression of integrins in human high-metastasis large cell lung cancer cell line L9981 by transfecting nm23-H1 into cell.

METHODSLipofect was used to transfect nm23-H1 into the L9981 cell line; semi-RT-PCR was used to detect the difference of integrin β1 and integrin β3 mRNA expressions between tranfected and non-transfected cell lines; flow cytometry was used to detect the difference of integrin β1 and integrin β3 protein expressions between transfected and non-transfected cell lines.

RESULTS(1) A transgenic cell line L9981-nm23-H1 was obtained, which could stably and effectively express nm23-H1. The mRNA expressions of integrin β1 and β3 in L9981-nm23-H1 cell line were remarkably lower than those in L9981 cell line. (2) The protein expressions of integrin β1 and β3 in L9981-nm23-H1 cell line were significantly lower than those in L9981 cell line too (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSTransfection of nm23-H1 gene into the L9981 cell line can significantly down-regulate the mRNA and protein expressions of integrin β1 and β3 in this cell line, which indicates that nm23-H1 may reverse the metastasis potential of L9981 cell line through modulation of integrin expression.