Background and aims: Src family kinases have been suggested to be associated with the metastasis of tumors, but their related mechanisms remain unclear. The aims of the present study were to assess the possible mechanisms by which the inhibition of Fyn activation regulates pancreatic cancer metastasis.
Methods: We examined the expressions of Fyn in human pancreatic cancer tissues by immunohistochemistry and systematically investigated the relationship between Fyn expression and pancreatic cancer metastasis. A nude mouse xenograft model induced by BxPC3 cells with or without the inhibition of Fyn activation was used to explore the effect of the inhibition of Fyn on metastasis in vivo. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-labeling assays were used to examine the effect of the inhibition of Fyn on the cell proliferation of BxPC3 pancreatic cancer cells in vitro. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis were performed to explore the possible mechanism of Fyn-induced metastasis.
Results: We found that the upregulation of Fyn expression was correlated with human pancreatic cancer metastasis. In BxPC3 pancreatic cancer cells, the inhibition of Fyn activation by kinase-dead Fyn transfection decreased liver metastasis in nude mice. Further analyses showed that Fyn activity modulated pancreatic cell metastasis through the regulation of proliferation and apoptosis.
Conclusions: Our results suggest a possible mechanism by which Fyn activity regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis that exerts an effect on pancreatic cancer metastasis.