Potential involvement of heat shock proteins in pancreaticduodenal homeobox-1-mediated effects on the genesis of gastric cancer: A 2D gel-based proteomic study

AIM To identify functional proteins involved in pancreaticduodenal homeobox-1(PDX1)-mediated effects on gastric carcinogenesis.METHODS A PDX1-overexpressed model was established by transfecting gastric cancer cell line SGC7901 with pcDNA3.1(+)-PDX1 vector(SGC-PDX1). Transfection with empty pcDNA3.1 vector(SGC-pcDNA) served as control. Comparative protein profiles of the two groups were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis basedproteomics(2 DE gel-based proteomics). The differential proteins identified by 2 DE were further validated by qRTPCR and immunoblotting. Finally, co-immunoprecipitation was used to determine any direct interactions between PDX1 and the differential proteins.RESULTS2 DE gel proteomics identified seven differential proteins in SGC-PDX1 when compared with those in SGC-pcDNA. These included four heat shock proteins(HSPs; HSP70 p1 B, HSP70 p8, HSP60, HSP27) and three other proteins(ER60, laminin receptor 1, similar to epsilon isoform of 14-3-3 protein). Immunoblotting validated the expression of the HSPs(HSP70, HSP60, HSP27). Furthermore, their expressions were lowered to 80%, 20% and 24%, respectively, in SGC-PDX1, while PDX1 exhibited a 9-fold increase, compared to SGC-pcDNA. However, qRT-PCR analysis revealed that mRNA levels of the HSP s were increased in SGC-PDX1, suggesting that the expression of the HSP s was post-translationally regulated by the PDX1 protein. Finally, co-immunoprecipitation failed to identify any direct interaction between PDX1 and HSP70 proteins.CONCLUSION This study demonstrates the potential involvement of HSPs in PDX1-mediated effects on the genesis of gastric cancer.