Claudin-6, 7, or 9 Overexpression in the Human Gastric Adenocarcinoma Cell Line AGS Increases Its Invasiveness, Migration, and Proliferation Rate

Abstract

Altered claudin expression is related to metastatic potential, poor prognosis, or tumor recurrence. We analyzed if the overexpression of claudin-6, claudin-7, or claudin-9 in AGS cells altered cell motility, invasiveness, or proliferation rate. Claudin-7, claudin-9, and claudin-6 enhanced their invasive potential by 3.4-fold, 1.6-fold, and 2.0-fold, respectively. Claudin-6 and claudin-9 enhanced cell migration, while the proliferation rate of claudin-6-, claudin-7-, and claudin-9-transfected cells increased by 12.7%, 9.0%, and 13.3%, respectively. Claudin-7 and claudin-9 overexpression increased claudin-1 and zonula occludens-1 levels. In summary, individual increased expression of claudin-6, claudin-7, or claudin-9 is sufficient to enhance tumorigenic properties of a gastric adenocarcinoma cell line.

Keywords: :

• Claudins
• Gastric adenocarcinoma
• Cancer cell migration
• ZO-1

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

V. E. Zavala-Zendejas is a graduate student at the PhD program, “Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biomédicas,” UNAM, México, and was the recipient of a CONACyT grant. This work was partially supported by IN207108–2, IN-202508–3, and IN-210409–3 grants from PAPIIT, UNAM, and SALUD-13970 grant from CONAcyT, México.