Hypoxic microenvironment promotes proliferation and invasion of non-small cell lung cancer A549 Cells through Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

Abstract

Objective: To study the effect of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway on hypoxia induced proliferation and invasion in lung cancer cell line A549. Methods: Cultured lung cancer A549 cells were treated with hypoxia for 24 h. The proliferation rates were detected by CCK8; the mRNA and protein expression levels of HIF-1α and β-catenin were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot; the effect of hypoxia on invasion ability of A549 cells were detected with Transwell method. Furthermore, β-catenin siRNA was used to investigate the role of β-catenin on hypoxia induced proliferation and invasion. Results: The results demonstrated that hypoxia could promote A549 cells proliferation and invasion. The mRNA and protein level of HIF-1α and β-catenin was upregulated by hypoxia treatment, whereas β-catenin siRNA could block these processes. Conclusion: Hypoxia promotes osteosarcoma cell line A549 proliferation and invasion by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.