Caveolin-1 knockdown is associated with the metastasis and proliferation of human lung cancer cell line NCI-H460

Caveolin-1 (CAV-1), one component of caveolae, involves in multiple cellular processes and signal transductions. We previously showed that the expression of CAV-1 gene in NCI-H446 cells inhibited cell proliferation and promoted cell metastasis. Here we explore the function of CAV-1 on tumor growth and metastasis by using NCI-H460 in vitro. First, we established NCI-H460 cell line, which CAV-1 was stably knockdown. Then we investigated the effects of CAV-1 on the morphology, proliferation, cell cycle and metastasis potential for NCI-H460 cell by crystal violet stains, CCK-8, colony formation, flow cytometry, scratch-wound assay and transwell assay. Western blot was used to examine the expression changes of cyclin D1, PCNA, E-cadherin and β-catenin. Our results showed stable knockdown of CAV-1 inhibited the proliferation of NCI-H460 cells. Cell cycle of the transfected cells was arrested in G1/S phase and the expressions of cyclin D1 and PCNA protein were downregulated. Downregulation of CAV-1 promoted the migration and invasion abilities of NCI-H460 cells in vitro. The expression of β-catenin increased and the level of E-cadherin decreased. In summary, our findings provide experimental evidence that CAV-1 may function as a proproliferative and antimetastatic gene in NCI-H460 cell line.