Ectopic expression of CC chemokine receptor 7 promotes prostate cancer cells metastasis via Notch1 signaling

There currently exists no satisfactory treatment for patients with prostate cancer with local evolution and distant metastasis. Previous studies have confirmed the importance of CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) in the invasion and metastasis of prostate cancer. And increasing evidence prove that Notch1 can play diametrically opposite roles in the development and progression of different tumors. To demonstrate the correlation between CCR7 and Notch1, PC-3 cells were transfected with pcDNA3.1-CCR7 or CCR7 si-RNA, respectively. Then Western blot analysis was used to detect the expressions of Notch1, ERK, P38, JNK, NF-κB, MMP-9, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins. Moreover, matrigel invasion assays were performed to assess the migratory and invasive activities of PC-3 cells. PcDNA3.1-CCR7 increased the expression of Notch1, phospho-MAPK, phospho-P65, MMP-9, N-cadherin, and Snail in PC-3 cells, but decreased the expression of E-cadherin. PcDNA3.1-CCR7 also promoted the migration and invasion of PC-3 cells. However, CCR7 si-RNA reversed the effect of pcDNA3.1-CCR7 in PC-3 cells. And MAPK and NF-κB pathway inhibitors were used to testify that activation of Notch1 induces EMT through MAPK and NF-κB pathway. All these results indicate that upregulation of Notch1 by CCR7 can accelerate the evolution of EMT and develop the invasion and metastasis in prostate cancer cells by activating MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways in prostate cancer cells, which provides a new molecular evidence for targeted therapy in metastatic prostate cancer.