RON and c-Met facilitate metastasis through the ERK signaling pathway in prostate cancer cells

Oncol Rep. 2017 Jun;37(6):3209-3218. doi: 10.3892/or.2017.5585. Epub 2017 Apr 19.

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a metastatic malignant cancer driven by complex pathological mechanisms and characterized by poor long-term prognosis. Metastasis is the main cause of death of PCa patients, yet the molecular mechanisms of this process are poorly understood. In the present study, positive co-expression of RON and c-Met was observed in human clinical PCa tissues (biopsy material), as detected by immunohistochemical staining and quantitative real-time PCR. We investigated this further in PCa cells, demonstrating that the inhibition of RON and c-Met with foretinib (GSK1363089) suppressed metastasis and promoted the reversal of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in PCa cells. Furthermore, the invasion and migration of PCa cells were enhanced by the exogenous activation of RON with MSP and c-Met with HGF, whereas silencing of RON and c-Met attenuated the invasion and metastasis of the PCa cells. Our data also demonstrated that HGF/c-Met, but not the MSP-RON signaling pathway may be the dominant mechanism for PCa EMT. We further revealed that RON and c-Met facilitate metastasis via ERK1/2 signaling. These findings indicate that RON and c-Met facilitate metastasis through ERK1/2 signaling and that targeting RON and c-Met with foretinib may be an attractive therapeutic option for suppressing PCa metastasis.

MeSH terms

  • Anilides / administration & dosage
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Movement / drug effects
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / drug effects
  • Humans
  • MAP Kinase Signaling System / drug effects
  • MAP Kinase Signaling System / genetics
  • Male
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness / genetics
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Prognosis
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / genetics
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met / genetics*
  • Quinolines / administration & dosage
  • Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / genetics*

Substances

  • Anilides
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • GSK 1363089
  • Quinolines
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met
  • RON protein
  • Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases