Cripto-1 (CR-1) is a member of the epidermal growth factor-Cripto-1/FRL1/Cryptic gene family that plays a key role in thevarious malignant cancers. However, the role of CR-1 in prostate carcinoma (PCa) remains limited. The expression of CR-1was down-regulated by small interfering RNA (siRNA). Western blot measured the expression levels of CR-1 and somerelated proteins. We performed Cell Counting Kit-8, 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation assay and flowcytometry to detect the cellular proliferation and cycle. The transwell assay was used to observe cellular migration andinvasion. The ability of angiogenesis was evaluated by tube formation assay. Our results showed that CR-1 knockdownmarkedly inhibited cell proliferation and induced cycle arrest in G1 phase, as p21 and p27 were up-regulated, whereascyclin D1 and cyclin E1 were diminished. Moreover, silencing of CR-1 dramatically inhibited cell migration and invasion,repressed matrix metalloproteinases, and disturbed epithelial-mesenchymal transition. CR-1 siRNA suppressed the secretedlevel of vascular endothelial growth factor, and reduced protein level of Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2. Wefurther found that decreased CR-1 expression inhibited FAK/Src/PI3K and Wnt/b-catenin signalling in PCa cells. Theseresults suggested CR-1 might be served as an effective therapeutic target in PCa.

Hypoxia plays a key role in tumour cell survival, invasion, and metastasis. An increasing number of studies have attemptedto characterize the tumour response to hypoxia and to identify predictive markers of disease. Here we show that hypoxiaincreases tumour cell invasion and migration by the modulation of Rab11, an important molecule for vesicular trafficking.In our study, we found that Rab11, together with the activation of Rac1, could stimulate invasion and migration of cervicalcancer cell lines HeLa/SiHa in hypoxia. Activation of Rac1 activity by hypoxia seems to be central to carcinoma invasion.We also found that these effects could be related to the integrin αvβ3. In addition, we studied the molecular pathway for thisprocess. Our results showed that in cervical cancer cell lines HeLa/SiHa, Rac1 activation in hypoxia could stimulateinvasion and migration, and this process was mediated by integrin αvβ3-mediated FAK and PI3K phosphorylation.Furthermore, hypoxia induced a dramatic increase in αvβ3 integrin surface expression, and this increase is dependent onRab11. In conclusion, our study might provide a new mechanism for the effect of hypoxia on stimulating cervicalcarcinoma invasion.

The Homeobox B9 (HOXB9) is a homeodomain-containing transcription factor that participates in the progressionof various malignancies. Nevertheless, the functional role of HOXB9 in prostate cancer cells is largelyunknown. Hence, we aimed to address the effect of HOXB9 on the progression of prostate cancer cells. Smallinterfering RNA (siRNA) against HOXB9 was used to downregulate HOXB9 expression in PC3 and DU145cells. Western blotting was performed to detect the expression levels of HOXB9 and other related proteins. Cellproliferation was tested by the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and cell cycle and apoptosis were investigated byflow cytometry. Angiogenesis was examined using tube formation assays The Transwell assays were carriedout to assess the migratory and invasive capacities of cells. Here, we found that HOXB9 knockdown significantlyreduced cell proliferation via inducing cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. This treatment also reducedangiogenesis, migration and invasion abilities of PC3 and DU145 cells in vitro. We also found that HOXB9knockdown inhibits the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in prostate cancer cells. In conclusion,our findings revealed that HOXB9 promotes prostate cancer progression and might be a novel and effectivetherapeutic target for human prostate cancer.