Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor signaling is critical in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell growth and metastasis.

ABSTRACT: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most common malignancies in southern China and Southeast Asia, with the highest metastasis rate among head and neck cancers. The mechanisms underlying NPC progression remain poorly understood. Genome-wide expression profiling on 18 NPC vs. 18 noncancerous nasopharyngeal tissues together with GeneGo pathway analysis and expression verification in NPC cells and tissues revealed a potential role of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) in NPC progression, which has not been investigated in NPC. We then observed that uPAR expression is increased in poorly differentiated, highly metastatic NPC cells compared with lowly metastatic cells or differentiated NPC cells. In vitro studies demonstrated that uPAR regulates NPC cell growth, colon

SUBMITTER: Bao YN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4111759 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature