EMMPRIN contributes to the in vitro invasion of human salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma cells

Extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is involved in tumor invasion by stimulating matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression. Our previous immunohistochemical study found that the expression of EMMPRIN in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) was positively correlated with tumor perineural and perivascular invasion. The present study was designed to further investigate the role of EMMPRIN in the invasion of SACC. Western blot results showed that EMMPRIN was upregulated in the highly metastatic SACC cell line SACC-LM, compared to SACC-83, a SACC cell line with low metastatic ability. Blocking of EMMPRIN by its antibody significantly decreased the adhesion, secretion of MMP-2 and MMP-9, and invasion activity of SACC-LM cells in vitro (P<0.01). Co-cultures of SACC-LM cells with fibroblasts significantly produced elevated levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9, and promoted the in vitro invasion activity of SACC-LM cells, compared with cultures of SACC-LM cells alone (P<0.01). These results indicate that EMMPRIN may play an important role in the invasion of SACC by stimulating the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in tumor and stromal cells.