Recent advances in gastric cancer

Shi M et al. XB130 promotes proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer cells. J Transl Med 2014;12:1 In addition to enhancing the survival, proliferation and metastasis of thyroid cancer cells the adaptor protein XB130 may also be implicated in gastric cancer (GC). This study investigated the effects of XB130 on GC in vitro and in vivo. Silencing XB130 significantly reduced GC cell proliferation, migration and invasion in SGC7901 and MKN45 gastric adenocarcinoma cell lines. Furthermore, downregulating XB130 significantly decreased tumour growth in a xenograft nude mouse model. In both the GC cell lines and xenograft tissue XB130 silencing reduced Akt phosphorylation. In addition the expression of mesenchymal markers (fibronectin and vimentin) and metastasis-associated proteins (MMP2, MMP9, CD44) was reduced and epithelial markers (Ecadherin, α-catenin, β-catenin) was promoted following XB130 knockout. This study highlights an important role for XB130 in GC. Modulation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process by XB130 inhibition may represent a novel therapeutic target in GC.