Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)/CXCR4 axis enhances cellular invasion in ovarian carcinoma cells via integrin β1 and β3 expressions.

Accumulating evidence has showed that stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1/CXCR4 axis played important roles in cancer metastases, but the detailed function in ovarian cancer is still largely unknown. In the present study, we determined the location of CXCR4 and lipid rafts, a specialized structure on cell membrane, in ovarian cancer tissues and ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 cells by immunofluorescence. To analyze the role of SDF-1/CXCR4 and lipid rafts in tumor cell migration and invasion, Transwell assay and wound healing assay were also performed. Cytoflowmetry was carried out to determine the participation of integrins. Our data showed that CXCR4 and GM1 (marker of lipid rafts) were expressed in both ovarian cancer tissue and SKOV3 cells, and SDF-1 promoted the invasion and migration of SKOV3 cells, which was mediated by complete lipid rafts. Further studies uncovered that SDF-1 upregulated the expression of integrin β1 and β3, two molecules closely related with cancer metastasis. These results indicated that SDF-1 might promote the invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer by regulating these two integrin molecules.