Effects of NDRG3 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells and related mechanisms

Objective To investigate the effect of NDRG3 on the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 and related mechanism. Methods The expression of NDRG3 in ovarian cancer and normal ovarian tissues was analyzed using TCGA and GEPIA databases. The expression of NDRG3 in ovarian cancer and normal ovarian tissues was detected by Western blot and RT-qPCR. The expression of NDRG3 in SKOV3 cells was down-regulated by lentivirus-mediated transfection, and the level of NDRG3 protein was detected by Western blot. The effects of down-regulated NDRG3 expression on the proliferation, migration and invasion of SKOV3 cells were detected by the plate colony formation assay, CCK-8 assay, wound healing assay and Transwell assay. The effect of NDRG3 on the expression of MMP-2,MMP-9 and N-cadherin was evaluated by Western blot. Results The level of NDRG3 in human ovarian cancer tissue was higher than that in normal ovarian tissue. Down-regulation of NDRG3 resulted in remarkably reduced proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of SKOV3 cells (P<0.05), and decreased levels of MMP-2, MMP-9 and N-cadherin (P<0.05). Conclusions NDRG3 is highly expressed in ovarian cancer tissue. Down-regulation of NDRG3 can inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of SKOV3 cells.