Prostaglandin E2 and Interleukin-1β Reduce E-cadherin Expression by Enhancing Snail Expression in Gastric Cancer Cells

Inflammation is closely related to the progression of cancer as well as tumorigenesis. Here, we investigated the effect of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) on E-cadherin expression in SNU719 gastric cancer cells. E-cadherin expression decreased as the dose or exposure time of PGE(2) and IL-1β increased, whereas Snail expression increased with dose or time of PGE(2) and IL-1β. E-cadherin expression reduced by PGE(2) treatment increased after the transfection of Snail siRNA. Neutralization of IL-1β using anti-IL-1β antibody blocked the expression pattern of E-cadherin and Snail occurred by IL-1β treatment. However, there was no synergic effect of IL-1β and PGE(2) on the expression pattern of E-cadherin and Snail. In conclusion, inflammatory mediators reduced E-cadherin expression by enhancing Snail expression in gastric cancer cells. Inflammation-induced transcriptional regulation of E-cadherin in gastric cancer has implications for targeted chemoprevention and therapy.