Increased CCL19 expression is associated with progression in cervical cancer

// Xiaoshu Zhang 1 , Yue Wang 1 , Yanning Cao 1 , Xueshan Zhang 1 and Haiya Zhao 1 1 Department of Immunology, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, China Correspondence to: Xiaoshu Zhang, email: xiaoshuzh67@yeah.net Keywords: cervical cancer, CCL19, EMT, invasion, proliferation Received: December 20, 2016      Accepted: April 26, 2017      Published: May 18, 2017 ABSTRACT Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer and the fourth leading cause of malignancy related mortality in women worldwide. CCL19 is highly expressed in human cancer cells, and ligand CCL19 binding to CCR7 induces actin polymerization and pseudopodia formation. However, whether or not CCL19 is involved in EMT of human cervical cancer needs further investigation. Using quantitative PCR and western blot analyses, we found that CCL19 is overexpressed in cervical cancer cell lines and tissues. Knockdown of CCL19 via siRNA inhibited the proliferation of cervical cancer cells by increasing apoptosis. Further analyses showed that inhibitory effects of CCL19 on cell migration and invasion were partly associated with EMT process. In conclusion, these data indicate that CCL19 is abnormally expressed in cervical cancer, indicating a novel and important role for CCL19 in cervical cancer malignant transformation.