[Over-expression of aquaporin 1 (AQP1) promotes cell proliferation and inhibits β-catenin phosphorylation in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells].

Objective To investigate the effect of over-expression of aquaporin 1 (AQP1) gene on the proliferation of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells and its possible mechanism. Methods A lentiviral vector for over-expression of AQP1 was constructed, identified and used to infect A549 cells. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot analysis were performed to detect the expression of AQP1 mRNA and protein, respectively. In the AQP1-over-expressing A549 cells, MTT assay, clone formation assay and Western blot analysis were used to assess cell proliferation, cell clone forming ability, and β-catenin phosphorylation level, respectively. Results The retroviral expression vector of AQP1 with a virus titer of (2.87±0.54)×108 IU/mL was obtained and A549 cells were infected with it to get a stable AQP1 over-expressing cell line. In this cell line, the AQP1 mRNA and protein levels were significantly raised, the cell proliferation ability was significantly improved, and the number of cell clones was significantly elevated. The total protein level of β-catenin increased, but the phosphorylation of β-catenin decreased significantly. Conclusion Over-expression of AQP1 promotes A549 cell proliferation and inhibits β-catenin phosphorylation.