NF-κB signaling pathway confers neuroblastoma cells migration and invasion ability via the regulation of CXCR4.

Background: Accumulating evidence implicates the transcription factor NF-κB as a positive mediator of tumor metastasis, but the molecular mechanism(s) involved in this process remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of NF-κB signaling pathway in the regulation of CXC chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4) in neuroblastoma metastasis.

Material And Methods: NF-κB, CXCR4 mRNA and protein expression were measured by RT-PCR, and Western blot. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was used to induce the upregulation of NF-κB and CXCR4. The knockdown of NF-κB and CXCR4 was achieved by PDTC. Transwell assay was used to investigate the role of NF-κB (P65) in neuroblastoma cell migration and invasion. An in vitro co-culture system was established to investigate the role of tumor microenvironment in regulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Results: Over-expression of NF-κB (p65) promoted tumor migration and invasion through the upregulation of CXCR4; however, knockdown of NF-κB(P65) inhibited tumor migration and invasion through blocking the expression of CXCR4. Consistently, in the co-culture system, the expression of CXCR4 was partly dependent on the expression of NF-κB (p65).

Conclusions: Our studies reveal critical roles for the NF-κB signaling pathway in neuroblastoma migration and invasion. The mechanism may be through up-regulation of CXCR4, mediated by the NF-κB signaling pathways. Targeting NF-κB signalling pathways and ultimately CXCR4 could be a strategy in neuroblastoma therapy.