Decreased expression of TFF2 and gastric carcinogenesis

The trefoil factor family (TFF) of peptides, which are protease-resistant and have a strong affinity for mucins, play an important role in gastrointestinal mucosal protection and restitution. Prior studies have indicated that dysregulation of TFF2 was associated with cell migration, resistance to apoptosis, and gastric cancer invasion; however, the underlying mechanism associated with these actions remains unclear. Thus, to investigate the relationship between TFF2 and carcinogenesis in gastric cancer, TFF2 expression was analyzed by Western blot analysis in nine selected gastric cancer tissues and immunohistochemical staining was performed in paraffin-embedded samples from 157 gastric cancers. A reduced TFF2 expression was observed by Western blot analysis in the gastric cancer tissues. However, there was no significant difference in the TFF2 expression according to clinical and pathological parameters of the gastric cancers. To investigate the biological role of TFF2 in the development and progression of gastric cancer, a TFF2 expression plasmid was constructed for in vitro experiments of function. Introduction of TFF2 cDNA into a gastric cancer cell line did not affect tumor cell growth, cell migration or invasion. In conclusion, down-regulation of TFF2 in gastric cancer cells and restoration of TFF2 did not affect the tumorigenic potential of gastric cancer cells in vitro. The loss of TFF2 expression might be an early event of the multi-step process of gastrocarcinogenesis and may play a limited role in the mucosal protection of the normal gastric physiology.