Impact of SMAD2 and MET Expression on Lymph Node Metastasis of HER2-positive Gastric Cancer Cells

Background/aim: Intra-tumoral heterogeneity, which is frequently found in various types of cancers, has been suggested to play an important role in cancer progression and metastasis. The findings of our previous study suggested that p-SMAD2 and c-MET signaling might play important roles in the progression to lymph node metastasis of HER2-positive gastric cancer. In this study, we confirmed the effect of SMAD2/MET signaling in the progression of HER2-positive gastric cancer in an animal model.

Materials and methods: NCI-N87 cells over-expressing ERBB2, SMAD2, MET were used. To confirm the role of SMAD2 and MET expression on lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer, we orthotopically injected NCI-N87 cells with or without the knockdown of both SMAD2 and MET into the gastric walls of BALBc nude mice.

Results: The number of metastatic lymph nodes was significantly smaller in the knockdown group compared to that in the control group. However, there was no significant difference in gastric tumor size between the two groups.

Conclusion: SMAD2 and MET signaling might play important roles specifically in the progression to lymph node metastasis of HER2-positive gastric cancer. c-MET and SMAD2 may be useful targets for preventing lymph node metastasis in patients with HER2-positive gastric cancer.