Inhibitory effect of bone morphogenetic protein 9 on esophageal squamous cancer cells

Objective: To investigate the effect of bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9) on proliferation, cloning, migration, invasion and cell cycle of esophageal squamous cancer cells. Methods: Three esophageal squamous cancer cell lines, ECA109, KYSE150 and KYSE180, were infected with AdGFP and AdBMP9 separately, using those uninfected as blank control. The transcription levels of BMP9 mRNA in various groups were determined by RT-PCR method, while the proliferative activities of cells 0-96 h after infection were determined by MTT method, while the colony formation abilities by plate colony formation assay, the migration abilities by wound healing assay, and the invasion abilities by transwell migration assay. The ECA109 cells in three groups were determined for cell cycle. Results: The transcription levels of BMP9 mRNA in esophageal cancer cell lines infected with AdBMP9 increased significantlg. After over-expression of BMP9, all the proliferative activities of the three cell strains decreased significantly as compared with those infected with AdGFP and those uninfected (P < 0.05), while the colony formation ability decreased, with a decrease rate of more than 70%, the cell aggregates were small in size, and the migration and invasion abilities decreased. However, the percentage of ECA109 cells at G 1 phase increased significantly, while that at S phase decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Conclusion: BMP9 significantly inhibited the proliferation, cloning, migration and invasion of esophageal cancer cells, and arrested the cells at G1 phase.