Abstract: Objective To study the effect of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-28 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (AODN) on cell biological behaviour of human lung cancer cell A549. Methods To explore its possible functions, cell line A549 was subjected to specific inhibition of MMP-28 by AODN transfection. RT-PCR and Western blot were used to evaluate mRNA and protein level of MMP-28. The proliferative status of cells was measured by MTT assay and soft-agar colony formation assay.Cell invasion ability was detected by Matrigel in vitro invasionassay. The ability of tumor formation and metastatic potency was examined by lung cancer cells xenograft in nude mice. Results After 48 h transfection, the expression of MMP-28 mRNA and protein in AODN-transfected cells was significantly lower than those of control cells and SODN-transfected cells (P<0.01). The ability of proliferation and invasion of AODN-transfected cells was decreased (P<0.01).The weight of xenograft in AODN-transfected cells wasfar less than those of in SODN-transfected cells(P<0.01). Conclusion Both cell proliferation and invasion potential of A549 cells in vitro and in vivo were inhibited effectively by MMP-28 AODN, suggesting that MMP-28 may be a promising molecular target for anti-invasion therapy of human lung cancer.

Key words: lung neoplasms, matrix metalloproteinases, antisense oligodeoxynucleotide