Effect of von Willebrand factor on the biological characteristics of colorectal cancer cells

Objective To study effect of von Willebrand factor (vWF) on the proliferation, adhesion and migration of human colorectal cancer cells. Methods Human colorectal cancer cell line SW480 was cultured in vitro, and the expression of vWF in SW480 cells was detected by immunocytochemistry. SW480 cells were treated with vWF antibody (vWFAb), and the morphological change was examined by inverted microscope. Cell proliferation and ability to adhere extracellular matrix IV collagen were detected with MTT. Migration ability of SW480 cells was assayed by Transwell. Results The human colorectal cancer cell line SW480 expressed vWF which was mainly in nucleus and slightly in cytoplasm. vWFAb significantly inhibited the proliferation ability of SW480 cells in dose- and time-dependent manner (P<0.05). After vWFAb treatment, SW480 cells adhesion decreased significantly (P<0.05), and transmembrane migration of cells significantly decreased (54.60± 11.01 vs 97.27±10.01,P<0.01). Conclusions Human colorectal cancer cells can express vWF. vWF in human colorectal cancer cells plays an important role in promoting proliferation, adhesion, and migration. Key words: Colorectal neoplasms; von Willebrand factor; Neoplasm metastasis; SW480 cells