Abstract: Objective  To investigate the effect of deleted in liver cancer-1 (DLC-1) on proliferation and invasion of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and its mechanism. Methods The recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-DLC-1 was constructed and transfected into  human non-small cell lung cancer cell lines A549 and Calu-6. The protein expression of DLC-1 was detected by Western blot. The mRNA expression of DLC-1 and ROCK1 was detected by qRT-PCR. The cell proliferation ability was detected by the plate clone formation test. The cell cycle was detected by the flow cytometry. The invasion ability of cells was detected by Transwell. Results After the A549 and Calu-6 cells were transfected with recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-DLC-1, the protein and mRNA expression levels of DLC-1 were higher than those of the control group (all P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the mRNA expression of ROCK1 in A549 and Calu-6 cells was reduced after the over-expression of DLC-1 (all P<0.05), and the cell proliferation ability was decreased (all P<0.05). The A549 cell cycle was arrested in the G1 phase, and the invasion ability was decreased (P<0.05). Conclusions The over-expression of DLC-1 can inhibit the proliferation and invasion of NSCLC cells, and its mechanism may be related to the targeted regulation of ROCK1.

Key words: Non-small cell lung cancer, Deleted in liver cancer-1, ROCK1, Proliferation, Cell cycle, Invasion