Objective      To investigate the effect of neurotensin (NTS) and neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1) on the migration and invasion of human glioma U87 cells.       Methods      An NTSR1-targeting shRNA vector and a non-homologous scramble sequence were constructed to transfect human glioma U87 cells

and the positive clones were screened with puromycin and then named as shNTSR1 and sc-shRNA. The expression levels of NTSR1

N-cadherin and MMP-9 were detected by Western blotting. The cell migration and invasion ability was determined by wound scratch assay and Transwell invasion assay. After the intracranial transplantation tumor model was established

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure the tumor volume

and the protein levels of MMP-9 and N-cadherin in the orthotopic tumor tissue were evaluated by Western blotting.       Results      The protein level of NTSR1 was significantly decreased after NTSR1 knockdown

and the cell migration and invasion ability was markedly reduced (P0.05). The wound scratch assay results showed that the cell migration rate (38.02±6.87）% of the NTS stimulation group was higher than that (13.46±4.49)% of the blank control group (P0.05)

and the cell migration rate (9.48±3.08) of the NTS+shNTSR1 group was lower than that (35.48±12.89) of the NTS+sc-shRNA group (P0.05). The Transwell invasion assay results also showed that the OD value (0.25±0.02) of the NTS stimulation group was higher than that (0.16±0.02) of the blank control group (P0.05)

and the OD value (0.15±0.03) of the NTS+shNTSR1 group was lower than that (0.24±0.04) of the NTS+sc-shRNA group (P0.05). The Western blotting results showed that MMP-9 expression was increased

however

the level of N-cadherin was decreased by NTS stimulation. Conversely

the expression of N-cadherin was increased

however

the level of MMP-9 was decreased after NTSR1 knockdown. More importantly

the in vivo results showed that NTSR1 down-regulation could impair U87 cell invasion ability and prolong the survival period of tumor bearing mice.       Conclusion      Suppressing NTSR1 expression decreases the migration and invasion ability of glioma cells and then improves the survival of mice.