Abstract: Objective: To study the effects of heavy ion beams and X-ray on the expression of chemokine receptor CXCR4 in Tca8113 cell line, and explore the underlying mechanism. Methods: The mRNA express level of CXCR4 was detected by real-time PCR after Tca8113 cells were treated. Results: Compared with the control group, the expression of CXCR4 in the X-ray group got to the lowest level at 8 h, and reached the peak value at 12 h (P<0.05) after radiation. In addition, the changes in the 1 Gy and 4 Gy groups were more obvious (P<0.05), but not significant in the 2Gy group. The expression of CXCR4 was significantly down-regulated at 12 h after heavy ion beams treatment. Meanwhile, the expression of CXCR4 in the 1 Gy and 4 Gy groups returned to the control level at 24 h after radiation. Compared with X-ray group, CXCR4 expression was obviously lower in the heavy ion beams group (P<0.01). Conclusion: Heavy ion beams may be a better choice to inhibit the invasion of Tca8113 cell line in vitro.

Key words: Heavy ion beams, X-ray, Tongue squamous cell carcinoma, CXCR4, Tumor invasion