Gastric cancer (GC) is among the most aggressive types of
cancer and is the second leading cause of
cancer-associated mortality worldwide. The specific role of deregulated expression/activity of
histone methyltransferases (HMTs) in GC is poorly understood. The present study aimed to explore the possible oncogenic role of euchromatic
histone lysine methyltransferase 1 (EHMT1) in gastric
carcinogenesis. It was identified that EHMT1 was highly expressed in GC tissues compared with that in adjacent non-
tumor tissues, and that EHMT1 expression levels were significantly associated with
tumor stage and
lymph node metastasis. Through knockdown of EHMT1 in the BGC-803 cell line, EHMT1 was demonstrated to promote a malignant phenotype, and to increase the wound healing, migration and invasion abilities of GC cells. Corresponding to these in vitro results, knockdown of EHMT1 also inhibited the peritoneal
metastasis of GC cells in vivo. Furthermore, EHMT1 also regulated the expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition marker
E-cadherin in vitro and in vivo. These results indicate that EHMT1 is upregulated in GC and serves an oncogenic role in GC development by regulating
E-cadherin expression.