TMED3 promotes the progression and development of lung squamous cell carcinoma by regulating EZR

KCNK1 promotes proliferation and metastasis of breast cancer cells by activating lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) and up-regulating H3K18 lactylation

Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy and the most significant contributor to mortality in female oncology patients. Potassium Two Pore Domain Channel Subfamily K Member 1 (KCNK1) is differentially expressed in a variety of tumors, but the mechanism of its function in breast cancer is unknown. In this study, we found for the first time that KCNK1 was significantly up-regulated in human breast cancer and was correlated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. KCNK1 promoted breast cancer proliferation, invasion, and metastasis in vitro and vivo. Further studies unexpectedly revealed that KCNK1 increased the glycolysis and lactate production in breast cancer cells by binding to and activating lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), which promoted histones lysine lactylation to induce the expression of a series of downstream genes and LDHA itself. Notably, increased expression of LDHA served as a vicious positive feedback to reduce tumor cell stiffness and adhesion, which eventually resulted in the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of breast cancer. In conclusion, our results suggest that KCNK1 may serve as a potential breast cancer biomarker, and deeper insight into the cancer-promoting mechanism of KCNK1 may uncover a novel therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment.

TMED2 promotes glioma tumorigenesis by being involved in EGFR recycling transport

Aberrant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling is the core signaling commonly activated in glioma. The transmembrane emp24 protein transport domain protein 2 (TMED2) interacts with cargo proteins involved in protein sorting and transport between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi apparatus. In this study, we found the correlation between TMED2 with glioma progression and EGFR signaling through database analysis. Moreover, we demonstrated that TMED2 is essential for glioma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion at the cellular levels, as well as tumor formation in mouse models, underscoring its significance in the pathobiology of gliomas. Mechanistically, TMED2 was found to enhance EGFR-AKT signaling by facilitating EGFR recycling, thereby providing the initial evidence of TMED2's involvement in the membrane protein recycling process. In summary, our findings shed light on the roles and underlying mechanisms of TMED2 in the regulation of glioma tumorigenesis and EGFR signaling, suggesting that targeting TMED2 could emerge as a promising therapeutic strategy for gliomas and other tumors associated with aberrant EGFR signaling.

Subtyping and prognostic model construction based on vesicle-mediated transport-related genes in colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is impacted by various environmental and genetic variables. Dysregulation of vesicle-mediated transport-related genes (VMTRGs) has been observed in many malignancies, but their effect on prognosis in CRC remains unclear.

METHODS

CRC samples were clustered into varying subtypes per differential expression of VMTRGs. R package was utilized to explore differences in survival, immune, and drug sensitivity among different disease subtypes. According to differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between subtypes, regression analysis was employed to build a riskscore model and identify independent prognostic factors. The model was validated through a Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset. Immune landscape, immunophenoscore (IPS), and Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) scores for different risk groups were calculated.

RESULTS

Two subtypes of CRC were identified based on VMTRGs, which showed significant differences in survival rates, immune cell infiltration abundance, immune functional activation levels, and immune checkpoint expression levels. Cluster2 exhibited higher sensitivity to anti-tumor drugs such as Nilotinib, Cisplatin, and Oxaliplatin compared to Cluster1. DEGs were mainly enriched in biological processes such as epidermis development, epidermal cell differentiation, and receptor-ligand activity, and signaling pathways like pancreatic secretion. The constructed 13-gene riskscore model demonstrated good predictive ability for CRC patients' prognosis. Furthermore, differences in immune landscape, IPS, and TIDE scores were observed among different risk groups.

CONCLUSION

This study successfully obtained two CRC subtypes with distinct survival statuses and immune levels based on differential expression of VMTRGs. A 13-gene risk model was constructed. The findings had important implications for prognosis and treatment of CRC.

Integrative Multi-Omics Analysis Identifies Transmembrane p24 Trafficking Protein 1 (TMED1) as a Potential Prognostic Marker in Colorectal Cancer

Several TMED protein family members are overexpressed in malignant tumors and associated with tumor progression. TMED1 belongs to the TMED protein family and is involved in protein vesicular trafficking. However, the expression level and biological role of TMED1 in colorectal cancer (CRC) have yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, the integration of patient survival and multi-omics data (immunohistochemical staining, transcriptomics, and proteomics) revealed that the highly expressed TMED1 was related to the poor prognosis in CRC. Crystal violet staining indicated the cell growth was reduced after knocking down TMED1. Moreover, the flow cytometry results showed that TMED1 knockdown could increase cell apoptosis. The expression of TMED1 was positively correlated with other TMED family members (TMED2, TMED4, TMED9, and TMED10) in CRC, and the protein-protein interaction network suggested its potential impact on immune regulation. Furthermore, TMED1 expression was positively associated with the infiltration levels of regulatory T cells (Tregs), cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and endothelial cells and negatively correlated with the infiltration levels of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and B cells. At last, the CTRP and GDSC datasets on the GSCA platform were used to analyze the relationship between TMED1 expression and drug sensitivity (IC50). The result found that the elevation of TMED1 was positively correlated with IC50 and implied it could increase the drug resistance of cancer cells. This research revealed that TMED1 is a novel prognostic biomarker in CRC and provided a valuable strategy for analyzing potential therapeutic targets of malignant tumors.

TMED family genes and their roles in human diseases

The members of the transmembrane emp24 domain-containing protein (TMED) family are summarized in human as four subfamilies, α (TMED 4, 9), β (TMED 2), γ (TMED1, 3, 5, 6, 7) and δ (TMED 10), with a total of nine members, which are important regulators of intracellular protein transport and are involved in normal embryonic development, as well as in the pathogenic processes of many human diseases. Here we systematically review the composition, structure and function of TMED family members, and describe the progress of TMED family in human diseases, including malignancies (head and neck tumors, lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, gastrointestinal tumors, urological tumors, osteosarcomas, etc.), immune responses, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, mucin 1 nephropathy (MKD), and desiccation syndrome (SS). Finally, we discuss and prospect the potential of TMED for disease prognosis prediction and therapeutic targeting, with a view to laying the foundation for therapeutic research based on TMED family causative genes.

Comprehensive analyses of a CD8+ T cell infiltration related gene signature with regard to the prediction of prognosis and immunotherapy response in lung squamous cell carcinoma

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is associated with a worse prognosis than other histological subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer. Due to the vital role of CD8⁺ T cells in anti-tumor immunity, the characterization of CD8⁺ T cell infiltration-related (CTLIR) gene signature in LUSC is worthy of in-depth exploration. In our study, tumor tissues of LUSC patients from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University were stained by multiplex immunohistochemistry to evaluate the density of infiltrated CD8⁺ T cells and explore the correlation with immunotherapy response. We found that the proportion of LUSC patients who responded to immunotherapy was higher in the high density of CD8⁺ T cell infiltration group than in the low density of CD8⁺ T cell infiltration group. Subsequently, we collected bulk RNA-sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The abundance of infiltrating immune cells in LUSC patients was analyzed by using CIBERSORT algorithm, and weighted correlation network analysis was performed to identify the co-expressed gene modules related to CD8⁺ T cells. We then developed a prognostic gene signature based on CD8⁺ T cell co-expressed genes and calculated the CTLIR risk score, which stratified LUSC patients into high-risk and low-risk groups. With univariate and multivariate analyses, the gene signature was identified as an independent prognostic factor in LUSC patients. The overall survival of LUSC patients in the high-risk group was significantly shorter than that of the low-risk group in the TCGA cohort, which was validated in Gene Expression Omnibus datasets. We analyzed immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenviroment and found fewer CD8⁺ T cells and more regulatory T cell infiltration in the high-risk group, which is characterized as an immunosuppressive phenotype. Furthermore, the LUSC patients in the high-risk group were predicted to have a better response to immunotherapy than those in the low-risk group when treated with PD-1 and CTLA4 inhibitors. In conclusion, we performed a comprehensive molecular analysis of the CTLIR gene signature in LUSC and constructed a risk model for LUSC patients to predict prognosis and immunotherapy response.

Comprehensive analysis of 33 human cancers reveals clinical implications and immunotherapeutic value of the solute carrier family 35 member A2

Background

Solute carrier family 35 member A2 (SLC35A2), which belongs to the SLC35 solute carrier family of human nucleoside sugar transporters, has shown regulatory roles in various tumors and neoplasms. However, the function of SLC35A2 across human cancers remains to be systematically assessed. Insights into the prediction ability of SLC35A2 in clinical practice and immunotherapy response remains limited.

Materials and methods

We obtained the gene expression and protein levels of SLC35A2 in a variety of tumors from Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium, The Cancer Genome Atlas, Gene Expression Omnibus, Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas, and Human Protein Atlas databases. The SLC35A2 level was validated by immunohistochemistry. The predictive value for prognosis was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analyses. Correlations between SLC35A2 expression and DNA methylation, genetic alterations, tumor mutation burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), and tumor microenvironment were performed using Spearman's correlation analysis. The possible downstream pathways of SLC35A2 in different human cancers were explored using gene set variation analysis. The potential role of SLC35A2 in the tumor immune microenvironment was evaluated via EPIC, CIBERSORT, MCP-counter, CIBERSORT-ABS, quanTIseq, TIMER, and xCell algorithms. The difference in the immunotherapeutic response of SLC35A2 under different expression conditions was evaluated by the tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) score as well as four independent immunotherapy cohorts, which includes patients with bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA, N = 299), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC, N = 72 and N = 36) and skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM, N = 25). Potential drugs were identified using the CellMiner database and molecular docking.

Results

SLC35A2 exhibited abnormally high or low expression in 23 cancers and was significantly associated with the prognosis. In various cancers, SLC35A2 expression and mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 signaling were positively correlated. Multiple algorithmic immune infiltration analyses suggested an inverse relation between SLC35A2 expression and infiltrating immune cells, which includes CD4+T cells, CD8+T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells (NK) in various tumors. Furthermore, SLC35A2 expression was significantly correlated with pan-cancer immune checkpoints, TMB, MSI, and TIDE genes. SLC35A2 showed significant predictive value for the immunotherapy response of patients with diverse cancers. Two drugs, vismodegib and abiraterone, were identified, and the free binding energy of cytochrome P17 with abiraterone was higher than that of SLC35A2 with abiraterone.

Conclusion

Our study revealed that SLC35A2 is upregulated in 20 types of cancer, including lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA), colon adenocarcinoma (COAD), and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). The upregulated SLC35A2 in five cancer types indicates a poor prognosis. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between the overexpression of SLC35A2 and reduced lymphocyte infiltration in 13 cancer types, including BRCA and COAD. Based on data from several clinical trials, patients with LUAD, LUSC, SKCM, and BLCA who exhibited high SLC35A2 expression may experience improved immunotherapy response. Therefore, SLC35A2 could be considered a potential predictive biomarker for the prognosis and immunotherapy efficacy of various tumors. Our study provides a theoretical basis for further investigating its prognostic and therapeutic potentials.

Cellular Landscapes of Nondiseased Human Cardiac Valves From End-Stage Heart Failure-Explanted Heart

BACKGROUND

Exploring the mechanisms of valvular heart disease at the cellular level may be useful to identify new therapeutic targets; however, the comprehensive cellular landscape of nondiseased human cardiac valve leaflets remains unclear.

METHODS

The cellular landscapes of nondiseased human cardiac valve leaflets (5 aortic valves, 5 pulmonary valves, 5 tricuspid valves, and 3 mitral valves) from end-stage heart failure patients undergoing heart transplantation were explored using single-cell RNA sequencing. Bioinformatics was used to identify the cell types, describe the cell functions, and investigate cellular developmental trajectories and interactions. Differences among the 4 types of cardiac valves at the cellular level were summarized. Pathological staining was performed to validate the key findings of single-cell RNA sequencing. An integrative analysis of our single-cell data and published genome-wide association study-based and bulk RNA sequencing-based data provided insights into the cell-specific contributions to calcific aortic valve diseases.

RESULTS

Six cell types were identified among 128 412 cells from nondiseased human cardiac valve leaflets. Valvular interstitial cells were the largest population, followed by myeloid cells, lymphocytes, valvular endothelial cells, mast cells, and myofibroblasts. The 4 types of cardiac valve had distinct cellular compositions. The intercellular communication analysis revealed that valvular interstitial cells were at the center of the communication network. The integrative analysis of our single-cell RNA sequencing data revealed key cellular subpopulations involved in the pathogenesis of calcific aortic valve diseases.

CONCLUSIONS

The cellular landscape differed among the 4 types of nondiseased cardiac valve, which might explain their differences in susceptibility to pathological remodeling and valvular heart disease.

Screening of the novel immune-suppressive biomarkers of TMED family and whether knockdown of TMED2/3/4/9 inhibits cell migration and invasion in breast cancer

Background

Transmembrane p24 trafficking protein (TMED) family members are implicated in several solid tumors, but their clinical relevance for breast cancer (BC) remains unclear. This study aimed to probe their prognostic values and relations with tumor immunity in BC.

Methods

TMED family mRNA expression was assessed in five microarray datasets (GSE65212, GSE42568, GSE5364, GSE22820 and GSE45827) from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and invasive breast cancer (BRCA) cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to determine the predictive values of filtered members of the TMED family. The protein expressions of screen genes were validated by Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) data from University of ALabama at Birmingham CANcer data analysis portal (UALCAN) and detected in the clinical specimens by western blot assay. Clinicopathologic variables were analyzed with bc-GenExMiner, and patient prognostic data were obtained with Kaplan-Meier Plotter. In vitro wound healing and invasion assays were performed on siRNA-transfected BC cell lines. TIMER 2.0, SangerBox, and ImmPort were used to evaluate tumor immune infiltration, immune checkpoints, and other immune-related genes. CbioPortal, Metascape, Expression2kinases, and LinkedOmics were used to explore gene regulatory network.

Results

BC tissues expressed TMED2/3/4/9 at a higher level than normal tissues, providing diagnostic potential. All the areas under the ROC curve for TMED2/3/4/9 were more than 0.7. TMED2/3/4/9 correlated with numerous clinical variables, including lymph node status, Scarff-Bloom-Richardson score (SBR), Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI), estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2), and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) status, and their high expression predicted the poor prognosis of BC patients. TMED2/3/4/9 knockdown drastically inhibited the migratory and invasive capacities of MDA-MB-231 and HCC1937 cells. TMED2/3/4/9 expressions correlated negatively with the infiltration of tumor-suppressive immune cells such as CD8⁺ T cells, dendritic cells, and natural killer cells, and was inversely related to a variety of immune checkpoint genes, including programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA4). A set of kinases, transcription factors, and microRNAs (miRNAs) may regulate TMED2/3/4/9 abnormalities at the genome level.

Conclusions

TMED2/3/4/9 may serve as diagnostic, prognostic, and immune-suppressive biomarkers in BC.

Vesicle-mediated transport-related genes are prognostic predictors and are associated with tumor immunity in lung adenocarcinoma

Background

Globally, lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. It is a progressive disorder that arises from multiple genetic and environmental factors. Dysregulated expression of vesicle-mediated transport-related genes (VMTRGs) have been reported in several cancers. However, the prognostic significance of VMTRGs in LUAD has yet to be established.

Methods

The VMTRG profiling data for 482 LUAD patients and 59 normal controls were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Altas (TCGA). Univariate Cox regression and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression analyses were performed to construct and optimize the risk model. Several GEO datasets were used to validate the risk model. The roles of these genes were investigated via the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and gene ontology (GO) enrichment analyses. Differences in immune cell infiltrations between risk groups were evaluated using five algorithms. "pRRophetic" was used to investigate anti-cancer drug sensitivities in two groups. Expression of these five genes in LUAD samples and adjacent normal tissues were evaluated by qRT-PCR. Colony formation and wound healing assays were performed to assess the significance of CNIH1 and AP3S1 in LUAD cells.

Results

We identified 85 prognosis-associated VMTRGs that could be constructed a risk model for LUAD patients, indicating their potential importance in LUAD development. The risk model including the five VMTRGs (CNIH1, KIF20A, GALNT2, GRIA1, and AP3S1) was associated with clinical outcomes. Tumor stage and risk score were found to be independent prognostic factors for LUAD patients. The five VMTRGs were also correlated with activation of the Notch and p53 signaling pathways. The risk model was significantly associated with immune responses and with high-level expression of immune checkpoints. High-risk group patients were more sensitive to several chemotherapeutic drugs and Lapatinib. Furthermore, CNIH1 and AP3S1 promoted LUAD cell growth and migration in vitro.

Conclusion

We constructed a VMTRG-based risk model for effective prediction of prognostic outcomes for LUAD patients. The risk model was associated with immune infiltration levels. These five hub genes are potential targets for immune therapy combined with chemotherapy in LUAD.

Analysis and Validation of TMED3 correlates with poor prognosis and tumor immune infiltration of glioma

BACKGROUND

Glioma is the most common primary intracranial tumor. It is notorious for its high degree of malignancy, strong invasion, and poor prognosis. The transmembrane emp24 trafficking protein 3 (TMED3) belongs to the TMED family, which is responsible for intracellular protein transport and innate immune signal transmission. More and more evidence shows that TMED3 plays a key role in the tumor progression of human cancer. However, the role and potential molecular mechanism of TMED3 in glioma have not been clarified.

METHODS

TMED3 expression levels, clinical data, survival prognosis, prediction of upstream miRNA, and immune-related analyses were all analyzed utilizing relevant databases. Finally, a molecular cell experiment confirmed TMED3 expression in glioma.

RESULTS

We discovered that TMED3 is overexpressed in most tumors, including gliomas, and is associated with tumor staging and prognosis. Subsequently, a combination of a series of bioinformatics analyses, including correlation and survival analyses, identified miR-1296-5p as the most potent upstream miRNA of TMED3 in gliomas.Additionally, we analyzed the relationship between TMED3 level and tumor immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint expression.

CONCLUSION

TMED3 is highly expressed in gliomas and is associated with tumor staging and affects the prognosis of patients. Therefore, the TMED3 gene may be a potential immunotherapy target and prognostic marker for gliomas.

TMED2/9/10 Serve as Biomarkers for Poor Prognosis in Head and Neck Squamous Carcinoma

Background: Head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSC) is one of the most common malignant tumors with high incidence and poor prognosis. Transmembrane emp24 structural domain (TMED) proteins are involved in protein transport and vesicle budding processes, which have implicated various malignancies’ progression. However, the roles of TMEDs in HNSC, especially in terms of development and prognosis, have not been fully elucidated.

Methods: We applied TIMER 2.0, UALCAN, GEPIA 2, Kaplan-Meier plotter, GEO, The Human Protein Atlas (HPA), cBioPortal, Linkedomics, Metascape, GRNdb, STRING, and Cytoscape to investigate the roles of TMED family members in HNSC.

Results: Compared with normal tissues, the mRNA expression levels of TMED1/2/4/5/7/8/9/10 were significantly increased in the TCGA HNSC dataset. And we combined GEPIA 2 and Kaplan-Meier Plotter to select TMED2/9/10 with prognostic value. Then we detected the levels of mRNA in the GEO HNSC database and the protein expression in HPA. It was found that the mRNA and protein expression levels of TMED2/9/10 were increased in HNSC. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that TMED2/9/10 and their co-expressed genes promoted the malignant behavior of tumors by participating in biological processes such as intracellular transferase complex, protein transport, focal adhesion, intracellular protein processing. Single-cell analysis and immune infiltration analysis suggested that immune responses of cancer-associated fibroblasts and endothelial cells might be associated with prognosis. Finally, the transcription factors-genes network and protein-protein functional interaction network pointed to genes such as X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) and TMED7, which might cooperate with TMED2/9/10 to change the progression of HNSC.

Conclusions: Our study implied that TMED2/9/10 and related genes mightjointly affect the prognosis of HNSC, providing specific clues for further experimental research, personalized diagnosis strategies, and targeted clinical therapy for HNSC.

Trafficking Protein TMED3 Promotes Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The molecular mechanisms of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remain poorly understood. Transmembrane emp24 trafficking protein 3 (TMED3) acts as an oncogene or tumor suppressor gene in different cancers. Our study was to explore the clinicopathological significance and functional roles of TMED3 in ESCC.

METHODS

Immunohistochemistry, qPCR, and western blotting were used to analyze the expression of TMED3 in ESCC tissues and cells. Statistical analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between TMED3 expression and tumor characteristics in patients with ESCC. The role of TMED3 in vitro and in vivo was investigated by performing functional verification experiments and using a xenograft mouse model. Proteins that are functionally related to TMED3 were recognized by Affymetrix microarray and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Functional verification experiments were performed to analyze the role of FAM60A (a protein functionally related to TMED3) in vitro.

RESULTS

We confirmed the overexpression of TMED3 was correlated with poor prognosis in ESCC patients. When TMED3 was knocked down, ESCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were inhibited whereas cell apoptosis was promoted in vitro, and tumorigenicity was inhibited in vivo. We further revealed significant changes in gene expression profile in TMED3 knockdown cells. Among these differentially expressed genes, FAM60A was overexpressed in ESCC tissues. Furthermore, knocking down FAM60A significantly weakened the proliferation ability of ESCC cells and reversed TMED3's tumorigenicity of ESCC cells.

CONCLUSION

Our study revealed an oncogenic role of TMED3 in ESCC.

TMED3/RPS15A Axis promotes the development and progression of osteosarcoma

Background

Osteosarcoma is a primary malignant tumor that mainly affects children and young adults. Transmembrane emp24 trafficking protein 3 (TMED3) may be involved in the regulation of malignant cancer behaviors. However, the role of TMED3 in osteosarcoma remains mysterious. In this study, the potential biological function and underlying mechanism of TMED3 in progression of osteosarcoma was elaborated.

Methods

The expression of TMED3 in osteosarcoma was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining. The biological function of TMED3 in osteosarcoma was determined through loss-of-function assays in vitro. The effect of TMED3 downregulation on osteosarcoma was further explored by xenograft tumor model. The molecular mechanism of the regulation of TMED3 on osteosarcoma was determined by gene expression profile analysis.

Results

The expression of TMED3 in osteosarcoma tissues was significantly greater than that in matched adjacent normal tissues. Knockdown of TMED3 inhibited the progression of osteosarcoma by suppressing proliferation, impeding migration and enhancing apoptosis in vitro. We further validated that knockdown of TMED3 inhibited osteosarcoma generation in vivo. Additionally, ribosomal protein S15A (RPS15A) was determined as a potential downstream target for TMED3 involved in the progression of osteosarcoma. Further investigations elucidated that the simultaneous knockdown of RPS15A and TMED3 intensified the inhibitory effects on osteosarcoma cells. Importantly, knockdown of RPS15A alleviated the promotion effects of TMED3 overexpression in osteosarcoma cells.

Conclusions

In summary, these findings emphasized the importance of TMED3/RPS15A axis in promoting tumor progression, which may be a promising candidate for molecular therapy of osteosarcoma.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-021-02340-w.