Transgelin Inhibits the Malignant Progression of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinomas by Regulating Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

RNF6 activates TGF-β1/c-Myb pathway to promote EMT in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective

This study aimed to investigate RING-Finger Protein 6 (RNF6) expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells and whether it affects cell proliferation, invasion, and migration by regulating the TGF-β1/c-Myb pathway.

Methods

TCGA database was used to analyze RNF6 expression in normal tissues and esophageal cancer tissues. Kaplan-Meier method was used to examine the correlation between RNF6 expression and patient prognosis. SiRNA interference vector and RNF6 overexpression plasmid were constructed, and RNF6 was transfected into Eca-109 and KYSE-150 esophageal cancer cell line. In vitro scratch assay and Transwell assay were conducted to investigate the effects of RNF6 on the migration and invasion of Eca-109 and KYSE-150 cells. RT-PCR detected the expression of Snail, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin, and TUNEL detected the apoptosis of cells.

Results

RNF6 up-regulation promoted the progression of esophageal cancer and predicted poor prognosis. RNF6 also enhanced the migration and invasion of ESCC cells in vitro. RNF6 silencing inhibited the migration and invasion of ESCC cells. TGF-β inhibitors reversed the oncogenic effects of RNF6. RNF6 regulated the migration and invasion of ESCC cells by activating the TGF-β pathway. RNF6/TGF-β1 promoted esophageal cancer progression through c-Myb.

Conclusion

RNF6 promotes the proliferation, invasion, and migration of ESCC cells possibly by activating the TGF-β1/c-Myb pathway and affects the progression of ESCC.

iTRAQ and two-dimensional-LC-MS/MS reveal NAA10 is a potential biomarker in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

PURPOSE

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common and serious malignancies in China. However, the exact mechanisms of tumor progression are still unclear. Thus, identifying biomarkers for early diagnosis, prognostic and recurrence assessment of ESCC is necessary.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

iTRAQ was used to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in tumor tissues. N-alpha-acetyltransferase 10 (NAA10) is confirmed and validated by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Furthermore, the effects of NAA10 on TE-1 cells were detected by CCK-8, colonies formation, anchorage-independent growth in soft agar, migration and transwell assays. LinkedOmics was used to identify differential gene expression with NAA10 and to analyze Gene Ontology and KEGG pathways. Coexpression gene network was conducted by the STRING database and Cytoscape software (MCODE plug-in).

RESULTS

516 DEPs were identified. NAA10 was downregulated in cancer tissues and selected for further confirmed. Furthermore, NAA10 can inhibit proliferation and tumorigenesis, and suppress migration and invasion of TE-1. Functional network analysis suggested that NAA10 regulates the ribosome pathways involving eight ribosomal proteins.

CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

These findings clearly demonstrated that NAA10 is a tumor suppressor and novel potential biomarker for ESCC, laying a foundation for further study of the role of NAA10 in carcinogenesis.

LncRNA FOXP4-AS1 Promotes the Progression of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Interacting With MLL2/H3K4me3 to Upregulate FOXP4

Malignant tumors are a grave threat to human health. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common gastrointestinal malignant tumor. China has a high incidence of ESCC, and its morbidity and mortality are higher than the global average. Increasingly, studies have shown that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a vital function in the occurrence and development of tumors. Although the biological function of FOXP4-AS1 has been demonstrated in various tumors, the potential molecular mechanism of FOXP4-AS1 in ESCC is still poorly understood. The expression of FOXP4 and FOXP4-AS1 was detected in ESCC by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT–PCR) or SP immunohistochemistry (IHC). shRNA was used to silence gene expression. Apoptosis, cell cycle, MTS, colony formation, invasion and migration assays were employed to explore the biological functions of FOXP4 and FOXP4-AS1. The potential molecular mechanism of FOXP4-AS1 in ESCC was determined by dual-luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Here, we demonstrated that FOXP4-AS1 was significantly increased in ESCC tissues and cell lines, associated with lymph node metastasis and TNM staging. Cell function experiments showed that FOXP4-AS1 promoted the proliferation, invasion and migration ability of ESCC cells. The expression of FOXP4-AS1 and FOXP4 in ESCC tissues was positively correlated. Further research found that FOXP4-AS1, upregulated in ESCC, promotes FOXP4 expression by enriching MLL2 and H3K4me3 in the FOXP4 promoter through a “molecular scaffold”. Moreover, FOXP4, a transcription factor of β-catenin, promotes the transcription of β-catenin and ultimately leads to the malignant progression of ESCC. Finally, FOXP4-AS1 may be a new therapeutic target for ESCC.