RND1 is up-regulated in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and promotes the growth and migration of cancer cells.

RND1 is reported to control the dynamics of cytoskeleton, cell growth, and survival, and dysregulation of RND1 is involved in the tumorigenesis. However, its expression and functions in the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are unknown. In the present study, it was found that the expression of RND1 was up-regulated in ESCC tissues compared with the adjacent normal tissues. Forced expression of RND1 promoted the growth and migration of ESCC cells, while knocking down the expression of RND1 inhibited the growth, migration, and metastasis of ESCC cells. Molecular mechanism studies showed that RND1 activated ERK signaling. In summary, our study suggested that RND1 plays an important role in the progression of ESCC, and RND1 might be a promising target for the treatment of ESCC.

TGIF1 promoted the growth and migration of cancer cells in nonsmall cell lung cancer.

Transforming growth factor beta-inducing factor 1 (TGIF1) was reported to be dysregulated in several types of cancer. However, its expression pattern and functions in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remained unknown. In the present study, the expression of TGIF1 was found to be elevated in the clinical NSCLC tissues. TGIF1 promoted the growth and migration of NSCLC cells, while knocking down the expression of TGIF1 inhibited the growth and migration of NSCLC cells. Moreover, downregulation of TGIF1 impaired the metastasis of NSCLC cells. In the study for the molecular mechanisms, it was found that TGIF1 positively regulated beta-catenin/TCF signaling. In summary, our study demonstrated the oncogenic role of TGIF1 in NSCLC, and TGIF1 might be a therapeutic target for NSCLC.