ABSTRACT
Family with sequence similarity 60A (FAM60A) has been reported as a new cancer-related protein that affects the malignant progression of some cancers. However, whether FAM60A plays a part in pancreatic carcinoma is undetermined. This work was designed to examine the impact of FAM60A in pancreatic carcinoma. Abundant expression of FAM60A was observed in the primary tumor tissue of pancreatic carcinoma. Moreover, a high FAM60A level was related to a poor overall survival in pancreatic carcinoma patients. Malignant behaviors of pancreatic carcinoma cells, such as proliferation and invasiveness, were markedly affected by FAM60A depletion. In addition, FAM60A depletion enhanced the drug sensitivity of pancreatic carcinoma cells to gemcitabine. Further study revealed that FAM60A depletion impaired the activities of Akt and ß-catenin. Inhibiting the activity of Akt abolished FAM60A-mediated ß-catenin activation. Re-expression of ß-catenin partially diminished the FAM60A-depletion-mediated cancer suppressive effect in pancreatic carcinoma cells. In vivo experiments demonstrated that FAM60A depletion prohibited the xenograft formation of pancreatic carcinoma cells, with concurrent reductions of Akt and ß-catenin activities. Collectively, our findings indicate that FAM60A exerts a cancer-promoting role in pancreatic carcinoma through affection of the Akt/ß-catenin pathway. This work indicates that FAM60A acts as a tumor promoter in pancreatic carcinoma and can be utilized as a potential target for anti-pancreatic carcinoma therapy development.
Subject(s)
DNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism , Pancreatic Neoplasms , beta Catenin , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation , Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta/metabolism , Humans , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism , Signal Transduction , beta Catenin/metabolism , Pancreatic NeoplasmsABSTRACT
LASP2 (LIM and SH3 protein 2), a member of the LIM-protein subfamily of the nebulin group, was first identified as a splice variant of the nebulin gene. In the past, investigators mainly focused on the impact of LASP2 on cardiac diseases because of its identification in the myocardium. Recently, several studies have reported that LASP2 is associated with the progression of various cancers. However, there have been no investigations on the expression and function of LASP2 in pancreatic cancer (PC). In this study, we performed the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis to detect the expression of LASP2 in PC tissues and cell lines. PC cells were transfected with LASP2 overexpression plasmid or the negative control in the presence or absence of tumor growth factor-ß (TGF-ß). The transwell assays were used to measure the effects of LASP2 on PC cell migration and invasion. The protein expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers was detected using Western blot assay. Our results demonstrated that LASP2 was downregulated in PC tissues and cell lines. In addition, upregulation of LASP2 inhibited the PC cell migration and invasion. We also found that LASP2 upregulation reversed TGF-ß-induced EMT in PC cells. Taken together, we provided novel evidence supporting the tumor-suppressor role of LASP2 in PC and suggested it as a potential therapeutic target in PC treatment.
Subject(s)
Carrier Proteins/biosynthesis , Cell Movement , Cytoskeletal Proteins/biosynthesis , Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , LIM Domain Proteins/biosynthesis , Neoplasm Proteins/metabolism , Pancreatic Neoplasms/metabolism , Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism , Up-Regulation , Carrier Proteins/genetics , Cell Line, Tumor , Cytoskeletal Proteins/genetics , Humans , LIM Domain Proteins/genetics , Neoplasm Invasiveness , Neoplasm Proteins/genetics , Pancreatic Neoplasms/genetics , Pancreatic Neoplasms/pathology , Transforming Growth Factor beta/geneticsABSTRACT
Empty spiracles homeobox 2 (EMX2) is a homeodomain-containing transcription factor that plays an essential role in tumorigenesis. However, to the best of our knowledge, the role of EMX2 in human colorectal cancer (CRC) is still unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the expression and role of EMX2 in CRC. Our results demonstrated that the expression of EMX2 was greatly decreased in CRC tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of EMX2 significantly inhibited the proliferation in vitro and CRC tumor growth in nude mice. In addition, EMX2 also inhibited the migration and invasion of CRC cells. Mechanically, overexpression of EMX2 downregulated the expression levels of ß-catenin, cyclin D1, and c-Myc in CRC cells. Taken together, our study demonstrates that EMX2 inhibits proliferation and tumorigenesis through inactivation of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway in CRC cells. Therefore, EMX2 may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of CRC.