ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA) has a high degree of malignancy, is prone to lymph node metastasis, and has a poor prognosis. This study aimed to explore the role of Acyl-CoA Medium-Chain Synthetase-3 (ACSM3) in BRCA, which was found down-regulated in liver cancer and malignant melanoma. METHODS: The expression level of ACSM3 in patients with BRCA and its correlation with the overall survival rate was analyzed. The impacts of ACSM3 on BRCA cell proliferation, motility and stem cell properties were then evaluated. The association between insulin like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) and ACSM3 was verified, the influences of IGF2BP3 on the regulation of ACSM3 on cells were determined. RESULTS: Down-regulated ACSM3 level was associated with poor overall survival. ACSM3 overexpression weakened BRCA cell proliferation, motility and stem cell properties. Importantly, IGF2BP3 destabilized ACSM3 and downregulated its expression level. IGF2BP3 overexpression reversed the impacts of ACSM3 overexpression on cells, indicating that ACSM3 was regulated by IGF2BP3 in BRCA cells. CONCLUSION: We found that ACSM3 was regulated by IGF2BP3 and attenuated BRCA proliferation, invasion and stem cell properties. The role of ACSM3 in BRCA was first revealed, which provides a novel target for treatment.