FOSL1 enhances growth and metastasis of human prostate cancer cells through epithelial mesenchymal transition pathway.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of highly-expressed FOSL1 on the tumorigenesis and metastasis of prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Researches were carried out in human prostate cancer tissues and cell lines. In prostate cancer tissues, the expression of FOSL was detected by immunohistochemistry. In vitro cell line experiments, we constructed a prostate cancer cell model with FOSL1 stable knockdown and tested cell proliferation and metastasis before and after knockdown of FOSL1. Finally, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers before and after interference of FOSL1 were also analyzed. RESULTS: FOSL1 was confirmed to have a high expression in prostate cancer. Transwell experiments demonstrated that FOSL1 could enhance prostate cancer metastasis, while in vivo experiments revealed an accelerated progression of prostate cancer caused by FOSL1. In addition, Western blot analysis revealed an elevated level of N-cadherin and Snail1 and a reduced level of E-cadherin that was induced by FOSL1. CONCLUSIONS: FOSL1 can promote the occurrence and progression of prostate cancer by altering the EMT process of cells.