High expression of RABL6 promotes cell proliferation and predicts poor prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

BMC Cancer

Yiyan Lei¹  Shumei Yan²  Yanfen Feng²  Yuhua Huang²  Qitao Huang²  Fang Wang² 

[1] Department of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University;State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center;

关键词: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma;    RABL6;    Proliferation;    Prognosis;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12885-020-07068-w

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common malignant carcinoma of digestive system with high mortality. RAB, member RAS oncogene family like 6 (RABL6), a member of the RAS subfamily, has been reported as an important molecule in several cancers. However, its potential role in ESCC still remains unclear. Methods RABL6 mRNA expression was detected in 93 frozen ESCC samples using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Immunohistochemistry was applied to evaluate the RABL6 expression in tissue microarray containing 171 pairs of ESCC tissues and paired para-cancerous tissues. We evaluated RABL6 expression and its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics and survival. Subsequently, the impact of RABL6 knockdown on the ability of cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of ESCC cells was investigated by MTS, Focus formation, flow cytometry, Transwell assays, qRT-PCR, western blot, inverted microscope observation and phalloidin staining, respectively. Results Compared to paired para-cancerous tissues, RABL6 was highly expressed in ESCC. The RABL6 high-expression was associated with worse prognosis. We also revealed silencing of RABL6 caused inhibition of cell proliferation, invasion and migration. Further experiments demonstrated that knockdown of RABL6 suppressed the aggressive biological activities of ESCC by suppressing EMT in ESCC cells. Conclusions RABL6 functions as a tumor oncogene in ESCC. It would be a potential biomarker predicting prognosis, and a novelty target for ESCC therapy.

【 授权许可】

Unknown