title: Expression and clinical role of NF45 as a novel cell cycle protein in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
abstract: NF45 (also known as ILF2), as one subunit of NF-AT (nuclear factor of activated T cells), repairs DNA breaks, inhibits viral replication, and also functions as a negative regulator in the microRNA processing pathway in combination with NF90. Recently, it was found that implicated in the mitotic control of HeLa cells and deletion of endogenous NF45 decreases growth of HeLa cells. While the role of NF45 in cancer biology remains under debate. In this study, we analyzed the expression and clinical significance of NF45 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma ESCC. The expression of NF45 was evaluated by Western blot in 8 paired fresh ESCC tissues and immunohistochemistry on 105 paraffin-embedded slices. NF45 was highly expressed in ESCC and significantly associated with ESCC cells tumor stage and Ki-67. Besides, high NF45 expression was an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients' poor survival. To determine whether NF45 could regulate the proliferation of ESCC cells, we increased endogenous NF45 and analyzed the proliferation of TE1 ESCC cells using Western blot, CCK8, flow cytometry assays and colony formation analyses, which together indicated that overexpression of NF45 favors cell cycle progress of TE1 ESCC cells. While knockdown of NF45 resulted in cell cycle arrest at G0/G1-phase and thus abolished the cell growth. These findings suggested that NF45 might play an important role in promoting the tumorigenesis of ESCC, and thus be a promising therapeutic target to prevent ESCC progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Sujie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Junya
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Jianguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Runzhou
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Jinxia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Huiyuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Wenjuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Huijie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Weijian
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D063646:Carcinogenesis; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000235:genetics; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D000077277:Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051903:Nuclear Factor 45 Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C494013:ILF2 protein, human; D051903:Nuclear Factor 45 Protein