title: MAGE-A1 promotes melanoma proliferation and migration through C-JUN activation.
abstract: MAGE-A1 belongs to the chromosome X-clustered genes of cancer-testis antigen family and is normally expressed in the human germ line but is also overexpressed in various tumors. Previous studies of MAGE-A1 in melanoma mainly focused on methylation changes or its role in immunotherapy, however, its biological functions in melanoma have remained unknown. In order to determine the role of MAGE-A1 in melanoma growth and metastasis, we manipulated melanoma cell lines with overexpression and knockdown of MAGE-A1. Integration of cell proliferation assays, transwell migration and invasion assays, and RNA-Seq analysis revealed that up-regulation of MAGE-A1 dramatically promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion of human melanoma cell lines in vitro, while down-regulation of MAGE-A1 inhibited those characteristics associated with tumor cells. Furthermore, transcriptome sequencing revealed that MAGE-A1 exerts its tumor promoting activity by activating p-C-JUN directly or through ERK-MAPK signaling pathways. Based on our findings, we propose that MAGE-A1 may be a potential therapeutic target for melanoma patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, General Hospital of People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, China; The 309th Hospital of China People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100091, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Junyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Yongjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Yaran
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: fangxd@big.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xiangdong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, General Hospital of People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, China. Electronic address: luckhua301@163.com.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D008545:Melanoma / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D058950:Melanoma-Specific Antigens / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C072011:MAGEA1 protein, human; D058950:Melanoma-Specific Antigens; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases
keywords: C-JUN; ERK-MAPK; MAGE-A1; RNA-seq; Tumor metastasis