title: Human beta-defensin 3 contributes to the carcinogenesis of cervical cancer via activation of NF-κB signaling.
abstract: Human beta-defensin 3 (hBD3), an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) expressed in epithelium in response to various stimulations including human papillomavirus infection, has recently been found to be overexpressed in head and neck cancers and exhibit tumorigenic activities. However, the role of hBD3 in cervical cancer remains to be investigated. In this study, we showed by immunohistochemistry that hBD3 expression was elevated in cervical cancer samples of different stages versus the normal tissue, and was positively correlated with the progression of the disease. Overexpression of hBD3 in cervical cancer cell lines promoted cell proliferation by accelerating G1/S progression and enhanced cell migration and invasion in vitro. These oncogenic effects of hBD3 were associated with activation of NF-κB signaling. Using a mouse xenograft model, we further demonstrated that hBD3 overexpression promoted the growth of cervical cancer cells in vivo. Our results suggested that hBD3 is involved in the carcinogenesis and development of cervical cancer, and may serve as a biomarker or therapeutic target of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Department of Biological Science and Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Department of Biological Science and Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Medicine, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Chongbing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Department of Biological Science and Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Medicine, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Weijia
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Department of Biological Science and Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.|Center for Translational Medicine, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Department of Biological Science and Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.|Center for Translational Medicine, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Yongping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D015415:Biomarkers; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; C422950:DEFB103A protein, human; D016328:NF-kappa B; D023083:beta-Defensins
keywords: carcinogenesis; cervical cancer; human beta-defensin 3