title: Heat shock factor 2 is associated with the occurrence of lung cancer by enhancing the expression of heat shock proteins.
abstract: Cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly lung cancer. Heat shock proteins and their upstream heat shock factors are involved in the occurrence of cancer and have been widely researched. However, the role of heat shock factor 2 (HSF2) in lung cancer remains unclear. In the present study, expression levels of HSF2 in lung cancer tissues from 50 lung cancer patients were detected by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and 76% (38/50) were upregulated compared with the matched normal tissues. This suggested possible involvement of HSF2 in lung cancer. To additionally investigate the role of HSF2 in lung cancer occurrence, a plasmid encoding HSF2 was constructed. HSF2 was over expressed in normal lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells and lung cancer A549 cells. The results showed that HSF2 overexpression promoted cell proliferation and cell migration in BEAS-2B and A549 cells. Additional experiments showed that the HSF2-induced cell proliferation and cell migration were dependent on induction of HSPs, particularly HSP27 and HSP90, as co-transfection of HSP27 small interfering RNA (siRNA) or HSP90 siRNA attenuated HSF2-induced cell growth and migration. In conclusion, the present study showed that HSF2 is aberrantly expressed in lung cancer, and it may be an upstream regulator of HSPs, which may strongly affect cell growth and cell migration. Additional studies are required to explain the detailed mechanism between lung cancer, HSF2, HSPs and other possible signaling pathways.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, P.R. China; Cadres Treatment Section, The First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, Yunnan 510032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yun-Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, P.R. China; Thoracic Surgery, The First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, Yunnan 510032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hong-Zhong
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, P.R. China; Thoracic Surgery, The First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, Yunnan 510032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Cadres Health Care, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shi-Cong
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, P.R. China; Thoracic Surgery, The First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, Yunnan 510032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: heat shock factor 2; heat shock protein 27; heat shock protein 90; lung cancer