Transcriptional profile in  SK-LM_S1 cells mediated by abrogation of  MAPK7 and VCAN gene expression [Part 1]
The ERK5 signaling pathway has emerged as a novel key player in soft tissue sarcoma biology, mediating tumour growth and progression. Here we show how the expression of VCAN, a member of the chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan family, is modulated by the ERK5 pathway at the transcriptional level and mediates biological processes such as migration, adhesion, proliferation and tumourigenesis in vivo.  This conclusion is based on genetic (shRNA, overexpression) and pharmacological approaches using  the human soft tissue sarcoma  cell lline Sk-LM-S1 a. In particular, VCAN knockdown mimics ERK5 knockdown in vitro and in vivo, whereas VCAN overexpression restores the phenotypes observed after ERK5 knockdown. In addition, transcriptomic studies show that VCAN is a central mediator in the ERK5-associated transcriptional landscape, supporting its role in diverse biological processes. Taken together, these data support VCAN as a new key target in the ERK5 pathway. Overall design: Following effective knockdown of VCAN and MAPK7 gene expression in SK-LM-S1 cells using specific shRNA, samples were collected and transcriptomic profile analyzed by RNA-seq.