Overexpression of stathmin plays a pivotal role in the metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

PurposeEsophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a serious malignant tumor that affects human health. We analyzed the correlation between serum stathmin level and ESCC and elucidated the molecular mechanisms of stathmin's promotion of ESCC cell invasion and metastasis.MethodsStathmin level in ESCC and healthy control serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the clinical parameters were analyzed. We established ESCC cells with stathmin overexpression or knockdown and then evaluated the effects of stathmin on invasion and metastasis in ESCC. Differentially expressed genes were analyzed by Human Transcriptome Array and confirmed by RT-PCR. The expression levels of the integrin family, focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) were detected by immunoblotting.ResultsSerum levels of stathmin were significantly higher in ESCC than in control serum and associated with lymph node metastasis, tumor stage and size. Furthermore, we found that stathmin promoted migration and invasion of ESCC cells in vitro and in vivo. In addition, we confirmed that the activation of the integrinα5β1/FAK/ERK pathway is increased in stathmin-overexpression cells and accelerates cell motility by enhancing cell adhesion ability.ConclusionStathmin may predict a potential metastasis biomarker for ESCC.

A novel rapid quantitative method reveals stathmin‐1 as a promising marker for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

“…It remains unknown whether serum stathmin‐1 can also reflect the malignant phenotype of tumor cells. Based on the very limited reports, including our own, serum stathmin‐1 levels have also been associated with advanced stage and lymph node metastasis in ESCC, lung cancer, and transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder . Therefore, circulating stathmin‐1 is also derived from oncogenic cells, and it is an ideal biomarker for liquid biopsy.…”

Label‐Free Quantitative Phosphoproteomics Reveals Regulation of Vasodilator‐Stimulated Phosphoprotein upon Stathmin‐1 Silencing in a Pair of Isogenic Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines

“…Functionally, it has been found to modulate microtubule dynamics, cytoskeleton biogenesis, and focal adhesion reorganization, thus affecting cellular morphology and processes, such as angiogenesis, cell division, migration, and invasion . Recently, it has also been shown to be over‐expressed and associated with metastasis, cancer progression, and poor prognosis in several human malignancies . Similarly, we had reported earlier that STMN1 is a hallmark of CRC progression and predictor for poor survival, and that STMN1 silencing resulted in arrest of tumor‐disseminative cascades .…”

Oncoprotein 18 is necessary for malignant cell proliferation in bladder cancer cells and serves as a G3-specific non-invasive diagnostic marker candidate in urinary RNA

“…Regarding OP18, also termed oncoprotein 18 and stathmin-1, immunohistochemical analyses of human donors and studies in the bladder cancer cell line T24 indicated that over-expression of OP18 is related to malignant cell characteristics. It is noteworthy that the role of increased expression of OP18 for tumor development and metastatic growth seems to be true also for other tumor types including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma [20,21] and lung adenocarcinoma [22]. In summary, these studies warrant a closer look at OP18 transcripts as an RNA-based tumor marker in BCa.…”