FBXO2, a novel marker for metastasis in human gastric cancer

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications 2018-01, Vol.495 (3), p.2158-2164
• Main Authors: Sun, Xu, Wang, Teng, Guan, Zhang-Rui, Zhang, Chun, Chen, Yun, Jin, Jian, Hua, Dong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Cell Cycle Proteins - metabolism; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; China - epidemiology; F-Box Proteins - metabolism; FBXO2; Female; Gastric cancer (GC); Humans; Lymphatic Metastasis; Male; Marker; Metastasis; Middle Aged; Nerve Tissue Proteins - metabolism; Prevalence; Reproducibility of Results; Risk Factors; Sensitivity and Specificity; Stomach Neoplasms - metabolism; Stomach Neoplasms - mortality; Stomach Neoplasms - pathology; Survival Rate; Tumor Cells, Cultured
• ISSN: 0006-291X; 1090-2104
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2017.12.097

FBXO2 belongs to the F-box family of proteins, is a cytoplasmic protein and ubiquitin ligase F-box protein with specificity for high-mannose glycoproteins. Recently published studies indicate that other members of the F-box family, such as SKP2 and FBXW7, are involved in the development of gastric cancer. The role of FBXO2 in the process of tumorigenesis, including gastric cancer, is still unknown. In this study, we show that the level of FBXO2 is highly correlated with lymph node metastasis, and that overall survival (OS) of patients with high FBXO2 expression is significantly shorter than patients with low FBXO2 expression. FBXO2 promoted the proliferation and migration of human gastric cancer cells, whereas knockdown of FBXO2 by siRNA led to a decrease in those activities. Down-regulating FBXO2 reduced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in gastric cancer cells, with increased expression of E-cadherin and decreased expression of N-cadherin and vimentin. In summary, our findings suggest that FBXO2-regulated EMT led to carcinogenicity in gastric cancer and may be a novel target in the diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer. •We have detected that the level of FBXO2 is highly correlated with lymph node metastasis, and that overall survival (OS) of patients.•FBXO2 promoted the proliferation and migration of human gastric cancer cells.•Furthermore, Down-regulating FBXO2 reduced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in gastric cancer cells.•Our study demonstrated that FBXO2 may be a novel target in the diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer.