Suppression of LETM1 by siRNA inhibits cell proliferation and invasion of bladder cancer cells

Oncol Rep. 2017 Nov;38(5):2935-2940. doi: 10.3892/or.2017.5959. Epub 2017 Sep 18.

Abstract

The leucine zipper-EF-hand containing transmembrane protein 1 (LETM1) is highly expressed in many human malignancies and is correlated with poor prognosis. However, the function of LETM1 in bladder cancer still remains unknown. In the present study, we analyzed the expression levels of LETM1 in bladder cancer tissues and non-cancerous tissues as well as in four bladder cancer cell lines (T24, EJ, 5637 and J82) and a human bladder epithelial immortalized cell line SV-HUC-1. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) was employed to knockdown the expression of LETM1 in the T24 cells. The proliferation of T24 cells was significantly repressed as evaluated by CCK-8 assays. Transwell migration and invasion assays indicated that knockdown of LETM1 suppressed cell migration and invasion significantly. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that cells had accumulated at the S-phase when the expression of LETM1 was suppressed. Moreover, we found that several oncogenic proteins in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, namely β-catenin, cyclin D1 and c-Myc were significantly decreased by the LETM1 siRNA. Collectively, these results revealed that the knockdown of LETM1 exhibited tumor suppressive effects, possibly by controlling the downstream Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Apoptosis / genetics
  • Calcium-Binding Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Calcium-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Movement / genetics
  • Cell Proliferation / genetics*
  • Cyclin D1 / genetics
  • Female
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Membrane Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics*
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness / genetics*
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness / pathology
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / genetics
  • RNA, Small Interfering / genetics
  • Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / pathology
  • Wnt Signaling Pathway / genetics
  • beta Catenin / genetics

Substances

  • CTNNB1 protein, human
  • Calcium-Binding Proteins
  • LETM1 protein, human
  • MYC protein, human
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • beta Catenin
  • Cyclin D1