Abstract
VGLL4, a member of the Vestigial-like (VGLL) proteins, has been reported to be dysregulated in several cancer types. However, its function in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains poorly understood. Here, it was found that the expression level of VGLL4 was decreased in ESCC tissues. Moreover, forced expression of VGLL4 in ESCC cells inhibited cell growth and migration, while knockdown of VGLL4 expression promoted the tumorigenecity of ESCC cells. Mechanistically, VGLL4 regulated the growth and motility of ESCC cells through downregulating the expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a known oncogene in the progression of ESCC. Taken together, our study suggested that downregulation of VGLL4 was very important in the progression of ESCC, and restoring the function of VGLL4 might be a promising therapeutic strategy for ESCC.
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81201840 and 81372523), the Health Bureau Foundation of Shanghai (20124Y152), and Chenxing Young Scholarship of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
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Wei Jiang, Feng Yao, and Jing He contributed equally to this work.
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Jiang, W., Yao, F., He, J. et al. Downregulation of VGLL4 in the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Tumor Biol. 36, 1289–1297 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-2701-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-2701-7