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High expression of keratin 6C is associated with poor prognosis and accelerates cancer proliferation and migration by modulating epithelial–mesenchymal transition in lung adenocarcinoma

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Abstract

Background

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a more frequent subtype of lung cancer and most cases are discovered in the late stages. The proliferation and metastasis of LUAD are pivotal for disease progression. Despite unremitting deeper understanding of LUAD biology, the mechanisms involved in the proliferation and metastasis of LUAD remain unclear. The objective of our article was to inquiry the expression and the function of keratin 6C (KRT6C) in LUAD cells.

Methods

First, the expression level and prognostic value of KRT6C in LUAD tissues were analyzed on the basis of the data acquired from TCGA database. Through qRT-PCR, the expression level of KRT6C on LUAD cell lines (A549, H1299, PC-9) and human normal lung cell line MRC-5 was tested. After that, CCK8 and colony formation assays was utilized to detect cell proliferation. In addition, to explore the influence of KRT6C on LUAD migration and invasion ability, scratch wound healing and transwell assays were utilized. Through western blotting, the protein expression levels of KRT6C, PCNA, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Snail and Vimentin were detected.

Results

The outcomes revealed that KRT6C was highly expressed in LUAD tissues and cell lines. Besides, elevated level of KRT6C was related to worse prognosis in LUAD patients. Ablation of KRT6C restrained proliferation, migration and invasion of A549 cells. KRT6C deficiency augmented the expression of E-cadherin as well as reduced the expression of N-cadherin, Snail and Vimentin.

Conclusion

Above all, these consequences indicated that depletion of KRT6C suppressed A549 cell proliferation, migration and invasion, which might be achieved by regulating EMT. In general, KRT6C is identified as a potential therapeutic target for LUAD.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to the Beijing Springer Medical Research Institute for their help with this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Respiration, Qingdao TCM Hospital, No. 4 Ren Min Road, Qingdao, 266033, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Hai-Bo Hu, Xiao-Ping Yang, Pei-Xia Zhou, Xin-Ai Yang & Bin Yin

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  1. Hai-Bo Hu
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  2. Xiao-Ping Yang
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  4. Xin-Ai Yang
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Correspondence to Bin Yin.

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Author Hai-Bo Hu, author Xiao-Ping Yang, author Pei-Xia Zhou, author Xin-Ai Yang, author Bin Yin declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Hu, HB., Yang, XP., Zhou, PX. et al. High expression of keratin 6C is associated with poor prognosis and accelerates cancer proliferation and migration by modulating epithelial–mesenchymal transition in lung adenocarcinoma. Genes Genom 42, 179–188 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13258-019-00889-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13258-019-00889-5

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