Overexpression of SHARPIN promotes tumor progression in ovarian cancer.

SHARPIN (Shank-associated RH domain interacting protein) plays an important role in tumorigenesis. However, its role in ovarian cancer remains largely unknown. To investigate this issue, we systematically analyzed the amplification and expression of the SHARPIN in the TCGA database. From the database, we found that SHARPIN was amplified in ovarian cancer compared to normal ovarian tissue, and the mRNA level of SHARPIN was significantly elevated in ovarian cancer compared to non-tumorigenic ovarian tissue. In addition, we observed similar results from ovarian cancer cell lines and clinical samples from ovarian cancer patients, which indicated that increased SHARPIN expression is associated with tumorigenesis in ovarian cancer. SHARPIN knockdown inhibited the migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells, also inhibited cell cycle and promoted apoptosis, thereby suppressing cell proliferation. RNA-seq results showed that SHARPIN significantly increased the expression of P53 and P21 and decreased the expression of Cyclin D1 and c-Myc, all of which are involved in the regulation of cell proliferation. Subsequent mechanistic exploration revealed that SHARPIN knockdown increased the expression of caspases 3 and 9, leading to apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells. We also found that high expression of SHARPIN was associated with poor prognosis of ovarian cancer patients. Collectively, we demonstrated a positive correlation between SHARPIN and ovarian cancer progression and provide a basis for combined targeted therapy strategies for future ovarian cancer treatment.