Zheng Rui, Xu Wangwang, Ma Li, Wang Jing, Ma Jia, Liu Chen, Yu Li, Li Yuyun, Zhang Yingjie, Xu Hui
Bengbu Medical College Key Laboratory of Cancer Research and Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis, Bengbu Medical University Bengbu 233030, Anhui, China.
Department of Clinical Laboratory, The 901th Hospital of The Joint Logistics Support Force of The People's Liberation Army Hefei 230031, Anhui, China.
Am J Transl Res. 2025 Aug 15;17(8):5962-5974. doi: 10.62347/TOAI4814. eCollection 2025.
FBXO22, a member of the F-box family, plays a crucial role in cancer development and progression. However, its expression and biological functions in esophageal cancer (ESCA) remain poorly understood.
In this study, we investigated FBXO22 expression in ESCA cancer tissues using immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses. Functional assays, including CCK-8, flow cytometry, Western blot, scratch healing, and Transwell migration and invasion assays, were employed to evaluate the effects of FBXO22 modulation on ESCA cell viability, apoptosis, migration, and invasion. Additionally, a nude mouse model was used to assess the impact of FBXO22 silencing on tumor growth.
We found that FBXO22 expression was upregulated in ESCA tissues compared to normal tissues. Silencing FBXO22 inhibited ESCA cell viability, migration and invasion while promoting apoptosis. Conversely, FBXO22 overexpression had the opposite effects. Mechanistically, FBXO22 was found to influence the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway, and its silencing retarded tumor growth in vivo.
Our findings highlight the critical role of FBXO22 in ESCA progression and suggest it as a potential therapeutic target for ESCA.
F-box家族成员FBXO22在癌症发生发展中起关键作用。然而，其在食管癌（ESCA）中的表达及生物学功能仍知之甚少。
在本研究中，我们采用免疫组织化学和蛋白质印迹分析方法，研究FBXO22在ESCA癌组织中的表达情况。运用包括CCK-8、流式细胞术、蛋白质印迹、划痕愈合以及Transwell迁移和侵袭实验等功能实验，评估FBXO22调控对ESCA细胞活力、凋亡、迁移和侵袭的影响。此外，利用裸鼠模型评估FBXO22沉默对肿瘤生长的影响。
我们发现，与正常组织相比，FBXO22在ESCA组织中的表达上调。沉默FBXO22可抑制ESCA细胞活力、迁移和侵袭，同时促进细胞凋亡。相反，FBXO22过表达则产生相反的效果。机制上，发现FBXO22影响WNT/β-连环蛋白信号通路，其沉默可抑制体内肿瘤生长。
我们的研究结果突出了FBXO22在ESCA进展中的关键作用，并表明它是ESCA的一个潜在治疗靶点。
