USP4 promotes the proliferation, migration, and invasion of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by targeting TAK1.

ABSTRACT: Ubiquitin-specific protease 4 (USP4) represents a potential oncogene involved in various human cancers. Nevertheless, the biological roles and precise mechanism of USP4 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) progression are not understood. Here, USP4 expression was found to be markedly upregulated in ESCC tumor tissues and cells. Loss- and gain-of-function assays suggested that USP4 silencing inhibited ESCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while USP4 overexpression promoted these behaviors. Consistently, USP4 silencing repressed tumor growth and metastasis in an ESCC nude mouse model in vivo. As a target molecule of USP4, transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) also showed high expression in ESCC. Moreover, we observed that USP4 specifically interacted with

SUBMITTER: Zhang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10638297 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature