ER-α36 Promotes the Malignant Progression of Cervical Cancer Mediated by Estrogen via HMGA2

• Main Authors: Chunyan Wang, Tianli Zhang, Kun Wang, Shuo Zhang, Qing Sun, Xingsheng Yang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-07-01
• Series: Frontiers in Oncology
• Subjects: cervical cancer; ER-α36; HMGA2; proliferation; metastasis
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.712849/full

ObjectivesEstrogen is proven to promote the malignant behaviors of many cancers via its receptors. Estrogen receptor alfa 36 (ER-α36) is a newly identified isoform of estrogen receptor alfa (ER-α), the role of ER-α36 in regulating the effects of estrogen and its potential impact on human cervical cancer is poorly understood.MethodsImmunohistochemistry staining was used to evaluate the expression of ER-α36, estrogen receptor alfa 66 (ER-α66) and their prognostic values in cervical cancer. The effects of ER-α36 and ER-α66 on the proliferation and metastasis of cervical cancer were measured in vitro. A xenograft tumor assay was used to study the tumorigenesis role of ER-α36 in vivo. Furthermore, the functional gene at the downstream of ER-α36 was obtained via next-generation sequencing, and the biological functions of high mobility group A2 (HMGA2) in cervical cancer cells were investigated in vitro.ResultsER-α36 was over-expressed in cervical cancer tissues and elevated ER-α36 expression was associated with poor prognosis in cervical cancer patients. High expression of ER-α36 promoted the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of cervical cancer cells mediated by estrogen, while silencing ER-α36 had the opposite effects. Further research showed that HMGA2 was a downstream target of ER-α36 in cervical cancer cells. The oncogenic effect of ER-α36 was attenuated after HMGA2 knockdown.ConclusionsHigh expression of ER-α36 was correlated with a poor prognosis in cervical cancer by regulating HMGA2. ER-α36 could be a prognostic biomarker and a target for cervical cancer treatment.