SLC52A3 expression is activated by NF- κB p65/Rel-B and serves as a prognostic biomarker in esophageal cancer.

In this study, we find that SLC52A3 has two transcript variants that differ in the transcriptional start site, and encode different proteins: SLC52A3a and SLC52A3b. Importantly, aberrant expressions of SLC52A3 are associated with stepwise development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) as well as the survival rates of ESCC patients. Functionally, SLC52A3a, but not SLC52A3b, strongly promotes the proliferation and colony formation of ESCC cells. Furthermore, SLC52A3 5'-flanking regions contain NF-κB p65/Rel-B-binding sites, which are crucial for mediating SLC52A3 transcriptional activity in ESCC cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and electrophoretic mobility shift assay reveal that p65/Rel-B bind to 5'-flanking regions of SLC52A3. Accordingly, NF-κB signaling upregulates SLC52A3 transcription upon TNFα stimulation. Taken together, these results elucidate the mechanisms underlying SLC52A3 overexpression in ESCC. More importantly, our findings identify SLC52A3 as both a predictive and prognostic biomarker for this deadly cancer. PMID: 29428966 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences : CMLS - Category: Cytology Authors: Tags: Cell Mol Life Sci Source Type: research