Tripartite motif-containing 14 regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis in cervical cancer via the Akt signaling pathway

Abstract

Tripartite motif-containing (TRI M) 14 is a protein of the TRI M family. Studies have indicated that TRI M14 may be used as an oncogene in tumor cells, such as osteosarcoma, non-small cell lung cancer and breast cancer through different pathways. However, the functions of TRI M14 in cervical cancer cells remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the functions of TRI M14 in cervical cancer cells and its underlying mechanism. Caski cells stably expressing TRI M14 and SiHa, and HeLa cells stably expressing TRI M14 short hairpin RNA were constructed by lentivirus-mediated overexpression or knockdown systems. The effects of TRI M14 on proliferation and apoptosis of cervical cancer cells were detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometry, respectively. In addition, reverse transcription-quantitative (RT-q) PCR and western blotting were used to investigate the expression levels of TRI M14 and of signaling pathway marker protein including P21, caspase-3, cleaved caspase-3, Akt and phosphorylated Akt. The results of RT-qPCR and western blotting revealed that TRI M14 was highly expressed in human cervical cancer tissues and cell lines compared with adjacent normal tissues and normal cervical epithelial cells. TRI M14 also regulated cell proliferation and apoptosis of human SiHa, HeLa and Caski cervical cancer cell lines through the Akt signaling pathway. Additionally, TRI M14 protein levels were related to the clinical and pathological features of cervical cancer. CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry demonstrated that TRIM14 expression could promote cervical cancer cell proliferation and autophagy suppression. Taken together, TRI M14-induced cell proliferation and apoptosis inhibition may by evoked by the activation of the Akt pathway. This study demonstrated the role of TRI M14 in cervical cancer, and reveals its mechanism of action as a potential therapeutic target for cervical cancer.