Occludin Facilitates Tumour Angiogenesis in Bladder Cancer by Regulating IL8/STAT3 Through STAT4

Overview

Journal J Cell Mol Med

Specialties Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Date 2022 Feb 28

PMID 35224833

Authors

Fan Yang

Xue-Qi Liu

Jian-Zhong He

Shi-Ping Xian

Peng-Fei Yang

Zhi-Ying Mai

Miao Li

Ye Liu

Xing-Ding Zhang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Bladder cancer (BLCA) is a common genitourinary cancer in patients, and tumour angiogenesis is indispensable for its occurrence and development. However, the indepth mechanism of tumour angiogenesis in BLCA remains elusive. According to recent studies, the tight junction protein family member occludin (OCLN) is expressed at high levels in BLCA tissues and correlates with a poor prognosis. Downregulation of OCLN inhibits tumour angiogenesis in BLCA cells and murine xenografts, whereas OCLN overexpression exerts the opposite effect. Mechanistically, the RT-qPCR analysis and Western blotting results showed that OCLN increased interleukin-8 (IL8) and p-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) levels to promote BLCA angiogenesis. RNA sequencing analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assays indicated that OCLN regulated IL8 transcriptional activity via the transcription factor STAT4. In summary, our results provide new perspectives on OCLN, as this protein participates in the development of BLCA angiogenesis by activating the IL8/STAT3 pathway via STAT4 and may serve as a novel and unique therapeutic target.

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