IGJ suppresses breast cancer growth and metastasis by inhibiting EMT via the NF‑κB signaling pathway

Wang,Mengxue; Wu,Yushen; Li,Xunjia; Dai,Meng; Li,Shengwei

doi:10.3892/ijo.2023.5553

IGJ suppresses breast cancer growth and metastasis by inhibiting EMT via the NF‑κB signaling pathway

Authors:
- Mengxue Wang
- Yushen Wu
- Xunjia Li
- Meng Dai
- Shengwei Li
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Affiliations: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, P.R. China, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China, Department of Nephrology, Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Chongqing 400013, P.R. China, Department of Geriatric Oncology, Department of Palliative care, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing 400030, P.R. China
Published online on: July 31, 2023 https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2023.5553
Article Number: 105
Copyright: © Wang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Breast cancer metastasis is the primary cause of mortality of patients with breast cancer. The present study aimed to explore the role and underlying mechanisms of IGJ in the invasion and metastasis of breast cancer. The Cancer Genome Atlas database was utilized to analyze the differential gene expression profiles in patients with breast cancer with or without metastasis; the target gene, joining chain of multimeric IgA and IgM (JCHAIN, also known as IGJ, as referred to herein), with significant expression and with prognostic value was screened. The expression levels of IGJ in human breast cancer paired tissues and cell lines were detected using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR and western blot analysis. IGJ differential expression was detected in paired human breast cancer tissues using immunohistochemistry. The role of IGJ in breast cancer was verified using CCK‑8, invasion and migration assays, and scratch tests in vivo and in vitro. Further exploration of the role and mechanism of IGJ in breast cancer was conducted through Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis, western blot analysis and immunofluorescence experiments. Through the analysis of gene expression profiles, it was found that IGJ was poorly expressed in patients with breast cancer with metastasis compared to patients with non‑metastatic breast cancer. The overexpression of IGJ was associated with an improved distant metastasis‑free survival and overall survival (OS). COX multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that IGJ was an independent prognostic factor for the OS and relapse‑free survival of patients with breast cancer. In comparison to healthy breast cancer adjacent tissues and cell lines, IGJ was poorly expressed in breast cancer tissues and cell lines (P<0.05). Further analyses indicated that the overexpression of IGJ suppressed the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of breast cancer cells in vivo and in vitro by inhibiting the occurrence of epithelial‑to‑mesenchymal transition (EMT) and suppressing the nuclear translocation of p65. Finally, rescue experiments indicated that IGJ restricted the proliferation and metastasis of breast cancer cells by regulating the NF‑κB signaling pathway. On the whole, the present study demonstrates that IGJ suppresses the invasion and metastasis of breast cancer by inhibiting both the occurrence of EMT and the NF‑κB signaling pathway. These findings may provide novel biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

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