KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to investigate the role of ULK2 in suppressing OC cell migration and invasion by elevating IGFBP3 expression.
- Researchers concluded that ULK2 acts as a tumor suppressor in OC by upregulating IGFBP3, serving as a valuable prognostic marker.
Ovarian cancer (OC) is an aggressive malignancy with high mortality known for its considerable metastatic potential.
Xiaoxi Chen and the team aimed to explore the expression and functional role of Unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 2 (ULK2) in the progression of OC.
They performed an inclusive analysis of ULK2 expression patterns in OC tissues and benign tumor control samples using immunohistochemistry. The effects of ULK2 overexpression on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were assessed through Cell Counting Kit 8 and Transwell assays. Additionally, RNA sequencing was conducted to explore potential mechanisms of ULK2 beyond its classical role in autophagy modulation.
About the experiments, they showed significant downregulation of ULK2 in OC tissues. Importantly, low expression of ULK2 was markedly correlated with decreased overall survival. In vitro functional studies further demonstrated that overexpression of ULK2 significantly suppressed tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.
RNA sequencing analysis revealed a potential regulatory role of ULK2 in the insulin signaling pathway through upregulation of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP3) in OC cells.
The study concluded that ULK2 acts as a tumor suppressor in OC by upregulating IGFBP3, highlighting its potential as a valuable prognostic marker.
The study was supported by the Beijing Great Physician Commonweal Foundation (HX214154 to Weipei Zhu), the National Nature Science Foundation of China (82002804 to Han Xu; 82272641 to Huizhen Sun) and the innovative talent base for master and doctor of hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy (RCJD2022S06 to Bingyi Yao).
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38952983/
Chen X, Shao C, Liu J, et al. (2024). “ULK2 suppresses ovarian cancer cell migration and invasion by elevating IGFBP3.” PeerJ. 2024 Jun 28;12:e17628. doi: 10.7717/peerj.17628. PMID: 38952983; PMCID: PMC11216209.
