Background: The procancer effect of TEA domain transcription factor 4 (TEAD4) has been gradually discovered. However, its expression in esophageal cancer (EC) cells and its effect on proliferation and apoptosis have not been reported. In this study, we investigated the possible role of TEAD4 in EC cells. Materials and Methods: TEAD4 messenger RNA and protein expression were assessed in EC cell lines by real-time quantitative-PCR and Western blot. Gene silencing approach was employed to investigate the potential role of TEAD4 in cellular growth, proliferation, migration, and invasion in EC cells. The interaction between TEAD4 and transcription factor 7 (TCF7) was verified by co-immunoprecipitation reaction. The cell apoptosis rates of KYSE-30 cells were detected by flow cytometry. Meanwhile, the expression of apoptosis-related proteins in KYSE-30 cells was detected by Western blot analysis. Results: TEAD4 was significantly increased in EC cell lines, interference of TEAD4 inhibited EC cell viability, invasion, and migration, and promotes apoptosis. TCF7 was found when using STRING website to interact with TEAD4 proteins and TCF7 was significantly increased in EC and knockdown expression of TEAD4 hindered biological function of KYSE-30 cells and this effect was reversed by overexpression of TCF7. Conclusions: The findings concluded that TEAD4 is highly expressed in EC cells and gene silencing of TEAD4 inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis of EC cells by regulating TCF7. These findings suggested that TEAD4 might be a novel therapeutic target for the prevention of EC.
Keywords: TCF7; TEAD4; esophageal cancer; transcription factor.