Ribosomal protein RPL5 regulates colon cancer cell proliferation and migration through MAPK/ERK signaling pathway

Huahua Zhang; Junli Liu; Qingqing Dang; Xueru Wang; Jie Chen; Xiaoyin Lin; Na Yang; Juan Du; Haiyan Shi; Yong Liu; Jiming Han

doi:10.1186/s12860-022-00448-z

Ribosomal protein RPL5 regulates colon cancer cell proliferation and migration through MAPK/ERK signaling pathway

BMC Mol Cell Biol. 2022 Nov 16;23(1):48. doi: 10.1186/s12860-022-00448-z.

Authors

Huahua Zhang^#¹, Junli Liu^#¹, Qingqing Dang², Xueru Wang³, Jie Chen¹, Xiaoyin Lin², Na Yang¹, Juan Du¹, Haiyan Shi¹, Yong Liu⁴, Jiming Han⁵

Affiliations

¹ Medical Research and Experimental Center, Medical College, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, China.
² Surgical anesthesiology, Yan'an People's Hospital, Yan'an, 716000, China.
³ Cardiovascular Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710004, China.
⁴ General Surgery, Yan'an People's Hospital, Yan'an, 716000, China. 870234948@qq.com.
⁵ Medical Research and Experimental Center, Medical College, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, China. mthghjm@163.com.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Abnormal expression of ribosomal proteins has an important regulatory effect on the progression of cancer. RPL5 is involved in the progression of various malignancies, however, the role of RPL5 in colon cancer remains is still unclear.

Methods: Data from TCGA and GTEx databases were used to analyze the RPL5 expression in pan-cancer. The expression level of RPL5 in clinical colon cancer tissue samples and human colon cancer cell lines was detected by western blotting; siRNA targeting RPL5 was designed, and its interference efficiency was verified by western blotting and RT-qPCR; CCK8 assay, clone formation assay, cell cycle assay, and cell scratch assay were used to observe the effect of RPL5 on colon cancer cell proliferation and migration; the changes of proteins related to MAPK/ERK signaling pathway were also detected using western blotting.

Results: The expression level of RPL5 in colon cancer tissues and cell lines was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues and NCM460 cells, respectively, and its expression level was higher in HCT116 cells and RKO cells. Knockdown of RPL5 significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of HCT16 and RKO cells, and arrested the cell cycle in G0/G1 phase. Mechanistic studies revealed that the expression of p-MEK1/2, p-ERK, c-Myc were down-regulated, and the expression of FOXO3 was up-regulated after down-regulation of RPL5, ERK activator (TBHQ) could partially reverse the above-mentioned effects caused by siRPL5. Moreover, TBHQ could partially reverse the inhibitory effect of siRPL5 on the proliferation and migration of colon cancer cells. Collectively, RPL5 promoted colon cell proliferation and migration, at least in part, by activating the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway.

Conclusion: RPL5 promoted colon cell proliferation and migration, at least in part, by activating the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway, which may serve as a novel therapeutic target for cancers in which MAPK/ERK signaling is a dominant feature.

Keywords: Colon cancer; MAPK/ERK signaling pathway; Migration; Proliferation; Ribosomal protein RPL5.

MeSH terms

Cell Movement / genetics
Cell Proliferation
Colonic Neoplasms* / pathology
Humans
Ribosomal Proteins* / genetics
Ribosomal Proteins* / metabolism
Signal Transduction

Substances

2-tert-butylhydroquinone
Ribosomal Proteins
ribosomal protein L5, human