Despite advancements in therapeutic options, the overall prognosis for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains poor. Therefore, it is crucial to further explore the etiology and targets for novel treatments to effectively manage NSCLC. In this study, immunohistochemistry was used to analyze the expression of aldolase, fructose-bisphosphate C (ALDOC) protein in tumor tissues and adjacent non-malignant tissues from 79 NSCLC patients. Our findings revealed that ALDOC was overexpressed in NSCLC tissues. ALDOC expression was associated with lymph node metastasis, lymphatic metastasis and pathological stage. In addition, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that higher ALDOC levels were indicative of a poorer prognosis. Additionally, we observed elevated ALDOC mRNA levels in NSCLC cell lines relative to normal cells. To investigate the functional roles of ALDOC, we infected cells with small interfering RNA against ALDOC, which led to attenuated proliferation and migration, as well as ameliorated apoptosis. Furthermore, through our investigations, we discovered that ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2N (UBE2N) acts as a downstream factor of ALDOC. ALDOC promoted NSCLC through affecting MYC-mediated UBE2N transcription and regulating the Wnt pathway. More importantly, we found that downregulation of UBE2N or the use of Wnt pathway inhibitor could reverse the promoting effects of ALDOC elevation on NSCLC development in vitro and in vivo. Based on these findings, our study highlights the potential of ALDOC as a future therapeutic target for NSCLC.
Keywords: ALDOC; NSCLC; UBE2N; Wnt/β-catenin pathway; transcription.