Objective: PDRG1, a short p53 and DNA damage-regulated gene, is overexpressed in many human tumors. This gene can promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis in lung cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the PDRG1 gene on the Wnt signaling pathway in esophageal cancer cells.
Methods: In this study, 72 esophageal cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues were collected, and the level of PDRG1 expression was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). PDRG1 over-expression and knockdown cell lines (PDRG1o and PDRG1i) were established to analyze the effect of PDRG1 on esophageal cancer cells.
Results: The expression level of PDRG1 in esophageal cancer gradually increased with advanced TNM grades. PDRG1 knockdown can potentially promote apoptosis and inhibit the proliferation of esophageal cancer cells. Meanwhile, cisplatin chemosensitivity was enhanced by PDRG1 knockdown, via the suppression of cyclinD1 and β-catenin expression within esophageal cancer cells. This indicates that PDRG1 silencing could inhibit the Wnt signaling pathway in esophageal cancer cells.
Conclusion: Our data provides convincing evidence that PDRG1 may promote proliferation while inhibiting apoptosis and chemotherapy sensitivity in esophageal cancer cells.
Keywords: PDRG1; Wnt signaling; chemotherapy sensitivity.
© 2019 by the Association of Clinical Scientists, Inc.