NOP14 inhibits melanoma proliferation and metastasis by regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

Malignant melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer with a high mortality rate. Nucleolar protein 14 (NOP14) has been implicated in cancer development. However, the role of NOP14 in malignant melanoma progression remains largely unclear. In this study, we observed that malignant melanoma tissue showed NOP14 down-regulation compared to melanocytic nevi tissues. Moreover, we observed that NOP14 expression was significantly associated with melanoma tumor thickness and lymph node metastasis. NOP14 overexpression in melanoma cells suppressed proliferation, caused G1 phase arrest, promoted apoptosis, and inhibited melanoma cell migration and invasion. Further investigations revealed that NOP14 overexpression reduced the expression levels of Wnt3a, β-catenin, and GSK-3β of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. In summary, we demonstrated that NOP14 inhibited melanoma cell proliferation and metastasis by regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

恶性黑色素瘤是一种侵袭性极强的皮肤癌，具有较高的死亡率。核仁蛋白14（Nucleolar protein 14，NOP14）已被证实参与癌症的发生发展过程，但其在恶性黑色素瘤进展中的作用仍未完全阐明。本研究中，我们观察到相较于黑素细胞痣组织，恶性黑色素瘤组织中NOP14的表达呈下调趋势。此外，我们还发现NOP14的表达水平与黑色素瘤的肿瘤厚度及淋巴结转移显著相关。在黑色素瘤细胞中过表达NOP14可抑制细胞增殖、诱导G1期阻滞、促进细胞凋亡，并抑制其迁移与侵袭能力。进一步的机制研究显示，NOP14过表达可降低Wnt/β-连环蛋白信号通路中Wnt3a、β-连环蛋白及GSK-3β的表达水平。综上，本研究证实NOP14可通过调控Wnt/β-连环蛋白信号通路，抑制黑色素瘤细胞的增殖与转移。