TOP2A promotes proliferation and metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma through the p53 signaling pathway

Immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR and Western blot were applied to explore the expression of TOP2A in esophageal cancer. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion ability were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) assay and transwell invasion assay. The expression of apoptosis and autophagy-related proteins were detected by Western blot. Autophagy-related structures in the cells were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The tumorigenicity of esophageal cancer cells was detected by subcutaneous tumorigenesis test in nude mice. RNA-seq was performed to identify the downstream targets of TOP2A. Bioinformatics tools were used to identify signaling pathways.TOP2A was highly expressed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues. Compared with TE-1 and TE-13, the Eca109 cell line exhibited the highest TOP2A expression. Knocking down TOP2A could reduce the expression of Bcl-2 and upregulate p53 protein and weaken the tumorigenicity of Eca109 cells in vivo. TEM showed more autophagy lysosomes and autophagosomes in the NC group. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that TOP2A exerts its effects through the p53 signaling pathway.