TRAF4 promotes the malignancy of ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma by activating YAP pathway

Ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) accounts for the majority of deaths caused by epithelial ovarian cancer. The precise molecular changes attributable for the pathogenesis of HGSC are still largely unknown. TRAF4 has been identified to be up-regulated in some cancers. However, the association between TRAF4 and the malignancy of HGSC has not been elucidated before. In this study, we aim to explore the prognostic value and function of TRAF4 in HGSC. The results of immunohistochemistry in 174 cases of HGSC showed that high expression of TRAF4 was significantly associated with a shorter overall survival (p=0.005) and recurrence-free survival (p=0.003) in HGSC. Knock-down of TRAF4 inhibited the malignancy of ovarian cancer cells, and over-expression of TRAF4 increased cell malignancy both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, mechanism studies demonstrated that TRAF4 promoted cell malignancy by activating YAP pathway in HGSC. In conclusion, TRAF4 could be a prognostic biomarker for HGSC and increase HGSC cell malignancy by activating YAP pathway, which may serve as a potential therapeutic target for HGSC. Overall design: Comparative gene expression profiling analysis of RNA-seq data for ovarian cancer cells and its knockdown derivatives (siTRAF4).