Heterozygous p53-R280T mutation promotes proliferation of NPC cells through activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway

Heterozygous p53-R280T mutations frequently occur in many nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines and nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients. However, the role of this mutation in the progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma remains unclear. In this study, we successfully generated the tp53 knockout nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing and found that knockout of heterozygous tp53-R280T inhibited the proliferation of NPC cells significantly in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistic analyses indicated that heterozygous p53-R280T can activate the PI3K/Akt Signaling pathway in NPC cells. In conclusion, our findings provide a mechanistic insight into the role of heterozygous p53-R280T in NPC progression. Overall design: mRNA profiles of CNE2 (control) and KO CNE2 cells.