Role of engrailed 2 (EN2) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

A number of homeobox genes have been found to be implicated in the development of various cancers. Here, we investigated the role of engrailed 2 (EN2), a member of the homeobox gene superfamily, in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma RNA profiling was performed using gene expression microarray. A lentivirus system was used to establish a stable cell line expressing exogenous EN2. The malignant phenotype was analyzed by means of proliferation, clonogenicity, wound-healing, and invasion assays. The CRISPR/Cas9 system was adopted to deplete the endogenous EN2. The ShRNA-mediated method was used to knock down the expression of SPARC. Separately, the structure–function relationship was determined by the site-directed mutagenesis method.