Naa10p And Ikk Alpha Interaction Regulates Emt In Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Via Tgf-Beta 1/Smad Pathway

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been contributed to increase migration and invasion of cancer cells. However, the correlate of Naa10p and IKK alpha with EMT in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is not yet fully understood. In our present study, we found N-alpha-acetyltransferase 10 protein (Naa10p) and I kappa B kinase alpha (IKK alpha) were abnormally abundant in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Bioinformatic results indicate that the expression of Naa10p and IKK alpha is correlated with TGF-beta 1/Smad and EMT-related molecules. The Transwell migration, invasion, qRT-PCR and Western blot assay indicated that Naa10p repressed OSCC cell migration, invasion and EMT, whereas IKK alpha promoted TGF-beta 1-mediated OSCC cell migration, invasion and EMT. Mechanistically, Naa10p inhibited IKK alpha activation of Smad3 through the interaction with IKK alpha directly in OSCC cells after TGF-beta 1 stimulation. Notably, knockdown of Naa10p reversed the IKK alpha-induced change in the migration, invasion and EMT-related molecules in OSCC cells after TGF-beta 1 stimulation. These findings suggest that Naa10p interacted with IKK alpha mediates EMT in OSCC cells through TGF-beta 1/Smad, a novel pathway for preventing OSCC.