MBIP promotes ESCC metastasis by activating MAPK pathway

Abstract Background MBIP has been identified as a susceptibility gene in several cancers. However, the role and molecular mechanism of MBIP in ESCC remain unclear. Methods The association between MBIP expression and clinical factors in ESCC was analyzed by t-test, chi-square test and Cox regression analysis. The biological function of MBIP was investigated by MTT assay, colony formation assay, Transwell assay, flow cytometry and mouse xenograft assay. The potential molecular mechanism was studied by RNA-seq, qRT-PCR and western blotting. Results The expression level of MBIP in ESCC was higher than that in normal tissue (P < 0.05). Functionally, MBIP overexpression promoted migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo, whereas MBIP knockdown played the opposite role. In addition, we elucidated the possible molecular mechanisms of MBIP in ESCC, whereby MBIP promotes EMT via the phosphorylation JNK/p38 in ESCC. Conclusions This study revealed that MBIP plays an important role in the prognosis and metastasis of ESCC. MBIP might serve as an ESCC prognostic biomarker.