Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Synaptopodin 2 represses cervical cancer cell growth and enhances the sensitivity of cervical cancer cells to cisplatin via Hippo pathway

Yuanhang Chen¹, Lang He¹, Yi Xu¹, Qianqian Feng²

¹Department of Oncology, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Affiliated Fifth People's Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine), Chengdu, Sichuan Province 611130, China; ²Department of Gynecology, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province 215002, China.

For correspondence:- Qianqian Feng Email: qian_qfeng0213@163.com Tel:+8651262362047

Accepted: 4 May 2023 Published: 30 May 2023

Citation: Chen Y, He L, Xu Y, Feng Q. Synaptopodin 2 represses cervical cancer cell growth and enhances the sensitivity of cervical cancer cells to cisplatin via Hippo pathway. Trop J Pharm Res 2023; 22(5):945-950 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v22i5.2

© 2023 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the functions and regulatory mechanisms of synaptopodin-2 (SYNPO2) in cervical cancer progression.

Methods: Normal cervical cell lines (Ect1/E6E7) and cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa, SiHa, C-33A, and CaSki) were cultured. The pcDNA3.1 vector overexpressing SYNPO2, a negative control (vector), and blank control (control) were transfected into HeLa and SiHa cells. Protein expression from normal and cervical cancer cell lines was examined by western blot. Cell viability and proliferation were evaluated in HeLa and SiHa cells using Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays, while cell migration and invasion were assessed by wound healing and Transwell assays, respectively. Cell apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry.

Results: SYNPO2 expression was decreased in cervical cancer based on the Gene expression Profiling Interactive Analysis website (p < 0.05). Additionally, Kaplan–Meier Plotter website showed that cervical cancer patients with low SYNPO2 expression showed worse prognoses than patients with high SYNPO2 expression (p < 0.05). Subsequent investigations revealed that SYNPO2 overexpression repressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in cervical cancer (p < 0.01). Furthermore, SYNPO2 overexpression enhanced cervical cancer cell apoptosis (p < 0.001) and increased the sensitivity of cervical cancer cells to cisplatin (p < 0.01). The regulatory function of SYNPO2 on Hippo pathway in cervical cancer indicate that SYNPO2 inactivated Hippo pathway (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Synaptopodin 2 represses cervical cancer cell growth and enhances the sensitivity of cervical cancer cells to cisplatin via Hippo pathway, thus indicating its potentials for development for the treatment of cervical cancer

Keywords: Synaptopodin-2 (SYNPO2), Cervical cancer, Hippo pathway, HeLa and SiHa cells, pcDNA3.1 vector