Investigator
Minhang District Central Hospital
Increased FOXM1 Expression was Associated with the Prognosis and the Recruitment of Neutrophils in Endometrial Cancer
Background. Although the biological functions of Forkhead box protein M1 (FOXM1) were explored in a variety of cancer, to date, however, little attention has been paid to the situation of FOXM1 in EC endometrial cancer (EC). Method. Bioinformatics analysis, including GEPIA, TIMER, cBioPortal, LinkedOmics, and STRING were used to analyze the FOXM1 gene expression, genetic alteration, and immune cell infiltration in EC. IHC staining, qPCR, cell viability, and migration assay were applied to identify the functions of FOXM1 in EC. Results. FOXM1 was highly expressed in EC tissues and closely correlated with the prognosis of EC patients. FOXM1 knockdown inhibited EC cell proliferation and invasion as well as migration. FOXM1 genetic alteration was verified in EC patients. Coexpression network of FOXM1 indicated that it had roles in the EC cell cycle and the infiltration of immune cells in EC. Furthermore, bioinformatic and immunohistochemical analysis indicated that FOXM1 induced the increased CD276 expression and also enhanced the neutrophil recruitment in EC. Conclusion. Our present study discovered a novel role of FOXM1 in EC, suggesting FOXM1 could be treated as a potential prognostic biomarker and immunotherapeutic target in EC diagnosis and treatment.
CRB2 Facilitates Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Progression by Inducing Polarity Changes via Activation of the Wnt/ PCP Signalling Pathway
ABSTRACT Ovarian cancer exhibits high molecular heterogeneity and metastatic potential, contributing to its status as a leading cause of gynecologic cancer mortality. Cell polarity is essential in tumorigenesis, yet the role of Crumbs family proteins (CRBs), key regulators of apical–basal polarity, in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains unclear. In this study, we analysed CRB expression profiles using TCGA and GEO datasets, and validated our findings through immunohistochemical staining of ovarian tumour tissue microarrays. Among CRBs, CRB2 was significantly overexpressed in EOC tissues and correlated with poor patient prognosis. Functional assays revealed that CRB2 enhances ovarian cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while suppressing apoptosis. Immunofluorescence staining of planar cell polarity markers demonstrated that CRB2 induces polarity alterations in EOC cells. Furthermore, Western blot analysis suggested that CRB2 may activate the Wnt/planar cell polarity (PCP) signalling pathway, contributing to tumour progression. These findings identify CRB2 as a key modulator of cell polarity and a potential driver of EOC aggressiveness. CRB2 may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for epithelial ovarian cancer.
