Original Article


Study the effect of CTSD interaction proteins in invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Weiguo Huang, Yafei Wang, Guqing Zeng, Yufang Yin, Chenjie Ouyang, Yunlian Tang, Yu Li, Gebo Wen, Ailan Cheng

Abstract

Background: Cathepsin D is a lysosomal aspartyl protease. Our previous studies have suggested that cathepsin D plays an important role in invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).
Methods: To identify proteins that interact with cathepsin D and gain an insight into the role of cathepsin D in invasion and metastasis of NPC, co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) combined with mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics approach was used. Cathepsin D associated proteins were identified by MS. Protein-protein interaction network were analyzed by bioinformatics including gene ontology (GO), function clustering. And co-IP and western blotting confirmation were for protein-protein interaction. The expression of cathepsin D, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and heat-shock protein 90A (HSP90A) in NPC were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). And the invasion and metastasis capability were detected by Transwell invasion assay.
Results: One hundred and forty-one cathepsin D associated proteins were identified, including EGFR and HSP90A, proteins clearly associated with tumor invasion and metastasis. The interaction of these two proteins with cathepsin D was further validated by co-IP followed by western blotting. The 141 proteins were classified into 12 function-related groups. Protein-protein interaction network analysis indicated that cathepsin D might have a significance on invasion and metastasis of NPC by interacting with EGFR and HSP90A. Indeed, cathepsin D/EGFR/HSP90A could form complexes in NPC cells. In addition, overexpression of cathepsin D in NPC cells not only up-regulated EGFR and HSP90A, but also increased the invasive ability of NPC cells.
Conclusions: Cathepsin D could enhance the invasion and metastasis capability of NPC cells may through binding to EGFR and HSP90A and triggering the activation of the signaling pathways.

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