C1q-like 1 is frequently up-regulated in lung adenocarcinoma and contributes to the proliferation and invasion of tumor cells

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effects of C1q-like 1 (C1QL1) on the growth and migration of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cells and the underlying mechanism. The expression of C1QL1 in LUAD tissues and its prognostic value were analyzed using the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. To investigate the function of C1QL1, loss-of-function and gain-of-function assays were conducted in Calu-3 cells and LTEP-a-2 cells, respectively. Cell growth was evaluated by CCK-8 and colony formation assays. Transwell assays were performed to assess cell invasive and migratory abilities. qRT-PCR and Western blotting were performed to detect RNA and protein expression, respectively. Firstly, we found that C1QL1 was highly expressed and predicted poor outcomes in LUAD patients from TCGA database. Moreover, the mRNA and protein expression levels of C1QL1 were higher in LUAD cells than that in normal lung cells. Results of functional experiments illustrated that depletion of C1QL1 restrained the growth, invasion and migration of Calu-3 cells, meanwhile over-expression of C1QL1 presented the opposite results in LTEP-a-2 cells. Furthermore, we discovered that down-regulation of C1QL1 elevated the protein level of E-cadherin and reduced the protein levels of N-cadherin, Vimentin and Snail in Calu-3 cells, whereas over-expression of C1QL1 led to the opposite outcomes in LTEP-a-2 cells. Our data indicated that C1QL1 functioned as a crucial driver in LUAD cell growth and motility, which might be achieved by modulating epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). These consequences are of important relevance for the design of therapeutic strategies for LUAD.

Keywords:

• Lung adenocarcinoma
• C1q-like 1
• growth
• invasion
• migration
• epithelial–mesenchymal transition

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Notes on contributors

Yu-Jun Gao, Master of Oncology. Yu-Jun Gao is a deputy chief physician and attending physician of thoracic surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University (Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences). His area of interests are minimally invasive surgical treatment of lung cancer, lung cancer targeted and immunotherapy research.

Feng Chen, MD. Feng Chen is a Nurse-in-charge, chief nurse of the Second Thoracic Ward of ShandongTumor Hospital, Shandong First Medical University Affiliated Tumor Hospital (Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong Tumor Hospital). Feng Chen is also an International Respiratory Therapist, a Smoking cessation nurse and a First aid operator of Shandong Red Cross. Feng Chen's area of interest is thoracic surgery and therapy.

Lian-Jun Zhang is a data Analyst of Jinan Evidence Medicine Technology Development Center. Her area of interest is Bioinformatics Analysis.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent to publish

All the authors agree with the publication of the present paper.

Availability of data and materials

The data of this study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.