ARHGAP30 suppressed lung cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

Figures & data

Table 1 Correlation of ARHGAP30 expression with patient characteristics

Variables		All cases	ARHGAP30 mRNA		P-value
			Low (n=15)	High (n=15)
Age at surgery	<55 years	10	6	4	0.6999
	≥55 years	20	9	11
Gender	Male	16	7	9	0.7152
	Female	14	8	6
Smoking status	Smoker	12	5	7	0.7104
	Non-smoker	18	10	8
Tumor size	<5 cm	13	3	10	0.0253*
	≥5 cm	17	12	5
Lymph node metastasis	Absent	17	6	11	0.1394
	Present	13	9	4

Note: Fisher’s exact test;

* P<0.05.

Figure 1 ARHGAP30 is markedly downregulated in lung cancer tissues and cell lines.

***P<0.001.

Notes: (A) Analysis of ARHGAP30 expression in the lung cancer dataset from TCGA. (B) Analysis of ARHGAP30 mRNA expression in 30 pairs of lung cancer and adjacent non-cancerous tissues by quantitative real-time PCR. (C) Analysis of ARHGAP30 protein expression in eight pairs of lung cancer and adjacent non-cancerous tissues by Western blotting. Relative mRNA (D) and protein (E) expression levels of ARHGAP30 in five lung cancer cell lines (A549, NCI-H1299, NCI-H1975, NCI-H358, and NCI-H292) compared with normal bronchial epithelial cell line 16HBE. The Western blotting analysis was repeated at least three times and representative images are shown.
Abbreviation: TCGA, The Cancer Genome Atlas.

Figure 2 ARHGAP30 inhibited proliferation of lung cancer cells.

Notes: A549 and NCI-H1299 cells were transduced with ARH OE or a control Vector virus. Cells in the WT group did not receive any treatment and served as a negative control. (A and B) ARHGAP30 expression levels were evaluated using qRT-PCR (A) and Western blotting (B) at 48 hours after transduction. (C and D) Cell proliferation was identified using the CCK-8 assay. All the in vitro experiments were repeated three times. ***P<0.001.
Abbreviations: ARH OE, ARHGAP30-overexpressing lentivirus; CCK-8, Cell Counting Kit-8; h, hours; NS, no significant difference; qRT-PCR, quantitative real-time PCR; WT, wild-type.

Figure 3 ARHGAP30 suppressed lung cell migration and invasion.

Notes: A549 and NCI-H1299 cells were transduced with ARH OE or a control Vector virus. WT cells without any treatment served as a negative control. Transwell assays were conducted in A549 (A) and NCI-H1299 (B) cells to evaluate cell migration and invasion. All the in vitro experiments were repeated three times. ***P<0.001.
Abbreviations: ARH OE, ARHGAP30-overexpressing lentivirus; NS, no significant difference; qRT-PCR, quantitative real-time PCR; WT, wild-type.

Figure 4 ARHGAP30 repressed the Wnt signaling pathway in lung cancer cells.

Notes: (A) A GSEA on the TCGA lung cancer dataset showed that ARHGAP30 expression was negatively associated with the Wnt signaling pathway. (B) Analysis of ARHGAP30 mRNA expression in 30 pairs of lung cancer and adjacent non-cancerous tissues by qRT-PCR. (C) Pearson’s r correlation analysis of ARHGAP30 mRNA levels vs β-catenin mRNA levels in 30 cases of lung cancer tissues. Western blotting (D) and qRT-PCR analysis (E) of β-catenin, c-Myc, MMP-2, and MMP-9 in A549 and NCI-H1229 cells transduced with ARH OE or a control Vector virus. All the in vitro experiments were repeated three times. ***P<0.001.
Abbreviations: ARH OE, ARHGAP30-overexpressing lentivirus; GSEA, gene set enrichment analysis; NES, normalized enrichment score; NS, no significant difference; qRT-PCR, quantitative real-time PCR; TCGA, The Cancer Genome Atlas.

Figure 5 The Wnt signaling pathway mediated the effects of ARHGAP30 on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung cancer cells.

Notes: NCI-H292 cells were transduced with shARH or shNC, and treated with 10 µM XAV939 or vehicle (DMSO). (A) Cell proliferation was identified using the CCK-8 assay. (B) Transwell assays were conducted to evaluate cell migration and invasion. (C) Western blotting was conducted to assess the protein levels of β-catenin, c-Myc, MMP-2, and MMP-9. All the in vitro experiments were repeated three times. ***P<0.001 vs shNC+DMSO; ^###P<0.001 vs shNC+XAV939; ⁺⁺P<0.01; ⁺⁺⁺P<0.001 vs shARH+DMSO. Abbreviations: CCK-8, Cell Counting Kit-8; DMSO, diemthyl sulfoxide; NS, no significant difference; OD, optical density; shARH, ARHGAP30 shRNA; shNC, control shRNA; shRNA, short hairpin RNA.

Figure S1 ARHGAP30 inhibited nuclear translocation of β-catenin.

Notes: A549 cells were transduced with ARH OE or control Vector virus. After 48 hours, immunofluorescence staining was conducted with anti-β-catenin (green) and counterstained with DAPI (blue) as indicated.
Abbreviation: ARH OE, ARHGAP30-overexpressing lentivirus.

Figure S2 Downregulated ARHGAP30 expression in NCI-H292 cells.

Notes: NCI-H292 cells were transduced with ARHGAP30 shRNAs (sh#1, #2, and #3) or shNC. ARHGAP30 silencing was confirmed by qRT-PCR (A) and Western blotting (B). Experiments were repeated three times independently. ***P<0.001.
Abbreviations: NS, no significant difference; qRT-PCR, quantitative real-time PCR; shNC, control shRNA; shRNA, short hairpin RNA.

Figure S3 RNAi-resistant ARHGAP30 rescues the effects of ARHGAP30 knockdown.

Notes: A549 cells were randomly divided into four groups: shNC+Vector, cells were transduced with shNC and control Vector virus; shARH+Vector, cells were transduced with shARH and control Vector virus; shNC+ARH-r, cells were transduced with shNC- and RNAi-resistant ARH-r; shARH+ARH-r, cells were transduced with shARH and ARH-r. (A) ARHGAP30 protein levels were evaluated using Western blotting at 48 hours after transduction. (B) Cell proliferation was identified using CCK-8 assay. (C) Transwell assays were conducted to evaluate cell migration and invasion. Experiments were repeated three times. *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001 vs shNC+Vector; ^###P<0.001 vs shARH+Vector.
Abbreviations: ARH-r, ARHGAP30 lentivirus; CCK-8, Cell Counting Kit-8; h, hours; shARH, ARHGAP30 shRNA; shNC, control shRNA; shRNA, short hairpin RNA.