Silencing of PIGU inhibits the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma through the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

作者：Ji Zuo, Haiyang Guo, Guangbing Hu, Yujue He, Yong Tang, Jie Li, Yutong Cui, Shiqi Liang, Xinrui Chen, Zichen Luo, Xiaobo Wang, Xianfei Wang, Xianfei Wang, Xianfei Wang · 发表于：Scientific Reports · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1038/s41598-025-08748-y · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Bioactive Compounds and Antitumor Agents、Cancer Mechanisms and Therapy、Cancer therapeutics and mechanisms

Phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis class U (PIGU), a crucial subunit of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol transamidase (GPI-T) complex, is an oncogene in hepatocellular carcinoma. However, its role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains poorly understood. This study aims to clarify PIGU's role and mechanisms in ESCC by analyzing its expression across pan-cancer datasets, clinical relevance in TCGA-ESCA samples, and effects on cell behavior (migration, invasion, proliferation) and signaling pathways, validated via immunohistochemistry. To examine cell behavior, we used Transwell, colony-formation, CCK-8, and wound-healing assays to assess migration, invasion, proliferation, and wound healing.The epithelial-mesenchymal transition marker levels were measured using Western blot analysis, and the cell cycle and apoptosis were assessed using flow cytometry in conjunction with western blotting. Furthermore, we used western blotting to examine proteins implicated in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.To further confirm PIGU's role in ESCC progression, a subcutaneous xenograft mouse model was employed. Our findings suggest that PIGU is highly expressed in ESCC and is strongly associated with tumor growth, lymphatic metastasis and poor prognosis, and is an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients.PIGU knockdown not only arrested the cell cycle and induced apoptosis, but also significantly reduced migration, invasion, and proliferation in ESCC cells. Additio...