The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the JWA gene regulates the proliferation, migration and invasion of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and normal human esophageal cell lines through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathways. The role of JWA in proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis was investigated in the Eca109 human ESCC and HET-1A normal human esophageal cell lines via transfection with JWA-small interfering (si)RNA. Western blot analysis was conducted to observe the effect of JWA on apoptosis and the regulatory effect of JWA on proliferation was determined using a thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cellular migration and invasion were analyzed via a Transwell assay. In addition, the expression levels of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 MAPK following JWA-siRNA transfection were detected by western blot analysis and compared with those of untreated cells. The downregulation of JWA protein decreased apoptosis and increased the proliferation, migration and invasion of the Eca109 and HET-1A cell lines. In the Eca109 cell line, the expression levels of phosphorylated (p)-ERK1/2 and p-JNK, but not those of p-p38, decreased significantly in the JWA siRNA group compared with those in the control groups. However, in the HET-1A cell line, JWA-siRNA transfection significantly inhibited the expression of p-p38 and demonstrated no effect on the expression levels of p-ERK1/2 and p-JNK. In conclusion, the JWA gene may regulate the ESCC and human esophageal cell lines through MAPK signaling pathways via different regulatory mechanisms.
Keywords: JWA; human esophageal cancer; mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway; small interfering RNA.