Knockdown of MTA2 Suppresses Metastasis of Human Oral Cancer Cells

Objectives: Metastasis tumor-associated protein-2 (MTA2), a central element in Mi-2/NuRD complex localized in the nucleus, which function is both nucleosome remodelling and histone deacetylase activities. In recent years, another function was explored that MTA2 regulate the ability of cell proliferation and metastasis in several kinds of cancer. However, the function of MTA2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC) is unclear. This study aims to explore the role of MTA2 in oral cancer.
Methods: Cell viability of HSC-3 and OECM-1 silenced with MTA2 shRNA system was measured by MTT assay in 24 and 48 hrs. The ability of invasion and migration was investigated by use of Boyden chamber. The expression of mRNA and protein after silenced by MTA2 shRNA system was investigated by real-time PCR and western blot.
Results: First, clinical results showed that the expression of MTA2 progressively increased in different grade of oral cancer. Similarly, the expression of MTA2 in OSCC cell lines HSC-3 and OECM-1 was further enhanced compared with the normal oral cell line HOK in western blot. The results suggested that MTA2 might be an oncogene in OSCC. Therefore, we used the system of shRNA-Induced silence to explore the role of MTA2 in OSCC. MTT assay results showed that knockdown of MTA2 didn’t affect cell viability. Invasion and migration ability were strongly suppressed by silence of MTA2 in Boyden chamber assay, suggested that MTA2 might be an important role in OSCC cell line.
Conclusions: These results demonstrate that shRNA-Induced silencing of MTA2 effectively suppressed the migratory/ invasive abilities in oral squamous cell carcinoma.